Electro-House | Mike Hawkins, Henry Fong & Toby Green – Hot Steppa
Posted by Middy on October 28, 2013
Hot steppin into a big release today are Henry Fong, Mike Hawkins and Toby Green. “Hot Steppa” combines a brass-filled intro with reggae and gritty electro and a slowed down 2-step break to create this very diverse track that is constantly evolving. It has been a set opener for Knife Party for quite some time and has seen support from Hardwell, Nicky Romero, Sander van Doorn and others. Coming up for Mr Fong, he has an official remix for Zedd’s “Stay The Night”, which will be released next Monday.
Beatport: Mike Hawkins, Henry Fong & Toby Green – Hot Steppa
Electro-House, Preview | Henry Fong, Mike Hawkins & Toby Green – Hot Steppa (Preview)
Posted by Middy on October 17, 2013
Henry Fong has done several tunes with each of these two, and now it was time to bring all three DJs on the same track. The track combines elements of reggae, thumping electro house, and quick changes of bpms, making it another unique selection in the three of these producer’s growing, powerful discographies. The track has already barreled its way into the sets and radio shows of Knife Party, Hardwell, Dyro, W&W and Nicky Romero, with plenty more to come after its October 28th release on Spinnin’.
Electro-House, Review | Knife Party – Haunted House EP
Posted by Mach on May 6, 2013
A lot of people have been highly anticipating the next Knife Party release. Knife Party had stated that their “Haunted House Tour” was not related to an EP, but as you can see that’s not the case. I do like this EP, but it is further proof of how lazy the duo is when it comes to producing. My take on this EP is positive and negative, just to warn those of you who will take offense or disagreement to my opinions of each track.
“Power Glove” is a fun, hard hitting Electro-House track that I am sure is a blast in a live setting, but half the time I feel like I am listening to another VIP of “Internet Friends”. “LRAD” isn’t my style of House, I know it is a lot of fun in a big room with a good sound system, but I can’t get over how repetitious this style is. I like to be kept interested in a song, this just sounds like a track meant to please the tasteless festival attendees who are on countless drugs anyways. Speaking of an “Internet Friends VIP”, I am a bit disappointed that Knife Party included the actually VIP in this EP. I will not lie that I have been dying to get my hands on it, but seeing as “Power Glove” already sounds a bit like the original in the drop, I can’t help but think they could have picked a better original to include instead. Finally we get to the only track on the EP that actually sounds like a lot of effort and time was put into its creation. “EDM Death Machine” starts out with a kicking beat and light use in samples, it sounds like they learned from over sampling in “Internet Friends”. I love the progression Knife Party uses, my first listen was exciting, they managed to keep me on my toes the entire way through.
To those of you who are thinking “What are you talking about? This EP is amazing!” I do think it is good, amazing is a little far considering how less creative this EP feels as a whole. I would however recommend this to everyone. Knife Party has always made it their job to help you rage, even if they appear to be extremely lazy at times.
Beatport: Knife Party – Haunted House EP
Trap | DJ Snake – Bird Machine (feat. Alesia) / Together
Posted by Spice on February 22, 2013
Two huge releases in this package from French producer DJ Snake. We already previewed “Bird Machine,” a cool as hell track with Alesia that’s seen playtime from Dillon Francis, Knife Party, Flosstradamus, and Baauer. The defining feature? You guessed it — bird whistles in lieu of more traditional synth leads. This track is quite honestly going to be everywhere in about five minutes so take my advice and jump on it now. Rounding out the package is “Together,” which flirts with hardstyle before delivering a big, bouncy trap drop. The two seemingly disparate styles work surprising well together and bring serious energy. “Bird Machine” and “Together” are both out now (for free!) on Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s imprint — snag the free DL below.
Free Download: DJ Snake – Bird Machine (feat. Alesia) / Together
Trap | Stromae – Humain à l’eau (Dj Snake Remix) / DJ Snake & Alesia – Bird Machine [Preview]
Posted by Spice on February 20, 2013
And here we have some straight bombs from French producers DJ Snake and Aleisa. The above preview for “Bird Machine” notably made its way into Knife Party’s recent set in the RISE digital music festival on turntable.fm after Mixify’s servers couldn’t handle the heat, and is easily some of the best trap I’ve heard in a long time. If you’re into it and need it now, fear not; it’s set to drop tomorrow as part of a mini EP on Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s imprint. Below, we’ve got some legitimate swag for your ears that for whatever reason is made even swaggier by the fact that it’s all happening in French. Fact: the awesomeness of that drop negates the need to understand what he’s saying, anyway. Free DL; no brainer.
Albums, Compilation, Moombahton | Review: Moombahton Forever
Posted by Spice on January 22, 2013
As some of you may already know, I tend to get unreasonably fired up about moombahton. This is in part because I’m a D.C. native, like the genre itself, and in part because I like to shake my ass (and there’s nothing more conducive to ass shaking than Dutch house bouncing along at 110 bpm above a funky riddim). Happily, it would seem that I’m not alone in this regard; with moombahton-centric stages cropping up at major festivals and heavy support for the genre coming from some of electronic music’s biggest names, it’s clear that Dave Nada’s “Moombah” MacGyver job has officially taken on a life of its own.
Moombahton Forever is therefore exciting for many reasons. First, it’s a panoramic shot of the genre as it stands at this exact moment. Moombahton has evolved a fair amount since that fateful homecoming party in 2010; it’s a niche subgenre of electronic music, to be sure, but over time it has come to contain its own diverse elements. In other words, there’s more going on under the moombah hood than you might expect, and it’s all on display in this very thorough 20 track compilation. There are tracks that pay homage to the genre’s midtempo roots in cumbia and global funk. There are deep, sexy tracks that are better suited to the after party than the the club. There are rollicking bangers that recall the halfway mark of a Knife Party set. Hell, there’s even Dillon Francis. Which brings me to my next point: most of moombahton’s most stalwart players are represented on Moombahton Forever. Nadastrom, Tittsworth, Sazon Booya, Bro Safari, ETC!ETC!, Ayres, Torro Torro, Sabo, Craze, Gent & Jawns, Munchi, the aforementioned I.D.G.A.F.O.S. poster boy…the gang’s quite literally all here, and it truly feels like a big creative culmination for everybody involved.
Admittedly, there are people who may find Moombahton Forever repetitive at times, as moombahton, with its fundamental structure of high synth leads and a reggaeton bassline, can get a bit subtle in its intricacies. In fact, there is something nuanced and almost house-esque about moombahton at its very deepest — and it’s a testament to the production level on display that elements of that particular side of electronic music meld so seamlessly with elements from its more primal cousins. I personally find Moombahton Forever smoothly textured and incredibly well organized; the tracks fit together beautifully and as compilations go, it manages to establish an omnipresent unifying theme without feeling redundant. The best part? The bonus continuous mix is all you need to set off a wild, sweaty dance party in your basement.
Rating: 4/5. For best results, add Natty Boh and really good speakers. But remember: there’s only one U Street Music Hall.
Beatport: Moombahton Forever
Events, Review | Pier Of Fear: The Haunted House Tour Takes Over NYC
Posted by Middy on November 7, 2012
Despite being still 5 days away, on Friday October 26th Halloween was in full swing at Pier 94 as the Haunted House Tour made its first stop in its trek across the country in New York City, bringing along a cast that included, Knife Party, Tommy Trash, Style of Eye and others. The sold out pier which has seen the likes of Avicii, Arty and others was rocking all night long with top of the line visuals consisting of an outstanding laser and light display. While it is true that Pier 94’s ventilation system is pretty awful and it becomes a sweat box, despite the size of the venue, the night overall one to remember with some great performances across the board.
Destructo, who’s day job is the head of Hard, the main event organizer of the night, started off the night with a set that mixed together a whole host of different genres getting the night started as the crowd was quickly starting to file in. Fast riser on the scene and hometown kid, Baauer, followed up Destructo with his hip hop infused electronic beats that got the party started with a bouncy mix of trap, electro and hip hop. Next up came Style Of Eye, who delivered my favorite set only to Tommy Trash.