Tonight, I’m bringing you the first Midnight Music track in a language other than English. Yasmine Hamdan has been getting a lot of attention with her album “Ya Nass,” with a First Listen on NPR. Check out the segment linked to get a sense of her work, and check out one of the other tracks from the album below. Her words may not be easily identified as, but the emotion is obvious. You’re going to hear a lot more of her here, I can guarantee that.
Tanya Everywhere reminded me this exists and it made my Monday even better than it already is. Every single word of this is true.
I wanted to show up with something different over the next week. Music you may not have run into, stuff you used to listen to, or other things generally not in your way. I think I’ve found a trio of videos that you’ll enjoy, and totally wouldn’t have found otherwise. Metal & high school angst have come a long way since I played my Korn cd over and over in high school and I wanted to illustrate how. Above, Issues reminds us that it is actually possible to combine screamo and Simple Plan-style vocals in a competent offering that I really wish I had in high school.
MrSuicideSheep has continued to dominate the YouTube music space and last month he threw out a remix of the first song I pushed out as the very first Midnight Music post, so I am happy to bring you back to it. Medicine was a raw & intense piece done by Daughter, a singer I’ve written about here a few times. Sound Remedy has swooped in and produced a stunning remix of her wistful track, maintaining the melange of melancholy and musing. They add dollop of electro & synth on the top to give it some flair. Very different but just as good as the first Midnight Music.
The Grid 10 gets all the props for picking up this thread from prominent sport, hip hop & excellence forum The Coli. The review of all the terrible things that have occurred are hilarious and damning at the same time. Whether it’s Tupac, Biggie, Ciroc, Mase or the other tragedies associated with Diddy, this wraps it up nicely. Head on over to The Grid 10 for more news, jokes and music.
1996-2Pac allegedly killed by Southside Crips as revenge for a beating that was revenge for a Death Row chain being snatched for a Sean Combs bounty
1997-Notorious B.I.G. killed in Los Angeles as revenge for murders of Pac and Jake Robles
2002– MTV Making Da Band. The list of tragedies probably deserve its own thread *see Chopper Suit.
2004-Co-Creates a Rap The Vote campaign to get c00ns to support John Kerry the weakest democratic candidate since Walter Mondale. Loses to George W. Bush. Months later Katrina happens.
2007-Partners with Ciroc, causing single mothers to neglect their children and Black men to skip child support payments in an endless chase to cop his high-priced Kool Aid”
Just in case you thought Dada Life was getting predictable, they decided to hang out with Sebastian Bach who is doing the vocals for the re-work of their single Born To Rage. To jog your memory, this was the song that had 39 nationalized versions were released world-wide. This mammoth effort is now getting a new metallic coat of paint, with Bach doing good work. The video is out and I wonder if they got Bach to sing 39 different languages. Because global metal + Dada Life? That sounds like a movement I can get behind. Enjoy & grab the original on Beatport here.
Mobb Deep, rulers of the Queensbridge projects have returned. Their style of rap, coming out of Queens projects is different to to the style of rappers coming out of projects in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Their venerable The Infamous turned 20 this week, and to celebrate, they’re going on a European tour that makes me annoyed I live on this side of the pond. Again. Get at it and kudos to FACT for dropping the news and enjoy the hell out of it you crazy euro hip hoppers.
This guy has burned off more talent being a white-hot fire of wordplay, passion & outrage. The astonishing reminder that cops used to just bust heads for listening to music and/or being an ethnic or sexual minority is delivered with a fury that you don’t hear much anymore.
It’s like they have a fetish for killing dinosaurs and very colorful birds”
The words & emotion flow like a fire hose, reminding me of my earliest GA shows and my fear of being caught outside CBGBs without too many friends. In case he seems familiar, he did a love poem as well that went viral a little while back. Super talented and I will always say “Fuck Yea Punk Rock.”
The mark of a potent artist is one that not only generates original work, but seeds remixes all over the world. London Grammar has been killing it in that department with remixes from Arty, Bonobo & a dozen more found in even the most casual search. Tonight, I bring you a chilled out, tribal drum featuring remix of “Darling Are You Gonna Leave Me.” LCAW slows it down and gives the melancholy vocals a halo effect that’s hard to forget. Wind down and remember, you made it to Friday. Check out LCAW & see London Grammar if you ever have the chance.
While the elders will always command the most respect, every year the producers get younger and younger. Porter Robinson, Madeon and Mr. Garrix all got their start before they could drink in the USA, but the kids I’ve got for you today haven’t even graduated high school. Just in case you were feeling like you’d accomplished a lot with your life.
First up, on a tip from EDMTunes, Tronxslyde drops some serious multi-barrel electro. There’s some chip, there’s some euphoric (I didn’t know there could be euphoric electro) and a heavy dose of “when did Madeon release a new track?” There’s so much quality here, and he’s 14. Fourteen. Like, I don’t even think I knew what music was at 14, and this kid’s dropping bompin’ electro. Amazing, and it’s a Free Download.
Just A Gent has been making major waves down under over the last few months, churning out remix after quality remix. This tune has seen daily rotation on my commute and it makes the subway less dismal. Which is a feat, as us Gothamites know. The upbeat remix of the American Authors track is not to be missed, especially as this 16 year old is going to start getting a lot of attention.
Zaxx’s new tune “Annihilate” is about as brutal as the title implies. There’s a big room anthem sound here that can’t be ignored. This is the sound most people try and get by red-lining their shit and failing hard. Never heard of this 16year old but I won’t soon forget the name I don’t think. Drop this on your friends during fist-pump sets.
Another 16 year old, this time a classically trained pianist & cellist, White Raver Rafting tipped me off to this remix of M83’s offering to the Divergent soundtrack. The soundtrack is surprisingly electronic, and Miller Guth does the original & M83 proud. The progressive build is fantastic & the break is exactly what you’re going to hear at every festival this summer, except a little more pretty and a little less Animals’y. There’s a sparkly nature to it that I can
The elder in the group clocks in at 17, and has an astonishing command of a DAW. The production value on this ambient chillwave/future garage is staggering. The talent is serious and there’s a competence with syncopation that we don’t see from producers of any age, much someone who should by all rights still be goofing off in band class. Someone needs to snatch this kid up and make sure he doesn’t turn into the UK Garage version of Bieber.
Terry Gotham 
