Events | FNT Presents Chocolate Puma @ Mixify Unity Festival 12/17-18
Posted by Middy on December 10, 2013
On December 17th and 18th, Mixify will be hosting the second edition of its “Unity” festival with a host of notable talent like Chocolate Puma, Arty, Norman Doray and more. Today, the festival is announcing through its 7 media partners, us being one of them, the 6 artists in the first wave of acts. They are: Arty, Norman Doray, Chocolate Puma, Will Sparks, Swanky Tunes and Paris Blohm.
We will be presenting Dutch veterans, Chocolate Puma’s set on 12/17 at 4pm. The duo have had a stellar year, racking up remixes for the likes of fellow festival attendee, Norman Doray, Kaskade and Major Lazer, while also releasing tracks on Steve Angello’s “X” Recordings and several on Spinnin’. The duo will bring their upbeat brand of house music to the festival, giving it a groove you won’t find from the other artists on the bill.
The whole festival has been put together to raise awareness and funds for disaster relief in the Philippines, following Typhoon Haiyan. Fans are encouraged to go to UNICEF‘s website to see how they can help with their efforts in the Philippines. Phase 2 artist announcement to come shortly in the next few days. Check out one of Chocolate Puma’s sets from this fall to see what you are in store for on December 17th. Enter here.
Trance, Videos | Above & Beyond Group Therapy 50 Aftermovie + “Mariana Trench”
Posted by Middy on December 7, 2013
About a month ago Above & Beyond celebrated their 500th radio show, or Group Therapy Radio 50, at the birthplace of broadcasting, Alexandria Palace, in London. The sold-out show brought people from all over the world for a unforgettable night of Group Therapy with performances from Guy J, Boom Jinx, Andrew Bayer, Arty and of course the full cast of Above & Beyond. You can listen to all of the sets again on iTunes. The duo have been busy this fall, cooking up new productions of all varieties including their recently released single, “Mariana Trench”, which came out this week. In other news, they announced that they will be releasing a FULL acoustic album, coming off of their two night showing at the Greek Theater in LA.
Beatport: Above & Beyond – Mariana Trench
Progressive House | Arty – Flashback
Posted by Middy on November 20, 2013
It can be very frustrating to wait for Arty releases, we know all to well, but when they come, it is so sweet. This track he has hailed as his most professional and the one he is most proud of to date (discounting “Kate”). “Flashback” somehow finds a middle ground between on the soothing Arty sound we have come to know, the booming stadium sized melodies he crafts and a darker, more brooding sound that is not heard in many recent Arty productions.
Beatport: Arty – Flashback
Playlists | Warm Air Vol. 2
Posted by mimada on September 20, 2013
Original photo courtesy of Hayley Trone
Well folks, it’s been real. Tomorrow, Sept 22, marks the official end of summer 2013. In honor of the change in season, I present to you the second installment of my very own Warm Air mixtapes. A mix designed to ease the transition of swimsuits to sweaters and piña coladas to pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha lattes. A mix to warm you up in the cool autumn breeze, to relive the sweet memories of the past few months, and keep your spirits up and motivated as you face challenges in school, work, and everyday life. So close your eyes, and let this mix take you back to that moment on the beach where you dug a hole in the sand with your toes as you watched the sun set, or when you indulged in the most amazing 4th of July BBQ of your life, or drove around recklessly with the top down and the radio up, or the night you watched an epic fireworks spectacle with your boo thang wrapped up tight in your arms.
Remember, just because the summer is over doesn’t mean the fun is. Oh no, 2013 can and will go out with a bang. With 3 months left to go, it’s time the real fun begins.
I’d also like to dedicated this mix to one of my most beautiful friends as she turns 21 today. Hope you enjoy this mixtape as you take your first legal swigs of alcohol today, take an extra big one for me <3
Listen to this mix via 8tracks here.
Progressive House | Dave Winnel & Chris Arnott – Remember To Breathe (Original + FTampa Remix)
Posted by Middy on September 18, 2013
The names Avicii, Dirty South, Vandalism, Kryder and Angger Dimas probably all mean something to you. They are all artists who Vicious Recordings helped discover and released their tracks well before they hit it big. Names like D.O.D, Dave Winnel and FTampa may not be as big now, but they are guys on the current Vicious roster who are set to do the same. Dave Winnel’s “Achtung” got a ridiculous amount of DJ support from the likes of Axwell, Alesso, Arty, Sebastian Ingrosso, Porter Robinson, Tiesto, Tommy Trash and, well you get it. FTampa’s “Kick It Hard” became a late season favorite, notably championed by Hardwell and then powered its way into many other sets.
On “Remember To Breathe”, Dave Winnel goes for a more melodic, big room approach than his past few works, calling upon Chris Arnott to lay down some superb vocals. FTampa takes the song to another level, working with the original melody and adding his own complex, melodic key play to the track, accentuated by Mr. Arnott’s vocals. Also included is a Dave Winnel remix he did last month.
Beatport: Dave Winnel & Chris Arnott – Remember To Breathe (Original + FTampa Remix)
Exclusive, Featured, Interviews | BT Talks Ghost Producing, ASAW, Sharks & More (FNT Exclusive)
Posted by Middy on August 27, 2013
BT has become a standard bearer for innovation and excellence in dance music. He is noted as a creative producer of many different styles and sounds, as well as an acclaimed film scorer and programmer: the mind behind the now necessary stutter edit. His 9th artist album “A Song Across Wires” instantly shot up to number one on the iTunes dance charts and has produced such singles like “Must Be The Love”, “Skylarking”, and “Tomahawk”. We had the chance to chat with him last week before his show at Marquee, and of all the people I have had the chance to interview like Hardwell, Arty, Thomas Gold and Andrew Bayer, BT was probably my favorite guy to talk to.
Later that night we got to catch his set at Marquee that featured a heavy dose of ASAW and more danceable tracks from the lengthy BT discography. There were plenty of avid BT fans in attendance, so this was a party he knew how to play, even at a bottle service club like Marquee. Click past the jump to read our discussion on ghost producing, which he had some very interesting things to say about, the album, his passion for sharks and more.
Albums, Progressive House, Review, Trance | BT – A Song Across Wires (Album Review)
Posted by Middy on August 22, 2013
BT is not a producer you can put in a box and say he is trance or ambient or glitch, he is all of those things and so much more, so much more. He is one of the pillars of trance with his album “Ima” back in 1994 that helped shape the trance sound that become what so many love and yearn for today. As a classically trained musician, getting his degree from Berklee College of Music, BT when he isn’t producing some of the most critically acclaimed pieces of electronic music, he is scoring movies like Monsters Inc and Fast & Furious (just the first one). His pieces take you on musical journeys, notably his more ambient stuff, like “This Binary Universe”. He is also a great programmer and computer geek that led him to develop the stutter edit that is being used by everybody, and I mean everybody.
One cannot praise BT enough because he does it the right way, has worked incredibly hard to get where he is today, and did not get it cheap, in one case had to sell his car to finish the full project for “This Binary Universe” (2006). He is also a great guy (we got to sit down with him for an interview, coming soon) and he is brilliant.
His 9th artist album is strong departure from the rest of his material, going strictly for music that is accessible in clubs and festivals. It is interesting to hear his interpretation on modern dance music because of BT’s background in music and his strength in composition. With much of mainstream dance music becoming stale, an innovator like BT trying his hat at a more danceable sound is a relief because you know it will be something new and hopefully inspiring to others.