Category Archives: Of

Playlist Of The Weekend: Origami Sound All-Stars Vol. 2

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Origami Sound - All-Stars Vol. 2

Origami Sound is this dope collective of artists and labels dedicated to quality releases you don’t get on the standard EDM blogs. Dark Clover Records, Origami & many others come together to support amazing releases and projects from artists all over the globe. This release is no exception, with quality oozing from every speaker in my house while I listened.

The Synkro remix of Borealis is a massive track that needs to get as much exposure as possible. While I’ve spoken about Borealis before, this is one of those ethereal, garage tracks that is everything I think future bass can be. The soft padded bassline pushes through the heavily reverbed vox perfectly. This is a must-listen track, and a great way to kick off the release. Ilya Wazuhiru (who is plenty an artist, his Soundcloud description be damned) follows that with some cyber-Bjork-infused bass that ebbs & flows along, keeping the foggy, but gorgeous production going.

Naono’s Abandoned mix of Soun by Averos is some moody bass that deepens the vibe the compilation puts forth delightfully, with quality guitar work & heavily modified vocals. Madelin combines some dope bass guitar & soulful vocals into a dark, but emotional track that stands on its own, pulling in a great indie sound that is definitely welcome on the compilation. Parade by Dusty Corners is a bassy, stutter-step track that fuses future garage beats with a deep house feel that I can’t wait to hear more out on the dance floor late at night.

Miajica lays down a vibrant, funky, tune that makes me sad Stevie Wonder isn’t in the room to remix it. This is a classic feel that gets everything right and almost seems out of place in a somewhat more maudlin album. Aebeloe’s “Manon” is an interesting, IDM-infused sandy house piece that glides along effortlessly.  Altrice gets the name of their track exactly right with Stillness Ennui. The shifting bass work combined with soaring chords give it a Sigur Rios vibe, that shudders to life 60% into the tune, demanding your attention.

Kitkaliitto stuns with the final track on the album. The smooth bass pads melting into the classical guitar and ambient sounds, create almost a “Snow in Kyoto” feeling, but it’s even better than that. This kind of work is what I believe needs to replace so many genres of music that are used for mundane activities in life. This needs to be on the soundtrack to my life, as I’d imagine NYC would be way more serene if I could hear something like this instead of some hipsters arguing about Uniqlo on the L train. I’m re-posting it here just in case you didn’t make it to the end of the playlist. This is a dope compilation, and I can’t wait for Origami Sound to kick ass & take names in 2015.

Midnight Music: Danny Stubbs ft. Issa – Voices In The Dark (Remix By Scott Bond)

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Danny Stubbs ft. Issa - Voices In The Dark

I had to break up the Drum & Bass streak when I found this in my inbox. Scott Bond continues his hotstreak, pushing out a hard remix of Voices In The Dark, off of the REBOOTED label. This is my kind of trance, with Armin agreeing, dropping it on ASOT690.

The remix pack is delightful, with some quality work being done by Magnus. This smoother re-working of Danny Stubb’s fantastic original work got some love the next week on ASOT. This dreamier, softer, but still intense remix has a gorgeous build around 1:40, and it’s those types of chords I really think need to come back into trance. It’s a sound that flirts with psy, and will keep everyone on their feet.

The package, with the original & 4 remixes drops on Jan 19th, so rock it when it shows up on Beatport eh? It’s going to be a big one in trance sets for 2015, so don’t sleep on it. Especially these two remixes.

The Prodigy’s New Album Was The Best News of 2014. Here’s Why.

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(This is a repost of my EDMTunes feature article about The Prodigy. Show them some love for giving me the platform to write about talent that either no one’s heard of yet, or no one cares about anymore. Here’s to hoping I’m right and The Prodigy remind everyone in 2015 why they’re the best at what they do. The Wolverine of the Main Stage as it were.)
The Prodigy 2014 - EDMTunes - Terry GothamWe’re at the precipice of another major shift in EDM. No, it’s not big room finally dying, or progressive house returning to center stage. It’s a little more base, a little more primal than that. The Prodigy are releasing a new album, and with it, an entire industry will pivot, as they say it will “wipe the floor with dance djs.” It’s easy to forget how crucial The Prodigy is to American EDM. Whether they’re headlining Lollapalooza (1997), Coachella (back in 2002) or being one of the biggest acts to play Ultra Music Festival twice (2006 & 2009), all the way back when it was only a 1 Day/weekend festival, most DJs you hear today draw inspiration in one way or another to The Prodigy.

In case you need a refresher, The Prodigy was formed by Liam Howlett in 1990. Maxim & Keith Flint are two of the more visible faces of the group (the two guys yelling and having crazy body modification in every video). This group was one of the ones there, pretty much at the beginning. To note, MDMA had been illegal for less than 15 years when this group showed up on the burgeoning UK open air & warehouse rave scene. They pioneered a sound called “big beat” which is the genre you’re thinking of when you think of The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers & even The Crystal Method. This hard-hitting, aggressive & at times, terrifying (especially if you lived in the UK/US suburbs) sound was essentially the brostep of the 90’s. This sound, roughly approximating the halfway point between a rave and a soccer riot, took the UK by storm. This early work didn’t make it over the pond, but as they got bigger, they moved decidedly toward the soccer riot end of the music spectrum.

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Two Daft Punk Remixes Worthy Of The Name.

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It’s rare that I find a Daft Punk remix that stands. Daft Punk really does amazing work, so it’s really hard to remix their tracks and come up with anything better than the original. In addition to that, their rabid fan-base will obliterate any sub-par or disrespectful attempts. However, I have been lucky enough to stumble across a couple of remixes that even I cannot deny are legit. Interestingly, they’re both remixes of Voyager, one of the most underrated tracks not only on Discovery but of their entire library of work (in my opinion /hipster).

The first, a remix by someone only known as Revolte, starts out like you think it will disappoint you, but then adds enough crunchy electro, confident organic synth work & massively Daft-sounding auto-tuning to earn the full listen. I have no idea where to find anything else by this artist, so all I can do is enjoy the interludes and hope they yell at me through the internet.

Thankfully, I was able to track down the artist behind the second remix. Domenico Torti’s Wild Style edit features the best beat-remixing work I’ve heard from anyone who has attempted to use Daft Punk source material. Period. This is incredible, and borders on DMC championship level turntablism. The remix lets you breathe, pulling you back into familiar territory, then plays with you for the rest of the time. It’s a hip, upbeat, sophisticated remix that I expect to see attractive people drinking & wearing expensive things dancing to. In that “this is too well tailored, I really not trying to move” way. Dope vibe, so kudos, to both of our remixers, and will the first one please show themselves so I can thank you for being dope?

Mix Of The Weekend: Slow Magic’s Best Of 2014 [Future Bass/Chicago Footwork]

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Slow Magic - 2014 Year End MixThis is a good one y’all, but it may be a bit too future for some of you. I promised I’d spend 2015 finding even less retail & more underground music than I have in the last year or so, so this is me taking a big chomp out of the new year. Slow Magic has been on that massive yet chilled tip for a while now, with his year end mix not disappointing. Dope shit from Yung Lean & Yung Gud, an almost baroque bass tune from Photay and some amazing work by Tielsie. This French footwork artist is blowing my spot up and I’ll be yammering about them later in the week. The mix finishes out with a premiere of a new DJ Clap remix, with the whole thing being a Free Download. So seriously, what else do you want to kick your January in the right direction?

Tracklist:
Slow Magic – Closer (Eest Coast Remix)
Lockah – Platinum Blonde
Photay – No Sass
Doja Cat – So High (Kodak To Graph Remix)
Yung Lean – Yoshi City
Yung Gud – My Guns
Moon Bounce – Shake
Tielsie – Hueboy / Pallette
Daktyl – Stay
Flying Lotus – Flotus
Spooky Black – Without U
Slow Magic – Girls (DJ Clap Remix) Premiere *

Mix Of The Week: Bixel Boys – F/W Mixtape [Heartache Bass]

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BIXEL BOYSThis week, I’m bringing out this melancholy gorgeousness issued forth by BIXEL BOYS. These guys have been all over the place in 2014, and for this mix they brought things down a little bit. This mix has a lot of chillstep, garage, downtempo, moody breaks and interludes of people sucking at love, which matches the feel completely. There is no track list, so the tunes will remain largely a secret, but I’m hoping I start hearing them elsewhere. I love misty, cold rain mixes like this. In so much EDM there’s this saccharine exposition of love, unity, hope and positivity. That’s not really the case for a lot of people in the scene, and these kinds of vibes, like what Ta-ku does as well, really need some more support. Sometimes we’re in a place where something like this is needed. The hashtag of #Feels is totally on point, and this free download is definitely something that you should grab. This is going on my phone and may not leave. Not all of us get good news during the holidays, so for anyone out there who is hard up this week, this is here for you.

Mix Of The Weekend: Karmakanik – Live @ Sequence [Tech/Electro/Prog House]

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I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. DJ Karmakanik is one of the first DJs who ever really just exploded my face. I’m talking like, that kind of night that takes you on a journey that you’re not the same afterwards. One of the mystical forces behind the fabled PSI events in the Pine Barrens forests, this guy knows exactly what he’s doing. I know times have changed because he is in my mind, a psytrance DJ of legendary proportions, and I just spent the last hour grooving to a dope selection of electro, progressive & tech house. The track selection is impressive & I am definitely hoping this kind of musical output becomes a regular thing. And he wants to drop some 6 am psytrance as well, I certainly won’t complain. Picture is from BM 2006, you know it’s a good party when Jesus spins psy-trance. Tracklist below the tunes because he’s a gentleman like that, and it’s a Free Download to boot. He literally couldn’t give you anymore, so show him some love.

dataworx – flight 1605 (manuel de le mare intro rmx)
mason – exceeder (umek and mike vale rmx)
andrea bertolini and motel connection – allegro
weekend heroes – killer bitch dj dealer
alter breed – panther
ido ophir and miki litvak – shnorkel (dousk rmx)
piatto and luigi rocca – higher feeling
umek – cvile mi jaja
phunk investigation – u know
shiloh – cafe del mariachi
perfect stranger and captain hook – perfect hook (riktam and bansi rmx)
easy riders – easy dubsteps (captain hook rmx)
sideform – personal jesus (rmx)

Mix Of The Weekend: Sunshine Forecast #10 Music For The Streets

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Tommie Sunshine - Sunshine Forecast #10In case you’ve been on the moon, there’s been some shit going down in my city the last week. People made the decision to not indict a cop for chokeholding an asthmatic, obese black father of six to death. This has resulted in demonstrations, protests & non-violent civil actions all over the city. Tommie Sunshine has been a consistent source of news from the streets, because, he’s actually out there protesting with his fans. His 10th edition of his podcast is heavier than normal, mirroring the mood of the streets. Pushing the heaviest of releases out is a strong statement, one that’s hard to execute. He does so, in an almost menacingly competent way. There’s a strong reminder that not all the performers out there forgot that dance music used to be counter-culture, and a place for those pursued by the various authorities. They end with a mini-mix of tracks off their Brooklyn Fire label, another facet of the city he supports. Consistency is important y’all. After this rocks your face & causes gratuitous fist pumping and possible shame, Mr. Sunshine also released a chill Elvis remix with Wuki this week. When he told me he was going to be busy, he wasn’t kidding.

A Brief History Of Trance (2014 Edition)

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(This is a repost/expansion of a post I did last year at EDMTunes. Give them some love & help me thank them for giving me the opportunity to yell in long form on the internet about music people don’t listen to anymore)

As fans of Armin Van Buuren, Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, Ferry Corsten and others can tell you, Trance has been around, but it’s been a while since it’s been at the forefront of the dance music consciousness. But how long has it been around for, and how did it get here? I’d like to take you on a brief trip, from Trance’s humble beginnings, through its boom around the millenium & all the way up to New Years 2014.

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Mix Of The Week: Le-Saint-T – Mixtape Afterwork Electro Posé x Le Saint T x TEEMID

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Mixtape Afterwork Electro Posé x Le Saint T x TEEMIDIn the first 30 seconds, I knew this mix was special. This hour of sexy, deep house from Le-Saint-T the Electro Pose in France shows why you really can’t fuck with the French when it comes this kind of vibe. This mix is quality start to finish, and this Le-Saint-T is now officially on my radar. The mix keeps the pregaming energies up, and would provide a hot & alluring soundtrack to a hotel room micro party in case you’re into that sort of thing. The vibe coming from Timberlake, Thicke & Barkley remixes melds with a dash or two of tropical, a heavy dollop of deep & a whole lot of positivity. TEEMID is featured and does some fantastic work here. This is such a fantastic mix and the tracklist is below, in case you want to do what I did and go listen to each one of these separately after.

Crazy (TEEMID Intro) – Gnarls Barkley
Alicia – Darius
Rock your body (Notize Edition) – Justin Timberlake
Groovejet (Andrey Exx & Fomichev Remix) – Lissat & Voltaxx vs Marc Fisher
What – Fabich & Ferdinand Weber
Perlenklang (Original Mix) – Sonnentänzer feat. Novocaine
Boy Boy Boy – Andhim
Little Bird (Original Mix) – Lexer
Alive (Gold Fields Remix) – Empire of the Sun
The Fear (Matt Elation Cut) – Marcapasos
Jolene (GAMPER & DADONI Remix) – Dolly Parton
Only Girl In The World (TEEMID & Makeda Purple Cover) – Rihanna
Sonoro (Original Mix) – Paji
Blurred Lines (Bee’s Knees Remix) – Robin Thicke Feat. T.I. & Pharrell Williams
TEEMID – ID