Electro-House, Exclusive, Featured | Simon Shout – SLASH (FNT Exclusive)
Posted by Middy on January 11, 2013
A little quiet over the past few months, German producer / Dj Simon Shout has been busy working in the lab on an EP of original tracks and has allowed us to exclusively unveil the first of his recent works to the public. As a follow up to his previous single we had here “Optimus“, Simon Shout provides us with a peak time electro house track with jarring drop of a thumping bass line, growling electro chords and a big room interlude with layers drawing on sounds from Wolfgang Gartner and other electro heavyweights. We are excited to see what he has in store with his new EP and the rest of 2013 because if “Slash” is any indication, we should be in for a treat.
Free Download: Simon Shout – SLASH
House | Mimada’s Top 12 for 2012
Posted by mimada on January 5, 2013
With the renaissance of music festivals and growing popularity of electronic music, it’s safe to say my attendance to live shows grew exponentially in 2012 (not that I had that many years under my belt to begin with). However, this really changed my perception of music and how I listened to it. Before, I would see an artist based on my familiarity with them and listen to their songs on repeat in the parking lot until moments leading up to the show. Now, it’s more so that I attend a concert based on the artist’s live talent and/or how much fun the performance will be. When I hear their songs in the future, I get sentiments of that first time I heard it sitting outside in a grassy field surrounded by flag holders or squished up against girls in moonboots rather than it’s premier on SiriXM radio. For me, music in 2012 was not about what would get me out of bed in the morning or play in the background at the gym while I worked out: it was what I could dive into and take me away from any known reality. I guess it’s always kind of been that way, but once you get a peek at my top 12, I think you’ll understand what I mean.
Electro-House | Wolfgang Gartner & Tom Staar – Evil Lurks
Posted by Middy on December 4, 2012
It took an extra day to come out, but “Evil Lurks” has arrived as both Wolfgang Gartner and Tom Staar continue their prolific late year outputs with this erie track that would serve best as a halloween anthem, yet in the holiday season it fits all the same. Wolfgang tabs fast rising Tom Staar on this track that gives us a change in direction from what we have seen from the two of them lately, taking a more melodic approach, intertwining well placed electro stabs into the layers of this track. As both of these producers head into the new year riding the wave of outstanding releases, look for more unique tracks from them as 2013 fast approaches.
Electro-House | Popeska – Karmameter EP
Posted by Spice on September 18, 2012
You’ve really got to hand it to nineteen year-old Popeska. While there are plenty of remarkable DJ success stories out there, many of them can be traced back to one catalytic event, like winning a Beatport contest, winning multiple Beatport contests, or simply forging a direct line to Skrillex. Not so with the young Atlanta native, who gradually pulled himself up through the ranks of Soundcloud and amassed a legion of loyal followers by consistently churning out impressive original tracks with a fresh and distinctive flavor. Eventually he made it onto Wolfgang Gartner’s radar; suddenly we were seeing tweets and status updates about hanging out with Modestep in LA and traveling to Barcelona for inspiration. Now, maybe a year after this entire process was first set into motion, the kid has officially made it: a four track EP on Wolfgang Gartner’s imprint picked up exclusively by Beatport. Karmameter is in keeping with Popeska’s glitchy aesthetic; there’s a complex, almost orchestral opulence to these tracks, which all fall somewhere in the gray area between dubstep, electro house and nu-disco and are undergirded by formidable bass. And as we’ve seen in his past efforts, he makes judicious use of catchy vocals (on “Liar” and the moombah-tinged “Atlantis”) to supplement his instrumentals. If you’ve been following Popeska since the early days, you should absolutely continue to support him by purchasing his EP on Beatport. It’s clear that this is only the beginning for the young producer.
Beatport: Popeska – Karmameter EP
Electro-House, Events | Wolfgang Gartner – Love & War EP
Posted by Spice on September 17, 2012
After a disappointingly middling midsummer release, Wolfgang Gartner returns to form with a hard-hitting two track EP. Both of these tracks feature the dark, gritty edge and complex chord work we’re accustomed to seeing from the LA-based producer, which means that they’re unpredictable and guaranteed to get you moving. The title track is classic Wolfgang, with heavy, industrial synths and a grinding, relentless hook, though “Nuke” is my personal favorite of the two — it’s like “Space Junk” meets moombah meets “Flexx,” and that crunchy interlude of a riff (which you’ll immediately recognize if you’ve seen Wolfgang live recently) is to die for. Preview the tracks below and then head to Beatport for the download — you don’t want to sleep on these. After the jump check the dates for his upcoming US tour with Pierce Fulton & Popeska, coming off his Karmameter EP on Wolfgang’s own Kindergarten Records, providing support.
Beatport: Wolfgang Gartner – Love & War EP
Electro-House | Wolfgang Gartner – Casual Encounters of the 3rd Kind EP
Posted by Spice on July 30, 2012
After a weekend of nonstop action at Identity Festival, Wolfgang Gartner got down to business this morning and dropped a two-track EP on Beatport. My initial reaction to Casual Encounters of the 3rd Kind is a resounding mehhhh; there are no big, infectious melodies a la “Redline,” “Flexx” or the inimitable “Illmerica” here, and while that’s not automatically a bad thing, the clean, simple and repetitive game has been played to more kinetic and spectacular effect elsewhere (ex: Afrojack’s “Pop On Acid;” Wolfgang’s own “Space Junk”). Maybe it’s just that I’m aggressively not feeling the whiny loop at the beginning of “Girl on Boy” (can’t help but think that Alvin Risk would have done something better there) but these tracks just don’t seem to go anywhere that interesting. But who knows, maybe they’ll wind up being awesome live. We shall see, I guess. Check out the EP and let us know what you think.
Beatport: Wolfgang Gartner – Casual Encounters of the 3rd Kind EP
Events, Review | Global Dance Festival Colorado Recap
Posted by CHAZZZ on July 28, 2012
*Guest post from the FreshNewTracks’ Intern Zoe
One week ago marked the 10th anniversary of Triad Dragon’s Global Dance Festival. First known as Rave on the Rocks, Global Dance Fest started in 1999 at the legendary Red Rocks amphitheater featuring The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim for a mere $20 ticket. Since its early days, Global has been well known for showcasing up and coming artists on the brink of chart-topping popularity. As the festival has grown, pioneers of electronic music such as Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, Tiësto, and Deadmau5 have helped give Global the reputation it has today.
This year’s lineup was no let down for the big celebration. Headliners including Steve Angello, Above & Beyond, Wolfgang Gartner, Excision and Zed’s Dead kept the festival alive from start to finish. On Friday, Hardwell, Knife Party, and Steve Angello tore up the main stage with nonstop crowd pleasers and confetti cannons while Krewella, 3LAU and Felix Cartal started fist pumping and shuffling riots at the Global Bass Stage.
Things escalated even more when Manufactured Superstars sent hundreds of inflatable astronauts into the audience and Above & Beyond led an hour and a half long session of group therapy. Wolfgang Gartner. However, remains the most memorable, taking the crowd on a derpgang roller coaster with tracks ranging from “Flexxx” to Notorious BIG’s “Hypnotize.”