Electronic, House, Techno | Balance Presents Guy J
Posted by Spice on August 5, 2013
“Oh. Wow.”
That was my reaction after getting about four minutes into Guy J’s mix for the second volume of Balance Music’s Balance Presents series — and I’m happy to say that the mind blowing factor only increases as the mix progresses. The best sets take you on a journey, and here the Israeli producer (and John Digweed protege) accomplishes just that. Will this get you seriously in the zone on the dance floor? Yes. Will it also provide the perfect counterpoint to a tedious Excel-based work project during the 9-to-5 hours? Absolutely. Guy J’s lush, melancholic style just works like that. In fact, in terms of vibe alone, this mix kind of reminds me of late 90’s Paul Oakenfold (albeit with a bit of a bpm differential) — because for 80 otherworldy minutes, it manages to hit every stirring and atmospheric note in the book. To shamelessly borrow from SNL’s Stefon, this mix has everything: deep builds, sitars, eerie vocals, psychedelic soundscapes, and melodies that will haunt your dreams. Cruise over to Beatport for the full package and check out the entire tracklist after the jump.
Beatport: Balance Presents Guy J
FYI | Your Favorite DJs Before They Made It Big
Posted by Middy on August 1, 2013
You have seen posts before by other blogs with pictures of DJs when they were little kids or even teenagers. That is cute and all, but here we want to show you when they were looking like goons, in that phase of their professional life they would probably rather forget, when they were young and reckless and not always ready for the camera. Some of them do look like they were born for the camera (see Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong & Carl Cox), but others: oh boy, let’s have some fun on this special Throwback Thursday. Before you move on, please bask in how goonish Tiesto, Armin and Ferry look in that picture. Armin had his law degree at that point. Imagine being represented in court by him; unreal.
Electro-House | TJR – What’s Up Suckaz
Posted by Middy on July 22, 2013
There are few who can survive working with Mr. Worldwide with their artistic reputation almost entire unscathed. TJR did just that because the tunes he makes are so unique to him, that you accept one chance to get paid and exposed to millions of new listeners like that. “What’s Up Suckaz” is his latest single on Chris Lake‘s Rising Music, a relationship that has worked very well for both parties, that evokes the style that we have grown fond of hearing from TJR. With a bouncy bass line, gritty, grinding saws and well placed vocal samples, this track is a unique cut and sure-fire hit in a climate where watered down hardstyle kicks and triplets are easiest road to mainstream dance music success for producers.
Beatport: TJR – What’s Up Suckaz
FYI | The DJ Mag Top 100 Poll Is Live, Thank God
Posted by Spice on July 16, 2013
Has it really only been five minutes nine months since the results of the 2012 DJ Mag Top 100 Poll? Wow. That totally flew by.
The DJ Mag poll is more than just a poll, of course; it’s an increasingly dominant internet sideshow that is about to become a larger part of your life than you’d probably like. How we’ve missed the pageantry of it all — the fervent sense of camaraderie that gets expressed through status updates (see above); the earnest pleas to our finer sensibilities (“a vote for Steve Aoki is a vote for pandas!”); the reliable kvetching from @Deadmau5 (“lol fuk this poll…even though I always crush the top 5 #whatever”); and, of course, the overwhelming sense of inevitability anticipation (spoiler alert: Armin wins in 2013). The only thing better than Shark Week is the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll!
In truth, this year’s poll is already shaping up to be even more unbearable than ever, due to two very distinct forces coming together to create a veritable perfect storm of awfulness:
1) Hashtags over everything. (Case in point: Ferry Corsten is now a hashtag on his own Facebook page.)
2) The EDM Explosion of 2010-Present — or whatever phrase du jour you, your grandmother, and/or The New York Times are using to refer to this awesome/terrible watershed moment in our musical metanarrative.
So if you think you’re in for anything more than a whole lotta this for the next three months…well, LOL, bro. That’s adorable.
Albums, Videos | The Making Of Pretty Lights Color Map Of The Sun
Posted by Middy on June 19, 2013
Thump followed around Pretty Lights over the past 2 years during the process in which he has been crafted and developed his upcoming artist album “Color Map Of The Sun”. It goes through his progression of working in two studios in Brooklyn and New Orleans, working with countless musicians and singers trying to capture the most organic, raw, soulful sound he could for his album. This time he did not want to go out and sample records, but rather he wanted to create the samples himself and it took over a year to do so, working with all analog machinery to distort and cut, giving it that sound of a past generation. As I finish this video, I have not been this excited for an album since RAM, and though that was only a month ago, this has the possibility to to inspire dance music in a similar way, going back to the roots of blues, hip hop, folk and rock, imbuing them with an electronic sound. Just take it from the man himself as he talked about his own album,
“I think something beautiful and timeless was created”
Does it seem like he is either always high, or just goofy like that? Those dance moves are a bit much at times, but you can see his passion. Also that kitty may just be cutest DJ cat around, sorry Mr Meowingtons and Mittens Francis.
Progressive House | Moguai – Champs
Posted by Middy on March 22, 2013
With already 3 huge releases under its belt this year, Size Records brings out its next weapon from German producer, Moguai, who is coming quick out of the gate this year with his chart topping release “Mammoth” and now this recently previewed release on Size. “Champs” provides a subtle toughness, much like that seen in “Mammoth”, while still remaining true to many of the melodic hallmarks we saw on his 2012 artist album “Mpire”. As the 99th release on Size Records, we have to hope that the 100th release during this 100 to 100 campaign will be something from Steve, possibly his collab with Matisse & Sadko.
Beatport: Moguai – Champs
Dubstep, Preview | FuntCase Ft. MIK – Don’t P*ss Me Off
Posted by Mach on March 2, 2013
Those who are familiar with FuntCase know that he has barely made a dent in releases from his music vault. To my great pleasure, he is releasing an 8 track EP titled “Don’t P*ss Me Off,” on March 17th. Good old Saint Patrick’s Day. Today FuntCase released this clip of the EPs title track, and if this one track is any reflection of the EP we are in for a real treat. I love how FuntCase bounces around on this track to keep you interested, jumping from Dubstep to Drumstep with his classic popcorn bass and a few other filthy effects we love. There is mp3 of the track floating around, but it is a low quality version for radio play. I highly recommend holding out for the official release because this track is just too good to taint like that.
Pre-order: iTunes
“Don’t P*ss Me Off” Track List
1. FuntCase – Everybody Knows (feat. Foreign Beggars vs The OGz)
2. FuntCase – Don’t P*ss Me Off (feat. MIK)
3. FuntCase – Stomptown
4. FuntCase – Angry Claws
5. FuntCase and Engine-Earz Experiment – Charged Particle (feat. Lewis Cutler)
6. FuntCase – FAIL!
7. FuntCase – Predator
8. FuntCase – Titanium (feat. Daniil Svetlov)