A friend of mine turned me on to this track and I am so thankful. This is the type of crossover work I can respect, even though I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of either end of this collab. This heavy pop electro smacks of where a lot of that crowd that used to listen to Simple Plan or Sum 41 needs to be hearing these days. With Blink182 being essentially classic rock these days, the “fuck your ideology & aesthetic” streak within us needs to go somewhere. I’m a big fan of Fall Out Boy’s choices here, and the anthem break at 2:31 makes me really curious to see what a dance floor hearing this would do. I kind of want to see moshing ravers.
Monthly Archives: October 2014
Let The Week of Rameses B Begin!
This week, I decided to celebrate one of my very favorite producers, Rameses B. This modern-day master of all things production & sonic. This tune was pushed out today, but I’m going to be spending some time going back through his discography, and posting my favorite tunes of his. This track is quintessential Rameses B. A lush soundscape, tugging on the heartstrings with soothing vocals, B knows exactly what he’s doing, and every sound in this tune is exactly where it needs to be. The broken beats that show up 50 seconds in, pull you into a delightful, minimal liquid drum & bass track. For everyone who doesn’t know, thems be my jams. Check this thing out, and make sure to show the guy some love on YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook & Twitter. If there is any indie, underground artist that deserves your support, it’s this guy.
And yes, check back tomorrow for my next Rameses B feature!
DVS Is Back. Rejoice & Be Glad.
Thankfully, DVS blessed Noisey & the wider intertrons with another track, one starting with what is now my favorite sample usage of all time. Can we get a compilation of tracks just with Who Framed Roger Rabbit quotes? I feel like Toon Town + DVS & his peeps like Lakutis, Big Baby Gandhi & Kool A.D. would officially win the rap game forever. Until then, check the positively irrepressible flow of DVS and hit up his royally hilarious Twitter. Trust. The dude can beat you with words both in rhyming and in under 144 characters. Recognize.
Midnight Music: MØ – Don’t Wanna Dance (Phazz Edition) [Melancholy Future Bass]
This reworking of some Lana Del Rey-style vocals out of MØ by Phazz is freaking great. This is the kind of indie + bass collaborative efforts that I think the ears of Americans should be hearing. The vocal modulations mesh with the lush, bassy soundscape perfectly. This tune has a lot to teach indie artists about arrangement & element usage. Choosing the dozen synthy effects in this track must have been difficult, but the decisions were spot in. Check out Phazz‘s stuff and the artist with the character I can’t type.
Mix Of The Week: Shifty Rhythms’ GRIMECRAFT Guest Mix [Chip Trap & 16-bit UK Bass]
Got a message about this from a dope DJ friend in Philly and I can’t deal with how good this mix is. This swagger-filled fusion of vgm, chiptunes, trap, hip hop, UK bass & whatever he decides to throw in needs to be heard by as many of my Nintendo generation as possible. This 37min mix has tunes from Ryan Hemsworth, AOBeats, ABSRDST, a sweet bunch of mashups and so many VG samples you’d think you were playing Smash Brothers at a Mad Decent party. Which, totally needs to happen now. Because I would DEFINITELY PAY CASH MONEY to play Smash Brothers on 3DS’s with heads that are kicking back and taking in a Mad Decent show. Check out more of GRIMECRAFT’s stuff here, and kudos for DJ Cutman for bringing this dude to a party in Illadelphia recently. Wouldn’t have heard of him otherwise, so respect.
Ryoji Ikeda Will Be Messing With Times Square Just Before Midnight All October.
So, apologies for the lateness of this post, as I had no idea. It seems ambient producer & artist Ryoji Ikeda has been dropping test patterns, images & sound every night in Times Square. He takes control of all of the billboards for 3 minutes a night, removing all the ads & putting minimal, ambient & IDM with visuals to match, from 11:57 to 12 midnight every night. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a visual artist taking over all of the screens in Times Square, but now I REALLY want to see what that control station looks like. That must be a crazy set up. Check out some of Ikeda’s stuff below, if you’re into this kind of thing. If you happen to be in Times Square at 11:30, maybe hang out for 27 minutes to check this out before it ends Oct. 31st. (via Stoney Roads. Which, to learn about something cool in Times Square from an Australian music blog is just a sad proof of the times we live in.)
NBOMe, TomorrowWorld, Woodstock And Honesty.
I believe, if left unchecked, NBOMe will damage the dance music scene on a scale that hasn’t been seen since the RAVE Act. I’ve been doing some research for the last several months, and this issue has continued to crop up. 25i, NBOMe or N-Bomb, as it’s called, has been repeatedly showing up at festivals and parties on the East Coast. At this point, NBOMe has killed more Americans than Ebola. I don’t mean to be glib, but there just in the last month there are NBOMe associated deaths reported in Boca, Boston & Mankato, Minnesota. There’s also been reports of people using/dying in Australia, but of more concern to our domestic festival attendees, TomorrowWorld may have had some of this stuff as well.
Something happened at TomorrowWorld that I think illustrates really the central issue that American festival culture needs to confront. This is a market demand issue at its core, but threads into every aspect of both festival & club culture. I was told by some people working at TomorrowWorld that rumors were going around kids needed medical transport around the time a “bad batch of LSD” seemed to hit the festival. Apparently 6 medical transports were needed to take care of people, and they had similar symptoms. This smacks of kids being sold NBOMe that’s being passed off as LSD. TomorrowWorld takes safety very seriously, but it’s very hard to prevent this kind of thing. To stress, there were no deaths, but people needed attention, because of greed & dishonesty. This isn’t even a new phenomenon. There are documented calls of “do not eat the brown acid” at Woodstock. And if you don’t believe me HERE IS THE AUDIO. 50 years later, and we’re still fighting the same fight. I think this can only be dealt with doing two things.
Someone Mashed UP Sia’s Chandelier with Star Wars. It’s Amazing.
Teddie Films thought about what would’ve happened after Captain Solo was frozen in carbonite, on the off chance Chewie took Han’s direction of “take care of Leia” a little too literally. The video is a fun, nerdy romp that will definitely put a smirk on your face. Especially after you see a random Asian dude trying to rock the Leia Cinnabon haircut. Can’t wait to see if the Leia/Chewie pair of costumes get some attention because of this. Happy Friday y’all! (Happy Saturday to Australia & Hong Kong, where it’s almost tomorrow already!)
E.A.S.Y. Blows Minds! Enferno & Shiftee Drop Crazy Live Mix Of Turn Down To Death!
From now on, any time someone wants to whine about DJs don’t make music and EDM isn’t “real” I’m just going to push this video into their face. ENFERNO & Shiftee are some of the best live performers I’ve ever seen. The reworking of “Turn Down To Death” (that SNL Digital Short lampooning Avicii & big room house from a few months ago) is exactly what I need to shut down the whole “it’s not real music” argument with extreme prejudice. The technical skill & perfect execution by the two of them is proof of what can be done by DJs that don’t just “press play” (to quote the illustrious deadmau5). This video is a must watch and make sure to check out ENFERNO & Shiftee’s other work.
Ten Questions With Terry Gotham: Scott Bond
(I think I squealed a little too loudly about how much I loved Scott Bond’s tracks & remixes because I’m super honored to present my interview with the Trance General, Scott Bond.)
1. What motivated you to start a new label called RΞBOOTΞD? Any specific experiences or feelings? Or just one too many big room tracks?
RΞBOOTΞD is about a return to the true, authentic nature of Trance music. I coined the name RΞBOOTΞD as I believe that it can best be defined as the act of starting over and rediscovery with the ultimate goal to surpass all perceived benchmarks or expectations. To me, authentic Trance music is very often mistaken for edm, house, big room, electro etc. and I want people to understand and appreciate that a distinction does clearly exist. Our releases will be positioned at the forefront of dance music culture and set clear, defined targets of where Trance, as a genre is at now and where it wants to be
Starting up a record label was a central part of the plan, it’s a brand for a track, a remix, an album, an event and a record label – but also a direction that we can all choose to follow. We demand consistently high standards by showcasing original artist material and content with a priority on total quality above quantity. So, in other words, we don’t want to release 1000’s of sub-standard tracks and ideally look to sign whatever packs and erupts the dance-floor with only one prerequisite, it has to be proper Trance music!
Terry Gotham 