Exclusive, Featured, Interviews | Stereoshock Helps Me Get A Date, Explains The Tissues On His Desk & More
Posted by Mel on September 29, 2013
April 19th, 2012, the day started just like any other. I had woken up a few minutes later than usual and after doing the math, figured that I would miss about five minutes of my first class. I then decided to skip the whole day and stay home. As per usual when I don’t go to class, I bump it up to twice a day. Two girls were texting me at the time so I was just super busy, the time that had been allocated for me to study and do the work that I was missing was pushed aside in order to make room to mow the lawn, like my dad had asked me to days prior. I didn’t mow the lawn and instead went to Best Buy to get some Beats by Dre Studio’s. I got them, in black for some reason, came home and bumped it up once again to three times a day. After my third Klondike bar of the day, making my bi-hourly visit to Soundcloud seemed like the next obvious choice.
It was then that I became acquainted with 20 year old, New York based producer Stereoshock, or as his mother calls him Josh Cohen. I was eating some leftover chilli at the time and accidentally spilled some on my shirt but it didn’t matter, because the song I was listening to was just so good. It wasn’t an original, but it sure sounded like it. At that point forward I was aware that an edit or mashup could be more than vocals thrown over an instrumental or simply interchanging two songs drops. Stereoshock has a level of sophistication in both his edits and originals that is not seen very often. Over time we’ve become friends, and he expressed interest in an interview, so I obliged. Be warned that this interview is extremely serious. We talk about only the most important topics that other artists refuse to.
Pop, Progressive House | The Wanted – We Own The Night (The Chainsmokers Remix)
Posted by Mel on September 23, 2013
After getting big by brilliantly remixing tracks and giving them away for free, The Chainsmokers have sold out worse than Calvin Harris and made TWO tracks in a row that are only available on Beatport. These guys are some real jerks. I forgive them though because they are nice to me. This track really needs no explaining if you’ve heard any of their other stuff. An indie-pop instrumental with a touch of progressive house, this time accompanied by the vocals to The Wanted’s “We Own The Night”. More reminiscent of their “Julian” remix than their more progressive stuff. If you feel like throwing a nickel their way then head over to Beatport to grab it. If not or if you live in Canada where it is for some reason restricted in, then you know where to go.
Beatport: The Wanted – We Own The Night (The Chainsmokers Remix)
Electro, Trap | Killah Kalam & E-V – I Wanna See That
Posted by admin on September 3, 2013
Although Labor Day Weekend has come to a close, that is no reason to stop the party. DJ E-V and Killah Kalam have teamed up to release this insane trap/twerk mix, perfect for any dance-occasion. The track is heavy on the 808s and surely has a underlying message of the class struggle in our bureaucratic system. No, but actually they just want to see that ass twerk.
Kalam & E-V’s EP Time Bandit is due out shortly and is one to definitely keep your eyes peeled for.
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.
Pop, Progressive House | Maroon 5 – Love Somebody (It’s The Kue Remix!)
Posted by Mel on June 29, 2013
My favorite song of all time is “Payphone” by Maroon 5. It is for that reason that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for them no matter what. I was already a fan of their original “Love Somebody” but DJ Kue made it that much better by adding a touch more energy to it and a great drop. I have had this on repeat since I first heard it.
Chill, Indie | SPIRITANIMAL – Forever Ago (Prod. by DREAMGHOST)
Posted by Mel on June 25, 2013
Tucked deeply away in the depths of my bedside drawer is a box of tissues. I don’t keep them out in the open because, quite frankly, it’s embarrassing. Nobody wants to know what I do when things didn’t go as planned and I’m all alone in my bed at night. Well, the sun hasn’t even set yet but the box is out of the drawer. You see, I like to make paper mache hats out of slightly damp tissues. How it becomes damp is none of my concern. One cannot simply construct these hats with pants on or without music and house is far to frantic for the delicacy and concentration required so it cannot do. It is for that reason I turn to the soothing sounds of chillwave. Chillwave, in a sense, is the shirtless Adam Levine of the music world. Not many search for it, but once in a while you’ll come across a pic and, not bad. A collaboration between SPIRITANIMAL and DREAMGHOST, whose names are in all caps for some reason, was my shirtless pick for the day (I picked it while shirtless). Whether you are driving around the city or just having fun with damp tissues, this song will fit the occasion.
Indie, Interviews, Progressive House | ASTR – Operate (The Chainsmokers Remix) + Exclusive Interview
Posted by Mel on June 20, 2013
It has been roughly four months since my hand slightly grazed my sister’s friend’s thigh. Coincidentally, it has also been about four months since I first heard of The Chainsmokers. Since then, my hand has been many places but none as sweet as that. I have also watched The Chainsmokers grow from two decent looking guys to two excellent looking guys who make awesome music. Their first remix that got my attention was of Jonsi’s “Around Us”. That track… it made me feel for the first time. Sara B, the girl who had a crush on me in eleventh grade, I get you now. The Chainsmokers taught me how to love. Since then I’ve learned to take it, roll it up into a ball, toss it in the air and if there’s not a steady current of wind, I smash that into oblivion.
Picture yourself walking through the city late one night when you see a beautiful girl sitting in a coffee shop eating a plum. She is facing outward toward the street and the store’s walls are glass so you two can see each other. You want to go talk to her but you can’t find the door to get in. Not being able to figure out where the entrance is, you go up to the glass and relentlessly stare at her. Upon closer inspection you realize that she is in fact eating an oddly shaped apple not a plum. “Why are you eating an apple?” you mouth to her. You can hear her say through the glass while turning the apple “no no, this is a plum”. After seeing the flesh of the fruit it is indeed a plum. You then turn around to go home and find $20 on the ground.
The combination of slight disappointment, confusion, and joy that night brings is what I think of their latest remix.
We also had a chance to talk to them about life’s most important questions, such as “If you were to suddenly wake up in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason and upon looking to the nearest wall saw a hole that has never been there before the size of the middle, cardboard part of a roll of toilet paper, would you stick stuff in it?”. Click past the break if you want to laugh, cry, and be inspired.