M83 is one of the most important groups in recent memory way too many EDM fans have never heard of. SAINT WKND comes through with a future bass remix of M83’s triumph Midnight City. It’s a synthetic masterpiece. The track positions SAINT WKND in a realm that only a few artists, such as MitiS, Just A Gent, & a few others have gotten to when it comes to this kind of position. This means you need to check out his mix here and start keeping your ear out for when this one starts getting booked. Because with remix chops like this, it’s just a matter of time for this German upstart.
Category Archives: Midnight Music
Midnight Music: Mr. Big – To Be With You (Mark Chill Remix) [Retro Tropical]
Mark Chill is just in time for the Northern Hemisphere Spring. Is Tropical Trap a genre yet, because that ridiculous bed squeak sample shows up for a minute. There’s a lot of great parts to this track, and I could honestly use quite a bit more of that sing-along retro style of the remix. This kind of 80’s/90’s vibe is due in for a lot of festival moments especially with it being essentially vintage at this point. While tropical may have its clock ticking, this is something that may ride the wave out nicely down under. Let the Aussie summer never end! (via Stoney Roads)
Midnight Music: Saje – Take Care Of You [French Chill]
If Tropical morphs into this I really couldn’t be more happy. My girl ravelrie tipped me off to this exceptionally chill track by Saje, a French artist of impressive skill. This is textbook lush. The guitar lines, shimmering chords & soulful vocals come together in a “sunset in the summer” kind of way. You remember summer right? That thing our parents talked about, where everything wasn’t covered in ice. Sorry, got distracted, back to the delightful Frech Chill. Not only is it fantastic, but he has original album art with his releases, which showcase dreamy work from Jacqueline Maldonado. So, total package. Get into it and enjoy!
(Bonus: ANOTHER DOPE TRACK! This one a remix of a Chris Malinchak stunner.)
Midnight Music: Amy Steele – The Wolves (KOVEN. Remix)
Super glad I got tipped off to this by an old friend. I haven’t heard triumphant melodic dubstep like this in a while. While the chilltrap & chillstep movement has powered along, my awareness of that punchy dubstep sound has dropped off. This is a severe mistake which UKF has helped rectify. The growling bass & echoing vocals are exactly what they need to be to make this vibe work in the unironic, almost triumphant way KOVEN. has been able to here. The duo have an awareness that I think deserves as much development as possible. The burbling dubstep shining against the vocals give me flashbacks to Marina & the Diamonds and Ms. Lily Allen. Get at these peeps.
Midnight Music: Vance Joy – Riptide (Kasbo Remix)
Kasbo has been on my radar for a minute now. His almost sensual understanding of trap beats is on full effect here. This Riptide remix is one of the best out there . This seeming fusion between shimmering electro, chill trap & almost chiptunes give the remix an unmistakable edge. This is Kasbo at his best. Instead of trap being used to get girls to grind, or bros to fist bump, this takes us a journey that I frankly couldn’t have taken with the original. And it’s a Free Download, so we have nothing to complain about. This is great work from an artist you’re going to be hearing a lot more of in the future. But, you know that, because, why else would I be talking about them of course? Show him some love and bomp the rest of his ish too. The Sir Rock remix is dope as well. (via This Song Is Sick, great pick up by Mr. Guarino.)
Midnight Music: Adventure Club – Wonder (Giordani Remix)
I remember when I got hooked on Adventure Club after I heard some of their earlier remixes and couldn’t get enough of their sound. It seems the circle is now complete, as I’m now finding the cream of the crop by seeing who has the chops to remix Adventure Club singles. 1:25 into this track, Giordani gets your attention and never lets it go. This half trap, half footwork, all chill re-envisioning of Wonder by the dynamic duo deserves all of the praise Fresh New Tracks & whoever else besides me found it and posted it out. There’s a serious return to un-grimey bass, while keeping the vibe and the big room feel of the original intact. Sit up & pay attention, this Canadian is gonna be on your radar by the end of festival season, you heard it here first. (via Fresh New Tracks)
Midnight Music: Mistabishi – From Memory (Matrix Remix) [Soulful Drum & Bass]
Mistabishi really can do great work when he puts his mind to it. This track from a while ago, really encapsulates what the genre of drum & bass can be. The Matrix remix of From Memory and the music video created for Hospital Records is equally good. Watching the creativity of a human drain away from them while they work their lives away have become one of the central stories of the Western world in the modern age. This video is no exception, and frankly, especially at this point, I think we need to be reminded to do it more. Especially when there are no guarantees of job security even if you play by all the rules. The idea that his mixer & system are in a box labeled “old stuff” and he’s still rocking an old CRT monitor really give the video a little bit more authentic resonance than you’d expect. The vibe here is almost hopeful, which is shocking for a UK release, I know.
Midnight Music: SoySauce ft. Joni Fatora – Broken Record [Space Bass]
My girl Michelle out at EDMTunes not only tips me off to some of the best tracks, but is consistently in my Top 5 for descriptions of tracks online. Like, check it:
SoySauce delivers an unexpectedly classy track with ‘Broken Records’, heightening a rapport from food court fried rice to high-class sashimi platter.
I mean, honestly, how good is that? She’s totally accurate. This kind of thumping chilltrap could’ve been totally phoned in, warmed over and made you hungry for something real in under 30min from listening to it. However, an original use of some squelchy chords, competent pad work & legit vocals by Joni Fatora gives the track a surprising flavor. This is on the Cashmere Cat & Chet Faker end of the pool, but that side of the pool has hotter people and the ones diving in are doing sweet flips & shit. Letting that metaphor die, the track is quite good, especially in the relatively early stages of the genre they’re working in. The soft sounds mesh with the irregular beat structure in a way that’s inviting, not erratic. And as anyone who has been fucked up at a trap party can tell you, moments of regularity & warmth are precious. Go ahead, pour some SoySauce on your evening. (via Michelle Chu of EDMTunes)
Midnight Music: Unlike Pluto & KickRaux – Palace
This is the 1,000th post on this blog & I am so proud to use the opportunity to talk about Unlike Pluto. ATL-raised, he’s been training on the mean streets of the LA dance music scene, and has it ever paid off. This track is one of a kind, and Mad Decent knows it. He & KickRaux pushed the boundary of what dance music can sound like, way into territory I’m loving. The major chord progression respect, squelchy vocal samples & stunningly good production value on the trap beat is second to none. This is bordering on psychedelic, which, considering it’s a Mad Decent label tune, is astonishing. This has dharma punk written all over it. The pull back into the beat at 2:42 is everything I want to hear out of Mad Decent right now. Whoever convinced diplo to pick this tune up, I’m buying them a bottle of champagne, and none of that plastic top shit neither. Peep the track and show Unlike Pluto & KickRaux some love for this.
Midnight Music: Estiva & The Spacies – Voices (Kelvin & Lash Remix)
Hey look, people are still making stuff! So, my boy Brockelbank is killing it over at EDMTunes, especially when he’s posting tracks like this. Frankly, I don’t know where this came from but I’m not entirely sure I care. Non-tropical deep, but light house. I know that was a bunch of adjectives, but it’s kind of exactly that. It’s a driving but muted beat that seems to pull from both tropical and minimal at the same time. It’s sunny, up-beat, but there are no steel drums, no random parrot sounds and it’s still got some oomph that I can hear working on a main-stage. This is definitely going to be a sleeper track used by DJs who are on festival billings in tiny fonts. While the headliners might not be into this kind of sound, if you’re playing for a couple of hundred people, or early in the day, there’s going to be some support from the crowd I wager, and to Kelvin & Lash’s credit. These two need to start working together more often, if just because Kelvin & Lash sounds like a cool cop drama with DJs.
Terry Gotham 