Progressive House, Trance | Norin & Rad – Bird Is The Word
Posted by Middy on June 18, 2013
While the track may not have the emphatic ring of the 1968 original from the Trashmen, or the Peter Griffin cover, the Norin & Rad release certainly does have its catchy qualities. Anjunabeats has spent much of the past several months basking in the glow of Anjunabeats Volume 10, releasing singles and remixes from the compilation. They now turn to new originals from their stable of producers, this time tabbing American duo, Bruce Karlsson and Nick Sember, aka Norin & Rad for their follow-up to the euphoric “Aldo” on the label. “Bird Is The Word” brings together a chunky bass line, big room synths and a catchy, chirping top line that brings home the theme of the track.
Beatport: Norin & Rad – Bird Is The Word
Progressive House | Pryda – Layers
Posted by Middy on June 18, 2013
November 24th, 2012. It is 4:30am and me and 3 friends are in a cab coming back absolutely exhausted from Eric Prydz at Roseland Ballroom. He had played encore after encore well past his designated 4am finish slot. No one had the energy to make a sound except for my friend who was repeating this haunting bass line that was stuck in his head that night and for many to come. He has had shown off other huge singles since then, like “Power Drive“, but this track has always been the prize. With “Layers”, Prydz has yet another huge smash single, intricately weaving together spacey synths, elegant strings and a bass line that will get stuck in your head, you can’t escape it.
Beatport: Pryda – Layers
Videos | My Son The DJ: Laidback Luke
Posted by Middy on June 10, 2013
The fearless and seemingly indefatigable Laidback Luke has done a documentary on his life, not just from a professional standpoint, but really looking at him from his parents standpoint, as a son (as the title says) and then his outside activites not related to DJing.
The 26 minute documentary covers a lot of his life, including his relationship with his parents, his kids and his wife, but there are a few interesting things to really look for. One, his exploits as a Kung Fu fighter are pretty badass and you see him train with his master, which is pretty awesome. You also hear him talk about his family in the Philippines, who are very poor, living at or below the poverty line, while he is making a lot of money. He tries to explain that inner struggle where you see the night and day contract in life styles and he wants to help them get out of their situation, but it is not that simple. He also sheds light on his time when he drank on tour and how he had to stop after one fateful night, a very interesting story and something that seems to more common than you might think with DJs.
Progressive House | Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso – Roar
Posted by Middy on June 5, 2013
The much anticipated sequel to Pixar’s huge hit movie “Monster’s Inc”, “Monster’s University” has decided to throw its hat into the edm ring. With BT scoring Toy Story, this is not new for Pixar, but this is new for the Swedish stars as they attempt to bridge their sound with the movie. Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso have left behind their Swedish House Mafia past with Steve Angello quite quickly and formed a strong bond in the months since then, starting a residency at Ushuaia in Ibiza called “Departures” and creating this track.
“Roar” is different from what we have heard in the past from these two, with a grittier bass line and a cinematic appeal, taking bits and pieces from what I presume is the movie score and incorporating them seamlessly into their track. This is a rather unlikely marriage of partners, but from the sounds of it, I am enthused they did it. The Style of Eye remix goes for a grungier approach, while the the Yogi remix adds a trapped out flavor to it. The original reigns supreme in my book. The movie, set to release June 21st, should be interesting to see not only if it lives up to quality of the first, but also how this tracks fits into the storyline.
Progressive House | Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones – Things Can Only Get Better
Posted by Middy on June 3, 2013
Cedric Gervais, the man responsible for the single “Molly“, which spawned the infernal breed of related clothing, and his chart topping remix of Lana Del Rey‘s “Summertime Sadness“, has taken Howard Jones‘ 1985 hit singe “Things Can Only Get Better” and brought it up to speed to this era of dance music with a 2013 big room update. In all serious the molly clothing is the worst. You look like someone who thinks they are going to see Levels or dubstep perform on the mainstage and you are just asking for a cavity search from security. Not sure Cedric Gervais knew that is what he was going to create, but he did I put some of the blame on him for it.
Cedric Gervais flips the instrumental of the original, keeping the soulful vocals from Howard Jones and adds his own big room sound. Playing off of the addictive vocals, Gervais adds a melody that will not wow with complexity, but is just what the doctor ordered for this track, while adding well-timed electro growls and a pulsing bass line. To spice things up, I tossed in a very solid remix of the track from rising dance music producer, Landis, whose track with Henry Fong “Get Down” has been in heavy rotation for many big DJs
Beatport: Cedric Gervais & Howard Jones – Things Can Only Get Better
Hip-Hop, Rap, Videos | Raz Simone – These Kids Throw Rocks
Posted by admin on June 3, 2013
“She got a big booty, so I call her big booty.”
“Popped a molly, I’m sweatin’, woo!”
“You say no to rachet pussy, Juicy J can’t.”
What do these three lines have in common? They are all some of the most widely recited and remembered lines in hip-hop these past few months. What else do they have in common? They have absolutely zero substance, thought, or profundity to them.
Raz Simone on the other hand takes a different approach to his music. With careful thought and emotion poured in to each line, listeners are drawn in and kept hooked throughout every song, mixtape and album. After the success of his most recent EP, Solomon Samuel Simone, Raz decided to take to the camera and capture more in depth one of the offerings from the tape.
The video for “These Kids Throw Rocks” has hit the internet and is quite impressive.
Here’s what Raz had to say: “This video is self directed and edited for a more personal approach to visualize the song. After recent events in my life the lyrics hit even harder than when I initially wrote them.”
I hope you enjoy and be sure to grab the full Solomon Samuel Simone EP here, if you haven’t already!
Electro-House, Trance | W&W – Thunder
Posted by Middy on May 20, 2013
Arguably the hottest producers right now, their singles “Lift Off” and “The Code“ are still heavily in circulation, while their “This Is What It Feels Like“ remix is the potent remix of choice for Armin van Buuren and many others. Not diverging from their bombastic sound, W&W unleash another massive track that follows much of the same structure and winning formula as “The Code”, providing an unrelenting bass line and thunderous synths.
One can criticize them for sticking to their sound too much or going with a sound that is becoming more and more common, but you have to remember that they helped bring this style to the mainstream and others followed them. Coming up, the gigantic Dutch duo have their collab with Hardwell, which was just recently finished, as well a few IDs on the way.
Beatport: W&W – Thunder