Compilation | Dshaq’s Top Tracks of 2013
Posted by dshaq on January 6, 2014
2013 came to an end with a lot of great music being produced in the second half of the year, where most of my focus was with a lot of my tracks for the list. Being the very indecisive person I am, I decided to create more of a playlist of downloadable/non-downloadable tracks. With a wide variety of tracks in the playlist, I think it covers some of the brightest up and coming stars in each respective genre mixed with Portugal. The Man, who’s Evil Friends album was my personal choice of best album of the year. Besides the indie/alternative band, my focus for my list was with the two Chicago rappers that I have watched blow up over the past year in Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa. Besides the two young SaveMoney stars, I began dabbling with the new and bountiful amounts of Australian producers making a name for themselves, with Flume at the forefront of that. A hard to describe genre that combines so many different complex and interesting sounds that mesh together beautifully is pretty much my best attempt at describing it. Wave Racer has to take my favorite artist of 2013 with almost every single one of his remixes and original productions getting constant playtime on my iTunes. Be on the lookout for a new What’s in Dshaq’s tape deck soon. Cheers to 2013 and hope everyone has a great 2014.
Compilation, Featured | Mach’s Top 10 Free Downloads & Top 10 Purchases of 2013
Posted by Mach on January 2, 2014
2013 was an interesting year to say the least for music. Trap rose up faster than many of us expected, EDM is now a huge part of mainstream music, and the festival scene rules the industry and the interwebz. My favorite things to come out of 2013 are the ever growing R&B sub-genres that have made the bedroom much more seductive than usual and the up and coming blend of Drum & Bass and Glitch-Hop, called Neuro-Hop that provides a funky kick to your usual bass music. This year has been filled with disappoints as well, the festival scene has led to much more repetitive productions leaving one to wonder if people actually pay attention to the music anymore. Dubstep seems to no longer be about the progression, but more about how many different bass sounds one can fit into the drop. Music is still and will always be a fan driven industry, and it’s evolution will always vary year by year.
As I have done in previous years, my top 10 consists of two lists. A top 10 of free music and a top 10 of purchased music. This post also marks my retirement and is the last one I will write. I have been a member of FNT for three years now. In that time I have learned a lot about music that I have had the privilege of teaching and passing on to others. I am sad to leave, but am excited for the new chapters of my life in the industry. I would like to thank FNT for the opportunities I have had and for the friends I have made because of it. More importantly I would like to thank the artists who make the music I have fallen in love with and you, the fans that have continued to fuel my love of music. Let’s begin.
Chill, Compilation, Electronic | WallflowerFood Recordings Vol. 1 | A Warm Winter Chill
Posted by mimada on December 30, 2013
Having trouble getting up and back into the daily grind this morning? Or maybe you’re still recovering from the weekend and mentally preparing yourself for the last party of the year. Regardless, the folks over at WallflowerFood Recordings are all about those feel good vibes and know just the type of jam you need to boost your mood. This compilation features some laid back electronic tracks that will give you peace of mind during this calm before the storm. Personally speaking, I’m stuck on the HighFadility tracks but all are great and available for free download via WallflowerFood’s Facebook page so dive in below.
FREE DOWNLOAD: WallflowerFood Recordings Vol. 1 | A Warm Winter Chill
Bass, Chill, Compilation, Electronic | Insight Music Promotions – Insight Vol. 3
Posted by BP on December 5, 2013
Insight brings forth a treasure chest of gems on this compilation that is sure to keep you captivated all the way through. It’s calm, eerie and has a cool ambient atmosphere of mystery and deep thought. Some noteworthy tracks for W8 are 2,7, and 13. I’d add 4 to that list as well, but they are all worth a listen! It’s free to download if you’re into it.
Insight Music Promotions
Free Download: Insight Music Promotions – Insight Vol. 3
Albums, Compilation | EDM: Every Day Matters Compilation
Posted by BP on November 9, 2013
The Every Day Matters Compilation is truly amazing. It is a 78 track compilation – that’s right, 78 – with all the proceeds going to charity. The charity being supported is SportRelief, which provides shelter to young people living on the streets and who are victims of domestic abuse in the UK. Worldwide they help with giving education, fresh water, and life-saving vaccines to people. Even though there is such a large volume of tracks, the quality is not sacrificed and it hits multiple genres. Many well known artists are on it, including Rameses B, Arkasia, Droptek, Felxprod, RoughMath, Feint, TwoThirds, Televisor, T-Mass, Varien, PhaseOne, SirensCeol, PrototypeRaptor, Veela, NCT, Biometrix, Bustre, Muzzy, Subformat, Insan3lik3, Dexcell, Karanda, Elliot Berger, Direct and many more! Some of my favorites tracks besides the ones posted below are the tracks by Neutralize, Soundnet, and Arkasia. But seriously, they are all really great tracks and although the compilation is $16 USD, (£9.99 GPD), you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. If you want to learn more, you can check out the promo video for the compilation here.
Bandcamp: EDM: Every Day Matters Compilation
Here are some of the tracks on the compilation that I really enjoyed:
Chill, Compilation, Indie | Teen Daze – Lost Songs (30 track compilation)
Posted by Mel on June 30, 2013
I am well aware that progressive house has become generic, overplayed, mainstream, and incredibly formulaic (also stupid and fat), but I still love it. With that said, I also really enjoy slower, chill sounds. Songs that you can play while knitting a sweater for your grandmother or even just while you stand at the stove stirring that damn macaroni and cheese for 8 minutes. Songs like these are very different from house. They also aren’t as mass produced and oversaturated as house is. It is for these reasons that I was very pleased to find Fraser Valley native, Teen Daze giving away 30 of his unfinished, or “lost” songs for free. I have listened to all 30 and, for the most part, they’re all great. I will say though, I’d go with “Lost Songs 3” as my favorite compilation. The download links to the three compilations are below as well as arguably the top songs from each respective pack on Soundcloud, just to give you a taste. If the redundancy of whatever your preferred genre provides has got you looking for a breath of fresh air then this is it.
Lost Songs 1 ||| Lost Songs 2 ||| Lost Songs 3
Compilation | What’s In Dshaq’s Tape Deck vol. 3
Posted by dshaq on April 24, 2013
After a brief hiatus, I’m back and ready to give you some tunes guaranteed to make you feel giddy inside. Instead of my regular hip-hop posts, I’m broadening my horizons with this volume including some electronic artists and other various genres. Prepare yourselves.
1) Cherub
Luckily I was able to see Cherub last weekend and they blew me away. Their synthy pop sound gives off an state of ecstasy that is guaranteed to get you grooving and bopping your head. Cherub hails from Nashville and has actually been around for a little bit, but has failed to receive the praise they deserve. Their Doses and Mimosas video (which is my favorite track by them), has over 600,000 views on youtube and I definitely see them blowing up very soon. Check out the video below and check out their Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud pages below.