Hip-Hop | YONAS – Lights (Remix)
Posted by Grubeats on December 18, 2012
By now, we know one thing for sure; YONAS’ remix game is always on 100. While his most recent single, “Thought I Told You“, was 100% original, the Brooklyn native was feeling generous and deciding to dish out a freebie a week prior to Christmas Eve. If you ever dreamt of raw lyrics over Ellie Goulding’s “Lights”, look no further. Even Kris Kringle is bobbing to this one.
“I’m the bridge, I’m the bridge, if you think there’s still a gap, between that hardcore EDM and this hip-hop thing called rap”
Dubstep | Ellie Goulding – Figure 8 (Xilent Remix)
Posted by Sev on December 17, 2012
It seems as though Xilent is back and in full force. This remix is probably one of his best, if not his best remix to date. This remix is everything you want in a track. It’s heavy on the bass, amazing female vocals, great melodies, just to cover a few points. Xilent nailed every aspect of the track and if you don’t believe me either listen to this on your speakers or at a show. Starting off with a slow intro alongside some pads, it sets a nice deep mood, but the drop is just crazy in so many aspects. Not to mention those great kick and snare’s that set the stage for the track. This remix goes in the must have Ellie Goulding remixes category for me.
Dubstep | Ellie Goulding – Figure 8 (Feature Cuts Remix)
Posted by Jess on December 4, 2012
Hot off his charting Beatport debut “Rage Values”, Feature Cuts is back with a brand new remix of Ellie Goulding’s “Figure 8”, one of my favorite songs off her Halcyon album. Combining the Ellie’s beauty and power of her vocals on the track with his own equally powerful production, this remix ranks up there as one of my favorite remixes done of her (and there have been many). Read what Feature Cuts had to say about the track and grab the free download below.
“Ellie Goulding has an amazing voice, and the lyrics of this track really meant something when I first heard the original. As always I’ve tried my best to create a mental journey that is custom to the listener. I hope you enjoy the contrast of beauty and raw power mixed together.” – Feature Cuts
Free Download: Ellie Goulding – Figure 8 (Feature Cuts Remix)
Videos | EDM Video Round-Up – Oct/Nov 2012
Posted by Spice on November 8, 2012
Another day, another batch of bizarre and perplexing music videos, conceived of by our favorite producers and set to the tunes of the moment. Music videos are an inherently bizarre and perplexing medium, to be honest. But they are, for better or for worse, a medium that endures. Just as Britney Spears once restored the true balance between divine masculine and feminine on Pop Up Video, so will SKisM, Skrillex, Cazzette, and a host of others negotiate the dizzying boundaries between art and life, self and other, creation and destruction.
God help us.
Albums, Electronic, Pop | Ellie Goulding – Halcyon (Album Review)
Posted by Spice on October 9, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VjPABmvlfY
Over the past three years, Ellie Goulding has achieved an extraordinary level of fame and recognition, even as she has maintained a foothold outside of the full-bore pop mainstream. Sure, it’s basically impossible to listen top 40 radio these days without hearing the synthy intro to the belatedly popular “Lights,” but there remains something sufficiently quirky and offbeat about Ellie — her distinctively elfin timber, perhaps, or her often dark arrangements, or her affinity for unlikely (but uncanny) melodies, or the fact that she’s the undisputed remix darling of the underground. In other words, she’s managed to steer clear of Carly Rae territory, even as she has built an increasingly high profile for herself.
In Halcyon, the British songstress may be playing for the now-considerable audience who will purchase her material by default, but it is clear that the album is first and foremost the fulfillment of an intensely personal and specific vision. Accordingly, there are moments of sheer, sparkling brilliance — and also a few misfires. The overall vibe is haunting, gothic, and at times ragged, ranging from heavy and driving to delicate and stripped down, but never do we lose sight of the looming emotional matter that served as Ellie’s inspiration. And this is where the album falters — certain tracks simply begin to feel roundabout or redundant, especially as we move through the ballad-heavy second half, where Halcyon starts to seem like a synthed-up 21 with slightly less lyrical depth.
But when Ellie shines, she truly shines. The jangly (if rather abstruse) “Anything Could Happen,” released well in advance of the album, is a fresh and unlikely anthem. “My Blood” is a bona fide showstopper — Ellie’s birdlike voice is simultaneously fragile and powerful, undergirded by a thumping bassline and carrying us through a terrifically stratospheric chorus that will give just about any music fan chills. The dubsteppy “Figure 8,” produced by recent OWSLA signees MONSTA, exists at the catchiest possible intersection of electronic music and pop. The ethereal and slightly more upbeat “Atlantis” is beautifully (and eerily) arranged. And Calvin Harris brings his user-friendly dance cred to “I Need Your Love,” coming soon to every single fratty bar near you. In all, Ellie may have moved in a more self consciously artistic direction on Halcyon, but her ability to weave catchy, interesting melodies with lush electronic arrangements is as on display as ever.
Rating: 3.5/5
Note: Bonus track “Stay Awake,” produced by Madeon, is only available on physical editions purchased at Tesco in the UK. Check it out here.
iTunes: Ellie Goulding – Halcyon
Albums, Review | Zedd – Clarity (Album Review)
Posted by Middy on October 2, 2012
German Anton Zaslavski, better known to the music world as Zedd has started off this October flush with album releases with his debut 10 track album “Clarity”. Zedd has been hailed as one the big innovators of complextro and creating his own unique niche within the EDM scene. With this album we see him depart from that a bit and move to what we had seen in the infallible June release “Spectrum” with Matthew Koma. The album features two tracks that we are already familiar with, “Spectrum” and “Shave It”, which we will see its grinding synth line in other tracks on the album including, fittingly “Stache”, “Epos” and vaguely in the opening track “Hourglass”. Artist albums recently have become a place to showcase new and old singles with additional tracks that have a tendency to not be as good as the singles. Zedd breaks that trend and keeps keeps much of his best work for the grand finale with 80% of the album being totally new and only “Shave It” being “old”.
The album is ripe with high profile vocalists from One Reupblic’s Ryan Tedder, known in the Dance Music community for his work on “Calling (Lose My Mind)”, Ellie Goulding (no doubt Skrillex hooked that up), Heather Bright who has worked with Laidback Luke and Savoy. The high proportion of vocalists is a marked and welcome change in Zedd’s sound, as it gives some of the more melodic tracks on the album more texture and a more balanced sound. “Lost At Sea” with Ryan Tedder combines Daft Punk influences with an infectious, uplifting melody and a euphoric topline, carried by Ryan Tedder and aided by a rising piano motif. The next track “Clarity” featuring the Foxes on vocals and Porter Robinson & Matthew Koma aiding in the writing, fits perfectly as the title track, taking the gorgeous melody and layering it over a subtle grinding synth line gives us the hint of we have always known from Zedd. Look for these two to become hits.
Dubstep | Ellie Goulding – Hanging On (Sound Remedy Remix)
Posted by Sev on August 7, 2012
I’m a little late on getting this post up, but nevertheless this remix is too incredible to not post. This is my first encounter with one of Sound Remedy’s tracks and I have to say that now I have high standards for this artist after hearing this. The intro has a nice soothing sound too it with it’s nice melody. It is crazy how all of Ellie Goulding’s tracks can be turned into a dubstep masterpiece and this track is surely that for her track Hanging On. Nothing short of perfection on this track. The unique sounding drop and well use of vocal accompaniment is what grabbed my attention the most on this remix.