Trance | ilan Bluestone & Jerome Isma-Ae – Under My Skin
Posted by Middy on June 24, 2013
As Anjunabeats moves on from its well-documented landmark 10th compilation released in March, first with Norin & Rad‘s “Bird Is The Word“ last week, they look to another label favorite in ilan Bluestone, who teams up with Jerome Isma-Ae to give us the hauntingly beautiful “Under My Skin“. First capturing the imagination of trance fans in Miami as the most saught after ID in Above & Beyond‘s UMF set, “Under My Skin” combines soothing, emotive strings and piano, with a pulsing, yet melodic synth driven drop, that makes this one of the standout releases on Above & Beyond’s label thus far this year. ilan Bluestone has been a steady riser on scene in the past year or two with a bevy or remixes and originals on Anjunabeats and Armada, including his heavily supported remix for BT‘s “Skylarking“, while Jerome Isma-Ae has long cemented himself as one of the stable forces in trance and progressive. This is a dynamite release from Anjunabeats so do not skip this one.
Progressive House, Trance | Audien – Iris (Preview)
Posted by Middy on June 11, 2013
From the man who has brought you smash singles like “Eventide” and “Wayfarer”, Nathan Rathburn, professionally known as Audien, returns to the label that helped break him to the heights he has currently ascended to with his latest single “Iris”. It follows the same vein as his previous efforts on the label with a big, emotive melody as the focal point and a playful arp creeping in throughout. Expect this to be played out constantly on trance stages throughout the summer as it gets released July 1st.
Electro-House | Bass Kleph & Jimi Frew – Gum
Posted by Middy on June 8, 2013
Lazy Rich‘s Big Fish Recordings may fly under the radar at times with its releases, but it is consistently putting out well-produced, quality tracks. The same can be said to an extent for the chronically underrated label head himself. LA producer / DJ Bass Kleph has developed a reputation for his outstanding live performances where he does live edits of songs on the fly and he is growing an impressive discopgrahy to go along with that live DJ skill. He teams up with Sydney based producer Jimi Frew, a name to watch in the coming years, to bring us the powerful “Gum”.
“Gum” espouses both melodic and hard hitting electro elements with a driving, chunky low end, carefully orchestrated key play and big synth chords that make this suitable for a wide variety of tastes and a wide range of DJ sets. This is the type of record that could get a crowd going just as much as any top 40 Beatport record, but it would require a DJ to dig into the crates a little to find it — something many DJs this festival season are doing less and less.
Beatport: Bass Kleph & Jimi Frew – Gum
Dubstep, Electro, Hip-Hop | SuperVision – Telekinetic EP
Posted by Mach on June 4, 2013
Ah, another treat from the good old Pretty Lights Music label. SuperVision has always been a favorite of mine from the label, maybe even slightly more so than Pretty Lights himself. This new EP from SuperVision played better than I anticipated, the opening track “Super Like Vision” was the coolest way to kick off. It is definitely my favorite track from the EP. The rest of “Telekinetic” is just as tasteful, providing a little bit of Hip-Hop and soulful vibes throughout. Definitely a great download.
Free Download: SuperVision – Telekinetic EP
Electro-House | Bingo Players – Buzzcut
Posted by Middy on May 20, 2013
The Bingo Players have become synonymous with quality. Leading the way for their label, Hysteria Recordings, their singles from “Rattle” to “Out Of My Mind” have remained mainstays of DJ sets all across the spectrum. “Buzzcut” departs from their signature synth that has made their sound so unique and a cut above the pack, going for a grinding low end, with a punchy, hardstyle influenced, alternating bass line and teasing, pitched builds. Is this their strongest effort to date? I would have to say no, since it seems to merge towards the trends in dance music, instead of remaining unique, but it is still a good addition to the Bingo Players discography. Oh, and also if you want there is a video of Melanie Iglesias getting a glove show in almost no clothing with “Buzzcut” as the soundtrack, if you want to watch, up to you.
Beatport: Bingo Players – Buzzcut
Exclusive, Featured, Interviews | Good As Gold: Thomas Gold Talks Beginnings, Labels, Weird Food and 2013
Posted by Middy on May 19, 2013
Thomas Gold has been one of the most consistent guys in dance music. His live sets are always some of the best mainstage material, with impeccable mixing and his signature mashups that keep you on your toes at all times. He has become a favorite of Axwell and Axtone’s, recently putting together the Axtone 2012 compilation that featured plenty of his own material, new and old, in addition to showing off the label’s impressive recent discography, while also dusting off a critically acclaimed Essential Mix to finish off 2012. He has been a cornerstone of recent festivals such as UMF, Coachella & EDC New York and has taken his Fanfare tour all across the globe. He will be at Tomorrowland, for all you lucky festival goers who snuck in there in during the one second sellout. His remix for OneRepublic’s “Feel Again” was recently released for free, to the delight of everyone who had been waiting many months for it to be released. What he has coming up on the docket is relatively unknown, but he is known for his quality with each release and as he stated in terms of his productions, “There will be some surprises in 2013”.
We had the chance to talk to Thomas Gold a few months back about his plans for 2013, including the OneRepublic remix, his first gig, weird food experiences, possible label ventures and more. Check out his set from Ultra below and the interview after the jump.
Events | Electric Zoo Phase 2 Lineup Headliners
Posted by Middy on May 7, 2013
We are starting to get a full picture of how Electric Zoo will look this year after the announcement that it would have two mainstages. Electric Zoo is slowly releasing the names for those who will be coming to Randall’s Island on Labor Day weekend, following the first wave of artists who will take over the mainstages. Phase 2 fills in some of the gaps for the rest of the tents that give the festival its character and diversity, from the Sunday School tent to the Riverside Arena. As suspected, the festival has expanded from 4 stages to 5, so there will be more artists, more choice and inevitably more painstaking, heart-wrenching conflicts over artist time slots (Laidback Luke vs. Steve Aoki is not one… I hope I don’t have to tell you why).
Repeat from last year the Riverside Arena will see Dim Mak take over on Sunday, while Friday will see the joint takeover of Riverside by OWSLA and Boyz Noise Records and A-Trak’s Fools Gold Records on Saturday. The Sunday School Grooooove tent will have new proprietors with Adam Beyers’s Drum Code coming to town on Sunday to bring some techno in your face. There does not appear to be a trance stage, which is a bit disappointing, though Armin, Ferry Corsten, Above & Beyond and Markus Schulz are all on the lineup separately. Nobody as of yet has made their claim to any of the Hilltop days, but the lineup’s seem eclectic enough that they would lack a clear label owner. There are more artists to be announced, so do despair if you feel it is lacking in trance or house or dubstep, just wait, especially for the label tents. There is also the option to buy a Friday combo pack, where you buy a ticket for Friday + either Saturday or Sunday, so decide your festival experience. Tickets are on sale now, so grab them below. Check the full lineup after the jump.