I currently don't have any tunes that I'm that hype about.

Apart from the following two bangers:

Justin Faust's remix of 'With You', which is a lot more intense and dance-powered than his usual mellow stuff. Having said that, it's not too noisy. Faust blends the nice soft side of his music with a pacier funked-up bass and pounding drum pattern to create a sexy little dance song. Noice with an extra 'o'.
Then you have The Aston Shuffle, who I've loved since that awesome Grafton Primary remix, with a tasty new tune. Stabby synths and souped up 80s bits and bobs are laced all over 'Do You Want More', but it retains quite a sharp and bangerrific edge to go with the bounciness.

And while we're on the subject of bangers - how good is that Villains remix of 'She Wolf'?
Very good.

Probably almost as good as that DatA remix of La Roux I keep banging on about.

Bestrack - With You (Justin Faust) Buy
The Aston Shuffle - Do You Want More (feat. DAnimal Kingdom)[AS Remix] Buy
La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy (DatA Remix) Buy DatA

Indielicious

Indiieeee.

I haven't posted any indie/alternative stuff in a while. Probably because nobody wants it and if they did they'd be over at PTST getting it from someone who actually knows their stuff.

But whatever. I feel like I have to post a bit of Mew just because they're so bloody awesome. 'Repeater Beater' is still my indie tune of the summer, and possibly will be for every summer ever. Out of all their tracks it's the one where I think the light vocals sit most comfortably. Plus the drumming is superb (hence the track name?).

I also feel like being a bit poppy. Former Child Stars is a terrible name, but don't judge a band by it's shit name. Judge it by it's brand of catchy, trebletastic indie-pop. Even if you don't like 'Safe In Silence', you'll probably be singing the chorus for most of the week - it is ridiculously infectious.

Mew - Repeaterbeater Buy

Former Child Stars - Safe in Silence (Radio Edit) Buy

*DL links removed by request

Nothing

It's been a busy old time for me, hence the lack of posts. Maybe I should just write less crap? Could be an idea.

Anyway, I've done a lot of travelling recently. Mostly on trains and tubes and the like. There's something about trains that makes me want to listen to liquid drum and bass. Hence the first track on today's post - Nu:Tone's awesome 'Jet Stream'. Nu Tone hails from the Hospital Records camp, so you know he's sicker than a cider hangover. In a good way. 'Jet Stream' is as much of a beast as a liquid funk tune can be, and is highly recommended for anyone who likes High Contrast/Blame.

And if you don't like them, then WTF?!.

I should probably post some electro, seeing as that's nominally the genre I go for. I really want to stick up Steve Aoki's mix of 'Gladiator' because it is nutsssssssss with 9 s's, and would go nicely with the whole crazy electro Jack Beats/Kry Wolf vibe I've been on recently. But... it's already on the Hype Machine's popular list so there doesn't seem much point. For anyone who hasn't heard it, grab it from Danger Danger.

The only other electro I've really been listening to recently is DatA's impeccable La Roux edit, but everyone's already heard that as well. It's like every blog in the world is out to get me and post all my tracks before I can. Conspiracy.

Oh well, here's a bunch of my old favourites to go with the Nu:Tone track. The Nacey track is huge, bouncy house (same breed as 'Anyway' by Duck Sauce). The Burns tune is more of the same, and was knocking around getting some hype a few weeks ago. 'Mind Control 09' is a huge dubstep track that deserves it's own individual post. 501 will literally fuck with your mind.

Have a good week. I know I will.

Roll on Reading!

Nu:Tone - Jet Stream Buy

Nacey - Lose Your Love Myspace

Burns - Heartbeats (Extended mix) Buy

501 - Mind Control 2009 Buy

Youtubesteak

I've been watching shit on youtube. Best video of the week = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4OyrzO4N8s. Lol.

Apart from that... There's one video called 'Horrific AK 47 Accident', which has nearly 2 million views. The actual thing is just some loser kid called 'Joe' twatting around with a toy AK, which I'll admit was a bit of a relief because I was expecting some kind of... horrific accident. In fact, I kind of wanted to see a horrific accident.
Apparently, the majority of those millions of viewers also wanted to see one. Some people actually really, really, wanted to see a horrific accident. One guy was so upset he couldn't see one that he complained:

This is shit, what the fuck. go die in a hole you stupid bitch fucker.

He wasn't alone in that sentiment. A lot of people seemed to feel like their time has been wasted, and also that 'wtf?'.

UrNotHardBody: Fuck You! Wasting Time!

Time that could have been better spent watching real, quality accidents take place.

Amongst all that kind of understandable shit in the comments section, you also get two people arguing about Obama, a long discussion on the merits (or not) of Joe's hair colour, and someone claiming: HEY!!! I am an Australian and I DON'T CARE!!!!..... without really explaining why they felt the need to clarify that.?
People on youtube are abnormal.

But also hilarious. Like that chav who kicked down a wall and got his leg crushed, before bleating out 'help me'. The comments on that vid are genuinely hilarious - i.e. 'wall FTW ' and 'Mr. Gorvachav....Tear down this wall! '. A few people seem to be debating whether or not to show some chav-love: one guy goes for 'unlucky mate' before rounding his comment off with: 'i guess doing stupid things like that CAN be funny. hahaha owned', which probably doesn't ease the blow. Funnyclatflap12 is a bit more genuinely sympathetic, opting for: 'that is manky but funny. he deserved it although if he lost his leg that is bad. look at the way it crushes his leg at 0.12'
I love the way he has isolated the exact time the chav gets his leg crushed.


Someone else just set the video to Benny Hill's theme tune, which is even more hilarious. MadSkills9407 sums it up with:

'I like how he kicks to the beat'

LOL.
There's a bunch of other shit that has been set to the Benny Hill music as well. This TV advert rework is possibly the most hilarious.

Good times.

Anyway, here's some sick tunes to go with the viewing:

Bungle - 25th Floor (DJ Marky & Bungle VIP) Buy

Grafton Primary - All Stars (Aston Shuffle Remix) Buy***

Deadmau5 - Ghosts 'n' Stuff (Nero Edit) Myspace**

Mucky

Speaking of large things... how about some delicious, high-cholesterol beats? Specifically, Jack Beats. Mr Beats has obviously been knocking about for a bit and he's a big favourite with certain blogs, but I'll admit I'm not a massive fan. 'Get Down', though, is impossible to ignore. It's got a more house-style structure to it than his other stuff, and his trademark wobble is combined with a grinding mono-synth which gives the whole song a rough, aggressive edge. The youtube comments pretty much sum it up - 'this is fuckin NUTS!!!!!!!!!! '. If you haven't heard/got it already then it's a must grab. (He's also put out a solid La Roux remix that's well worth checking out.)

It's kind of hard to follow 'Get Down' with anything that's similarly crazyily hype, but 'Mucky' by Kry Wolf comes pretty close. It kicks off with one of the bounciest drum patterns I've ever heard and then brings in a huge, filthy, deep, fuzzed out bassline punch that sounds like 'Flat Eric' on electro-infused crack/a rubber duck taking an amplified shit. I played it on the tube this morning and nearly ruptured my face/seizured. It's deep. Another must have.

Also, Calvin Harris' album leaked the other day, to mixed reviews. Personally I think he got the singles spot on. The rest of the album isn't bad but nothing really jumps out. I could happily listen to it, but I don't think I'd remember much of it after. Either way, apparently all people are buying at the moment is singles so I guess it doesn't really matter how good the album is.

In other news, Deadmau5 has finally put a radio edit of 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff' together and is getting some airplay. I prefer the original mix, without the corny vocal bit over the top, but it's still a bit of a tune so fair play to the geezer.

Last up, one more tune. This one is some deep, grimy dubstep from Calibre - a tune called 'Tenopause'. So far all I've heard is a radio rip from Hatcha and Mala's b2b on Kiss, which is more low quality than Paris Hilton's home videos. But despite the quality the track appears to be a piece of pure fucking mentalness. I won't call it minimal, because that's bound just to put people off, but it's not the usual jump-up. The best way to describe it is as basically one rip-roaring bass sound with some freaky ghost noises over the top. And some drums. Banging.

If you're looking for any other huge dubstep tunes than hit up Rossi B and Luca and check out Enemy (or the Tallinn Evil remix) on their page. The other tunes are pretty obese as well. Looking forward to some more releases from them.

That's all, folks.

Jack Beats - Get Down Buy

Kry Wolf - Mucky Myspace

Calibre - Tenopause Myspace

Chin Up

I'm going to kick off today with an older track. Loose Shus are electro-types with a heavily eighties influenced sound. 'Threesome' is my favourite song from them, and one I've suddenly picked up and started playing again. As long as you don't take it to seriously, it's awesome. Anyone who likes the intros to old cartoons (I'm thinking Bucky O'Hare/Ghostbusters, but with a lot more production value and less epic stadium rock guitar bits) should grab it - like Danger on happy juice.

Speaking of happiness, SMD's new album found it's way into my itunes yesterday. I thought it would be awesome, but they've gone in strong for that minimal sound of theirs (you'll know what I mean if you've heard the singles) which I'm not such a fan of. 'It's The Beat'/'Hustler' are more my kind of thing, but there's not much of that sound on the new record. For me, they should leave the minimal to Style Of Eye, Major Notes, Lazy Jay and the rest and get back on the heavier electro vibe.
So, not going to post anything from SMD today anyway.

Blame dropped a remix for Example's new tune a week or two back, along with everyone else whose any good at the moment, and obviously I have to post it. Good old Blame. If you've heard his 'Shark in the Water' mix then you'll already know how good he is. His take on 'Watch The Sun Come Up' is more of the same. Definitely a huge summer tune, nice to see liquid drum 'n' bass getting a bit more attention at the moment.

GRUM + Edwin Van Cleef = incredible. I've blogged enough times about Grum for everyone to be well aware of how highly I rate the Leeds boy. I rate Mr. Van Cleef almost equally highly, so I was pretty excited to see him given the remixing honours for Grum's new production 'Heartbeats'. Have yet to hear the original, but if Cleef's effort is anything to go by, it's going to be huge. As for the remix - epic, fast, and very very nice indeed. A great blend of electro-house. Very similar to 'Overtaken' and possibly even a bit better. Thanks to these guys for the original post.

I was planning on sticking up some filthy, bass-tastic dubstep but I now feel like I'm in too good a mood. So last up is a remix by FCKN (your guess is as good as mine) which got some attention here and there. The original is by The Bloody Beetroots, who I still can't decide if I like or not. However, I definitely like FCKN's version - very cheerful, bouncy electro house, with a little bit of lo-fi feel distortion splayed over the top to please the more hardcore.

Have a good weekend people.

Loose Shus - Threesome Buy
Example - Watch The Sun Come Up (Blame Edit) Myspace
Grum - Heartbeats (Edwin Van Cleef Remix) Myspace
The Bloody Beetroots - House No.84 (FCKN Remix) Myspace

Karatay Partay

"I know Karate, I know Ju-jitsu,

I drive like a gangster when I'm coming to see you
I know Karate, I've got some mojo,
and holding hands ain't something I do,
Thats true."

Greatest lyrics ever written. You can hear them in all their funky, 80s-influenced goodness on 'Karate' by Kennedy. I've had the tune for a few weeks and despite its ridiculous nature, the track is incredibly catchy. Infectious, like a tastier version of swine flu.

Why not enjoy it with a nice cool glass of 'Panther', freshly remixed by Zeds Dead. The bassy, distorted synths layered over this one make it a bit of an interesting counterpoint to 'Karate', as does the fat mono bassline and d'n'b influenced drums. I'm not sure if the tune is dubstep or electro, or some kind of new and wonderful hybrid, but its pretty sick anyway. More of a cheeky gut punch than a karate chop.

I feel like I should be posting that new Blame remix of Example as well, but probably enough bloggers have covered that. Those who want to can find it here. Blame at his euphoric best.

Have a good one.

Kennedy - Karate Buy
Barletta - Panther (ZEDS DEAD Remix) Myspace

Howard You Like It

Classixx established themselves (arguably) as the sound of Summer '09 a while back, by releasing a whole bag of awesome mixes of stuff and making the blogging world wet themselves collectively in excitement. A few month' back, a video of their single(?) 'I'll Get You' sprang up on youtube, Radio 1 got all excited about it, so did I, and since then I've been waiting to grab a decent copy of the track. Which I now have. Aeroplane played it when I saw them on Saturday and pretty much made my day, despite all the rain and ketted-up nutters. The chorus of the song, for those who don't know it, goes 'Do you like bass, do you, do you like bass?' which I think should pretty much sell it to any doubters.

Listening to Classixx has put me in a pretty chilled type of mood, which probably explains why I chose the next song. The Time And Space Machine remix of Bastila's 'Ghosts' sound like a track that has been custom-made for a MoS 'Chillout' compilation. The guitars are heavily reverbed, trebley and wah-wahed up to the hilt, giving them a very relaxed, floaty feel. Signal Hill-esque, but with some sampled old-school hip hop drums and a deep, funky bassline thrown over the top to give it a nice bit of rhythm. A good one for watching the sunset.

Next up is a Lifelike remix, courtesy of Hyperbole. So far I've heard 3 different mixes of Killa Kela's 'Everyday', and I reckon Lifelike's is the best of the three. He basically takes the insanely catchy chorus on the original, turns it up, and loops it for the best part of six minutes. In a good way - kind of like his 'Cross The Dancefloor' remix. It sounds epic, very summery, and good for dancing or barbequing. Obviously that sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but I think it just depends how loud you play it. Probably the best remix I've heard from Lifelike in a long time, but well worth the wait.

Last, but definitely not least, is another one from my new favourites Y A L L. Following up on my last post, I've been searching everywhere for some more tunes from these guys' back catalogue. Their remix of the classic 'At Night' is the pick of the bunch, just edging their La Roux edit off the top spot. Massive kicks and snares, fuzzy sub bass snippets, and (standard) party synth stabs make up a very powerful track - think Sidechains, Grum, etc. A must-have for the electro rave-up animals.

Classixx - I'll Get You (Feat. Jeppe) Buy
Bastila - Ghosts (The Time And Space Machine 'Summer of Love' Remix) RCRD LBL
Killa Kela - Everyday (Lifelike Remix) Myspace
Shakedown - At Night (Y A L L Mix) Web

Flash

I've been on holiday, which is my excuse for the short sabbatical. But now I'm back, with an ipod overflowing with tasty tunes. (Huzzah!). Anyway...

I don't know who St Andrew are, but I know that I've spent the whole morning trying to find out. Apparently he is some guy called Andrew Swanson, he has studied film, some other boring stuff... and he makes nice tunes. 'Cosmic Terror' is his calling card and despite spending most of today listening to his stuff I can't think of anything better to post up. Its a punchy piece of laidback electro, very much in the mould of Nosaj Thing and Flying Lotus but with a bit more action - bigger synths, glittery electro shizzle plastered all over it, some great vocal work, etc. Well worth a listen for anyone who's a fan of the aforementioned two producers, or a fan of electronic stuff in general.

I've been waiting for a good quality copy of this next tune for a good month or so now. And here it is. The Chase & Status remix of Nneka's 'Heartbeat'. This is quite possibly the most obviously commercially-viable crowd-pleaser ever produced by anyone in the history of history (thats probably why they've labelled it so self-consciously) but... f*ck it. Because it is amazing. (In before underground people banging on about how they've sold out. It sounds good to me and thats all that maters).
The thing about crowd-pleasers is that they are pleasing, after all. Big guitars, big bass, massive snares, good times.
Expect this one to be going off everywhere. If it isn't already.

Speaking of commercial stuff, La Roux is very popular at the moment. It seems like anyone who's anyone, or noone (but wants to be someone), is remixing her tracks. 'Bulletproof' is the most recent single, and it's attracted everyone from Foamo to Tepr, but my favourite mix so far comes from the Barcelona duo Y A L L. It's attracted a lot of notice since they entered it for her remix competition by virtue of being brilliant. The Barcelona boys have thrown a load of electro stabs and synths on the song, with a bit of strings (a la Justice/MSTRKRFT/Neo Tokyo) and it sounds awesome. Very dancey, bouncy and cheerful. All the things the original was, multiplied by the power of electro. Definitely a must have.

Last up, how about some feel-good indie? I've posted about Two Door Cinema Club before but I feel like they deserve another mention. The band come from NI and they make very happy summer tunes. 'Undercover Martyn' is their first single and 'tis very nice indeed. You can see the video here if thats the kind of thing you're in to, or just give the track a listen. It's very sing-along, they change the pace up nicely, the guitars are all trebley and rifftastic. Think Delorean, Mew, a less-french Housse de Racket/Phoenix. Indie-pop stuff, basically. There are probably some much better comparisons out there, I just wanted to list bands I like. Ho hum. Check 'em out, they could be the sound of our 'barbeque' summer.

More tomorrow.

St Andrew - Cosmic Terror Buy
Nneka - Heartbeat (Chase & Status 'We Just Bought A Guitar' Remix) Buy C&S
La Roux - Bulletproof (Y A L L Remix) Myspace
Two Door Cinema Club - Undercover Martyn Buy

The Heat

I got the MSTRKRFT album a few month' back and I thought 'Oh, the new MSTRKRFT album. This is pretty good.' Since then I've pretty much ignored it. Mainly because there was too much rapping on the songs and I'm not really keen on that with my dance music. I like beats and nonsense vocal snatches and cuts, not big long verses about why (insert rapper here) is so awesome and rich.
(Not that I'm hating on rap, I just don't think it works too well over electro.)
Anyway, long story short, I've started listening to it again. The reason for that is Wolfgang Hartner's remix of 'Heartbreaker', which was my favourite tune of the week up until yesterday when I heard 'Calypso'. The original version was probably my favourite track from the album, but Gartner takes it to a new level. The addition of a much more powerful bass kick sets it off nicely, and the crazy, wobbly, electro blips and fuzzed out vocals turns this into an absolute classic dancefloor filler. It's in the same sort of vein as Chris Lake's remix of 'Oh My God', for anyone who's heard that.
In case I haven't sold this enough: it is f%@£!*g incredible and you must download it. It makes my brain shit gold.*

I don't want to get stuck in a rut or anything, but I'm going to post another Alex Metric tune. And another Treasure Fingers one. At the same time!!!!
I hope that won't blow your mind too much.
Anyway, this is an older mix that Mr. Fingers did for Mr. Metric, and it is pretty much everything you would expect. Funky bouncy bassline, decorative spacey synths, dance-friendly reverbed vocals and a clubtastic beat. Probably my favourite effort from Treasure Fingers so far actually, loving it. (The original is called 'In Your Machine'.)

I don't know if anyone's seen the new Transformers film? I haven't, but thanks to Datsik & Excision I have now heard it. Seriously. I may be a bit late with this one, but 'Calypso' is literally one of the grimiest dubstep (or is it wobble now?) tunes I've ever heard. If robots went out for a massive lash-up and started raving their rusty metal tits off, they'd be doing it to this tune. The bassline is literally like the sound of something industrial throwing up, and the tune is filled with weird metallic stabs and effects that are out of this world. Heavy. Highly highly recommended to anyone who doesn't know it.

The next tune is one from the ever on-point RubADubDub blog, but it isn't (strangely enough) a dubstep cut. It is, in fact, a bit of intense drum and bass, courtesy of Spor. I could pretend that I know loads about Spor and his tune, but to be honest all I know (and all I need to know) is that 'Aztec' is a banger and I love it. If Formula 1 cars had fat soundsytems, this is the kind of intense, fast-paced shit they'd be playing.

Enjoy

MSTRKRFT (Feat. John Legend) - Heartbreaker (Wolfgang Gartner Remix)** Buy
Alex Metric - In Your Machine (Treasure Fingers Remix) Buy
Excision & Datsik - Calypso Buy
Spor*** - Aztec Buy

*Slight overhype.
**You can DL from there easy enough, they don't appreciate re-hosting. Check out the other free tracks - some of them are pretty good.
***Call me late, but apparently Feed Me is Spor's house/electro productions moniker. I now love him 10x more. Legend.

Brown Noise

So I was listening to 'Rock the Casbah' on youtube this morning and I happened to skim through the comments bit underneath the vid, which is where I came across this:

"yeah buddy i listen to fucking music that would make any high school preppy guido bitch shit her pants. sorry i dont have a narrow mind when it comes to music"

And it gave me epic lulz + wtfs.

But it also made me think. Not in a deep way like 'why are some people so stupid and hateful that they find themselves needing to post those comments oh the woes of the world and the youth of today ...etc', but in a 'lol imagine if a tune could make you shit your pants' kind of way. Now obviously there is the mythical 'Brown Note':

The brown note is an infrasound frequency that is said to cause humans to lose control of their bowels due to resonance.

But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking more about tunes that are so frucking banging they might actually cause you to shit yourself in pure joy. I mean, I've been in clubs where the bassline has been so deep I felt like I might just go right there on the dancefloor, but I've never actually done it.

Maybe one day I will.*

Until then, I'll make do with listening to bangers. These tracks (probably) won't induce bowel-loosening euphoria, but they are pretty sick. First up is the Sidechains remix of Booty Luv's 'Say It'. I've already posted Diamond Cut's take on this song, but the Sidechains mix is a bit lighter and more club friendly (synths, funky bassline, fade outs etc). Its the kind of song that has earned them their place on the bill at Ibiza, and is worth a listen. Those who like it a bit more hardcore and bassy should check out Nero's pretty stellar remix instead. Bufi's 'Homeless Hero' sounds almost exactly the same as Bag Raider's 'Fun Punch' to me, but that is no bad thing. Any fans of Fun Punch or BR should probably check it out. As for Moonbootica, yes, their name is ridiculous and takes far too long to say, but their music is pretty sharp. Very sharp, some would say. Anyway, Freeland is obviously a fan, because Moonbootica got drafted in to remix the new single 'Do You'. Joker and High Rankin were given the same honour, and their remixes are full of dubsteppy goodness, but I've gone for Moonbootica's mix instead. This is mainly because I like them, but their version is pretty good - full of grinding distorted-guitar type synths and a nice bassline stab that promotes headnodding in a big way.

As for Classixx, they probably need no introduction. Cold Act Ill is a tune they released a while back (which is my way of saying I have no idea when) and has had a fair bit of attention from blogs - including Gottadancedirty, which is where I got it from. It is very very awesome and very euphoric - huge beat, great vocal sampling, big, smooth, clubby synth chords ... like a mix between Justice, Fred Falke, Moulinex and Deadmau5. Hopefully thats enough name drops to make everyone download it, and to make everyone so confused that they'll have no idea what it should sound like, letting me get away with that terrible, terrible description.
If any of these tunes make you shit your pants, it'll be this one.

Booty Luv - Say It (Sidechains Remix) BuySC
Bufi - Homeless Hero Buy
Freeland - Do You (Moonbootica Remix) Buy
Classixx - Cold Act Ill (Extended Mix) Buy


*Lol?

Banananananas

Anyone that has been on Hype Machine in the last week or so will have picked up on Sammy Bananas' (who?) exemplary remix of Passion Pit's single 'The Reeling'. A few current big names have done mixes for the track already (Calvin Harris, Miike Snow, Burns), but for me this remix stands out as the most effective, and the most intriguingly different from the original (although Burns' version is pretty different, I don't think it works quite as well). Mr Bananas puts a very housey/tranceish feel on it (I'm thinking Eric Prydz/ WPAHP/ Deadmau5 stlye here), slowing the pace down and lowering the pitch a fair bit. The result is a great remix, if not a classic original track - it stands out more for what he's done to the original than for it's own greatness (but it is pretty effing great). Well worth a listen.

The Aspirins For My Children got a bit of attention for their (his - is it just Mr Barker?) remix of Marina and The Diamonds, and they deserve a bit more - particularly for this more recent effort: a bang tidy mix of Frankmusik's 'Confusion Girl'. Don Diablo has already lent his talented hands to this particular track, but I think the Aspirins mix just edges it for me, by virtue of being a bit more punchy and dancey (and therefore more suited to my high-impact and intense lifestyle). Frankmusik's stuff is occasionally a bit messy and fast so I like the way Aspirins have slowed it down and drawn out/sliced up the vocals a bit more. Plus the piano stabs make it a more epic and head-noddy (if that's any kind of real term or phrase). (Credit goes to We Like It Indie for putting it up originally).

Ah...remixes. They definitely make life a little better. Metric's 'Collect Call', off their new album is a good song - all Bat For Lashes type atmosphere and mildly haunting vocals, slow builds, reverbed, echoing guitary bits, etc. Tom Wrecks version, however, is all haunting vocals, atmosphere and steadily pounding drums. Which I like. He certainly doesn't 'wreck' the original ... a-ha ... a-ha ... lol? (Ignore that). It's got a bit more dynamism to it - the kind of track you listen to while driving at night: You don't want to fall asleep, but you don't want a rip-roaring electro banger doing your head in. It's nice. Like a chilled out Tiesto/David Aussi vibe with more vocals and less synthed-up chord progressions.

I have to thank the awesome Rub-A-Dub-Dubbb blog for this last one: Nero's 'Act Like You Know'. It's an absolute screamer, and a bit more intensely raw in some parts than his much-hyped (and sick) remix of the Streets - it sounds a bit more like his mix for Boy Crisis. There's also a tasty little house breakdown about halfway through - a more direct lift from his original mix - which uses that classic 'Show Me Love' dance sound without directly sampling the over-killed melody. Then it jumps back into crazy scratched up Rusko-style synths (a little bit darker sounding than Rusko, I should point out) and powerful bass punches. Insane, and highly recommended (although the vocal does get mildly repetitive).

Passion Pit - The Reeling ( Sammy Bananas' Big Choon Mix) FG
Frankmusik - Confusion Girl (The Aspirins For My Children Remix) Theirspace
Metric - Collect Call (Tom Wrecks Remix) Hisspace*
Nero - Act Like You Know (Dubstep Mix) Buy

*Like a few other artists, he's giving away some of his remixes free on myspace. Well worth getting hold of!

Pandamonium

Other than that awesome picture, this post has nothing to do with pandas. Sorry.

Anyway, I was flicking through my itunes today and I realised that the only thing more fun than that panda is Frankmusik's remix of 'Did You Wrong'. (Thats an awful link, sorry again.) The Clik Clik are quite a fun little band on their own, and the original version of the track is cheerful enough, but Mr. Frankmusik takes it and pumps it full of electro candy. The end result sounds like a sugar crazed madman attacking a 5-year olds keyboard. In a good way. It comes across a bit noisy and fast-paced initially, but if you stick with it it's actually a pretty cool tune. One from last year, but worth a listen for those who aren't familiar with it.

I've been a fan of Damn Arms since I heard their Cut Copy remix. Which, come to think of it, can't have been that long ago. Either way, I've yet to hear a bad tune from out of their camp, and the SexWax remix of 'Destination' is no exception. The original two-parter is quite a chilled out number, but SexWax (who gives away the tune free with a bunch of other cool mixes on his myspace) makes it a bit more epic. Everything is a bit more reverbed and fuzzed up (distorted), making the song a bit more filthy and club-friendly without losing too much of the original vibe. It's very good, and not too complicated.

Last up is 'In Anima Vili', by Just A Band. I glossed over this tune completely when I first got it, but returned to it by complete chance the other day. I have now managed to decide that it's flipping awesome. 'Burn It Out' was a banger, and 'In Anima Vili' is no exception. I'm pretty sure it actually says 'bang' just as it drops (about 50 secs in). Which is probably reason enough in itself to have a listen. Apart from that, it's got a massive bass kick to it, and all kinds of spaced-out synths flickering over the top. Plus it's got that Justice-style staccato piano stab all over the bass that sounds amazing.

It's been bloody sunny so far this week, I feel like I should have saved up some of my summer tunes. Ah well...

Damn Arms - Destination (SexWax Remix) Myspace*
Just A Band - In Anima Vili Buy
The Clik Clik - Did You Wrong (Frankmusik Remix) Buy

*The Daft Punk mix on his player is well worth checking out.

Soothers

Gutted.

I have no way of linking that picture to this post. So I'm just going to crack on as if its relevance is obvious.

The first song of today, then, comes from the camp of the unbelievably hot, and very talented, Marina and the Diamonds. I'm a big fan of the original song, 'I am not a Robot', so I wasn't really convinced with Starsmith's revamp when I first heard it. The tune starts pretty slowly, and the vocals seem a bit slapped together initially. However, Starsmith has actually given the track quite a summery spin and I've decided it's definitely worth a listen. It kind of has a more 'robot' feel - all floaty A-ux style synths with a hint of Aeroplane to the beat. Pretty laidback. Also, he has an Ellie Goulding track on his myspace, which makes me think that maybe he produces her incredible music, or is involved in some way?* Top marks if he is.

I haven't posted any indie for a while, so I feel like the time has come. I nabbed a copy of the new Signal Hill album More After We're Gone the other day, and its incredible. I was going to post something off it, but then I got Cascade's new EP The Pieces Of The World and listened to 'Midnight Sun'. Both bands are well in to their treble-led, soft, summery instrumentals, and 'Midnight Sun' is quite possibly the best of the bunch. It surges along at a fairly gentle pace, and is laced with sunny guitar chords and riffs that capture the summer moment perfectly. I'm pretty much in love with the song, and I spent most of yesterday listening to it whilst doing as many summer activities as possible (BBQing, Swimming, being hot, etc.) It was awesome. You can also get a free download of their single 'The Hypnotizer' here.

Time for a third genre now. Because although I thought that soft indie might be the quintissential sound for the season, I'm now thinking ... liquid drum 'n' bass. Amirite? Specifically, the brand that High Contrast and, more recently, Chase 'n' Status and Blame have been putting out. I thought Blame's remix for the new 'Show Me Love' EP was awesomeness, and he's recently been sought out by VV Brown to provide a mix for her new single 'Shark in The Water'. I love it. The vocals are perfect, and the track is filled with triumphant trumpet fills and blasts that make it excitingly epic. It's a must-have for anyone who likes Blame's other work, and it actually makes me want to hear more VV Brown, despite the fact that I've been trying ignore all the hype surrounding her since the start of the year.

Last up, I thought I'd bring back a classic from two summer' ago. The Hook 'n' Sling remix of 'Coup D'etat', which probably shouldn't need an introduction. It was on the Ibiza Annual of 2007, and it has a deliciously inordinate amount of bounce and catchingess to it, making it (probably) one of my favourite house tracks of all time. Enjoy, I hear the cold front is coming back.

Gutted.

Marina and The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot (Starsmith's '24 Carat' Remix) Buy
Cascade - Midnight Sun Myspace
VV Brown - Shark In The Water (Blame Remix) Myspace BuyBlame

Bonus:
Bass Kleph - Coup D'etat (Hook 'n' Sling Remix) Buy

*Turns out they're some duo called Goldsmith? Exciting stuff.

Summer's High Heights

That horse is well up for scuba diving.

French three-piece Pony Pony Run Run might also like scuba diving, but that is irrelevant. What is relevant is their happy summer sound, and their incredibly catchy new single 'Hey You' in particular. I can't really put my finger on exactly what it is about this track that makes me like it so much - it could be the nonsense lyrics, it could be the fairly straightforward dance-type beat, it could be the mellow, rising synths, it could be...
Well, all those things. I'll just say that it's the song as a whole that inspires me. Although it might also just be the way he says 'aaye you' on the chorus. Anyway, listen to it. And watch the video.

Before I started listening to 'Hey You', I spent most of the week listening to the new Classixx tune - 'I'll Get You' - which is pretty much certain to be one of the tracks of the summer. You can catch a preview of that here. Anyway, the amazingness of that particular song prompted a bit of Classixx searchmania, and I cropped up (amongst a lot of good stuff) with their remix of Shiny Toy Guns' 'Starts With One' (thanks to Ohh Crapp). The mix is pretty epic, and I especially like what they've done with the vocals - nice bit of mildly distorted reverb and some good cutting. Apart from that, the synth is huge and fuzzy and there are enough changes and chops to keep it interesting. Banging club tune.

Three words that I wouldn't shy away from applying to my last song.

Because Pilotpriest's remix of Lioness is also a banging club tune (see?), though it starts off in the guise of a smooth electro ballad. The first 4 minutes are super chilled, laced with shiny stabs and a funky bass riff, and the chilled softness of those minutes doesn't really prepare you for what happens after, when it gets all bangeriffic and intense. The last three minutes sound like a sudden'Waters of Nazareth' takeover, a kind of Boyz Noize meets Bag Raiders remix that is... uhh... bangeriffic and intense. Worth a listen.

The Weekend is here!

Pony Pony Run Run - Hey You Buy
Shiny Toy Guns - Starts With One (Classixx Remix) Buy
Lioness - You're My Heart (Pilotpriest Remix) Buy

Rockwell

First up today is 'You Cant Cool', off Rockwell D's new 'Burning Up' EP. I got sent this a while back, but I haven't had a chance to post it until now - which is mildly gutting, as it's now on general release anyway. But ho hum. Anyway, I've been playing this track about three times a day. Particularly when I've been feeling tired and in need of my game face, because when it drops it feels like being shot with a Red Bull launcher. Genres now confuse me, because there are too many of them, but I'm going to go with describing it as House music. (Although it might be more accurate to call it banging House music). Whatever it is, its pretty dramatic. The bass is laced with electro-type distortion, but it still has the kind of hollow harmonics you'd associate with a standard club base, so you can feel it slapping your brain and your stomach at the same time. If you're going to play it, play it loud.

Anyway, that massive and hyperbolic plug has put me in the mood for some more house(y) tunes. 'Give My Love A Try', remixed by Leon Du Star, is a bit more chilled out and floaty, but it still pushes along at quite a nice pace. Feels very much like a holiday tune: not too much to it, but enough to help you kick back with a cocktail and relax. ESTO!'s remix of 'Saturated Phat Impact' has a pretty similar vibe to it, although it's half as long and a bit more punchy. The basic difference is that ESTO! has gone for horns where Leon went for strings, and sliced the vocals where Leon stretches them.

And there's also the massive difference of them being remixes of completely seperate tracks, obviously.

But they're both solid mixes, and worth a listen.


Anyway... having trailed off rather rapidly in my discussion of house music, how about a more elc - oh, wait, shit. Is this house as well? Does it even matter? Isn't genrification just holding back the music industry, restricting creativity, and pidgeonholing artists so that the corporate execs can stay in their comfort zones, the bastards? Shock - horror - no one cares and - probably not. It's probably just a way of conveniently labelling music so that everyone can enjoy it and get what they want.

As long as I'm getting tunes as good as CCENTURIESS remix of 'Do The Criminal' it probably doesn't matter either way... This is a track I've been playing a lot alongside that GRUM remix of Skeleton boy, because they have a mildly similar feel, and they're both very good remixes of quite decent indie tracks. The Golden Girls track, however, is probably slightly less decent than the Friendly Fires one, so I have to say well done to CCENTURIESS for doing a bang-up job. So "Well done CCENTURIESS (for doing a bang-up job)". I'm not going to pretend I know anything about them/him/she, because they/he/she are/is very enigmatic (phew). But I will say that this remix is very tasty. The bassline is lovely and funky (especially at the start), and the electric piano bits are very Stardust sounding. Overall it has a very happy sound and I award it 1,000 points. With a few minus points for the annoying car noises they stuck in halfway through, which always scare the crap out of me when I'm crossing the road.

Just realised the spell cheek function on my firefox has failed. Hopefully my amazinged English skills have saved me from any embarrasing mistakes!


Rockwell D - You Cant Cool Buy
Hugo Van Dyck - Give My Love A Try (Leon Du Star Remix) Buy LDS
The Phantom's Revenge - Saturated Phat Impact (ESTO! Remix) Myspace*
Golden Girls - Do The Criminal (CCENTURIESS Remix) Buy

*Check out his mix of 'Just Dance' - awesomeness.

Frozen

(I'm finally back in blogging action after a week which has pretty much destroyed me, but I haven't slept properly for the last three days so you'll have to forgive me if this post is a little bit disjointed. And I've been sitting on these tracks for a while now, meaning that everyone else has posted them long ago, but I refuse to let that phase me.)

First up, continuing the summer-sound theme that I've been pushing so hard, are the 80kidz. Or more specifically, 'Miss Mars' by the 80kidz. I've posted about these Japanese wonder boys before, but this track goes one better for me. I got their album a while ago, and its very sharp - quite hardcore for the most part (distortion, high tempo, fidgety bits). It's also very purchasable and very previewable, courtesy of itunes and their myspace respectively. 'Miss Mars' is a bit different from the majority of their album, but it's probably my favourite. The synth on it sounds like an electric guitar/video game hybrid, and the classic little electric piano bit underneath is... um...classic. Overall, it bubbles along at a nice little pace, and it sounds very sunny. Recommended.

Speaking of bubbles, the next track is 'Champagne' by Allure, another electro-pop hero from Paris. Around 2:42 is the highlight of the song, and I won't spoil it for you, but basically he throughs in some champagne SFX (sorry, it sounds awesome though!). Overall it's a pretty chilled production, with a nice snare/clap drum pattern that gives it a bit of a funk, and some lovely phaser action. All laid over the top of some very cool synthed-up riffs.

Moving on from those two gems, my love affair with all things GRUM continues. This time, Mr Calling in Sick from Australia (another good electro breeding ground) lends his flavour to 'Runaway'. I don't really know how to describe this song, other than to say that it couldn't be any better and it is huge. Pretty much what you would expect from such an awesome collaboration. Great clubby piano bit, awesome game-boy/Danger-style synth, epic vocals, thumping drums... it's a classic.

Obviously, it's going to be hard to top such an enthusiastic plug. So I won't try. But the next track is still worth some attention, and some positive adjectives.

Galactik Knights are a duo (I believe) out of Japan, France, United States. Which just goes to show that Myspace can be a very unhelpful resource some times. Ho hum. Whatever, or whoever, they are, they make banging music. Their remix of T-Pain's 'Freeze' (which they are giving away FREE on their myspace, with various other remixes) is very cool. It still has that pop-R'n'B flavour, which I actually quite like, but with all kinds of electro-house bits and bobs over the top that make it trendy and alternative. So it's OK to listen to it. They've kept the vocals pretty much intact - I guess there was enough vocoder over the top already - but they've souped up the synth bits and given the drums a bit more punch. They've also taken off that horrible whiny saw-sounding bit from the original chorus. Overall, its a lot more danceable, and the sound is a lot bigger. Highly recommended for anyone who like the original, or who doesn't like the original and wishes it was a whole let better.

Also, I got sent a track about a week ago that is absolutely banging. But i'll post it tomorrow because I'm too lazy to do it now. Have a good day.

80kidz - Miss Mars (Myspace Preview)* Buy
GRUM - Runaway (Calling In Sick Remix) Buy Grum Myspace
Allure - Champagne Myspace!
T-Pain feat. Chris Brown - Freeze (Galactik Knights Remix) Myspace!**

*Original link removed. Sorry!
**Download link on their myspace, along with some other cool shit.

Grum(p)y

So, I've had a phenomenal amount of work lately, and because I've yet to do anything towards reducing it, I still have a phenomenal amount. Sucks to be me. However, I intend to have it all done by the 12th, so from that point on normal posting will resume.

Anyway, because it's been some time since I posted, I have a backlog of banging tracks and summer-type tunes to put up before they become too unfashionably old.

So, 5 tunes for today, varying from super-hype electro to acoustic-electronic fiddling, but all with the essential property of amazingness in common.

I have blogging powerhouse discodust to thank, as I so often do, for the first tune on my list: Ellie Goulding's cover of 'Black & Gold'. Now, 'Black & Gold' is obviously, like, soooo old now, but Goulding's cover adds some summer (this is a key word for today, I'm trying to destroy rain) freshness to it with a nice bit of clapping, some melodic acoustic strumming and an ... interesting singing voice. When I say interesting, I'm referring mostly to her accent, which is ...erm... unusual, and not her actual technique - she sings beautifully. But also weirdly. Anyway, the cover is very good, very chilled, and overall puts a very nice spin on the original. It's different - Goulding's style is fairly unique. She uses a combination of acoustic and soft synth elements (like a more laidback Friendly Fires, I guess, without the percussion) to create a sound which I imagine will get her all sorts of critical attention. Hopefully. The rest of her stuff is also worth checking out, for those who are interested.

Where to go from there? Let's go East, vaguely in the direction of Paris, where DatA hails from. Cheers to deathelectro for the heads up on this one. I imagine most people will know DatA either because of his tunes 'Aerius Light' or 'Rapture' (both laced with awesome), and his new track 'One In A Million' draws on both of those to make a very ear-friendly club banger. I've been listening mostly to the Club Remix, actually, because it's slightly more hardcore, and thats the one I've put below. However, the original, unadulterated version is there to see, for free, on his myspace. The video is pretty trendy, (some guy turns up to a house party in a wolf costume/ Partying ensues) and the song has all the elements of a good electro piece - funky bassline, bright synths, sing-along vocals, happy times.

Now it's dubstep time. Everyone loves dubstep! It's the new bandwagon. In an attempt to secure my seat upon it, allow me to point you in the direction of Caspa's 'I Remember' remix. It's good. I'm a huge fan of the original, and I was a little worried that Caspa wouldn't do it justice, but he keeps it fairly simple. And anyone who's heard the Caspa mix of 'Moments in Love' will know what I mean when I say 'simple' - he basically adds a cracking drum beat and a warbly dubstep bass, but it's a fairly decent take on a solid summer anthem. (Caspa and Rusko also did a fairly tasty mix of 'We Are I.E.' recently, which is worth checking out.)

To be honest, all the tracks above are solid, but they aren't quite summery enough for me. And what with clouds threatening to return again and make us all miserable, I need summer tunes. 'Something Good Can Work', by Two Door Cinema Club (you know they're cool, because they have 'club' in their name), is a step in the right direction. The guitar is nice and trebley (think Phoenix/Housse de Racket), with some lovely, chirpy wah-wah bits, the vocals aren't over-complicated, the drums patter along at a fairly decent and regular pace... they sample what sounds like a party halfway through... ... it starts with a bang...
I'm running out of descriptions, but basically it's very happy, very trendy indie.

But... still not summer enough. Friendly Fires were the sound track of last summer, alongside Vampire Weekend, so I feel like I should turn to them for help. Or rather, to Leeds-boy Grum's absoloutely incredible, super happy, super awesome electro remix of Friendly Fires 'Skeleton Boy'. I listened to the original 'Skeleton Boy' before Grum's version, and I couldn't help thinking that it lacked a funky 80's bass, a dance beat, and some shiny electro synths - I'm quite particular in what I want - so I was fairly happy when Grum came along and introduced all those elements. He starts it off all funky and cool, does wonders with the vocals, and then builds it slowly until the synths are ready to come in (after a classic, trance-style, reverbed breakdown, of course). The track has summer written all over it, in 50ft, flaming, neon-pink letters. I've listened to it every day for about 3 weeks.
Anyone who likes the track, and thinks that Grum might possibly be the best thing to happen to the English electro scene ever (or recently, depending on how hyperbolic you feel), should check out his myspace and tell him as much.

This post is too long! Why am I not working!?

Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (GRUM Remix) Buy
DatA - One In A Million (Club Mix) Buy
Ellie Goulding - Black & Gold Myspace
Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work Buy
Deadmau5 - I Remember (Caspa Remix) Buy


After the 12th, some new shit off the 80Kidz album 'This Is My Shit' (ironically), and probably some Allure. Summer's coming!

Dubstep Madness

So I'm listening to Annie Mac, and she just played High Contrast's edit of Skream's 'Let's get ravey' 'In For The Kill' remix. Obviously, it was awesome, but it made me angry ... because it wasn't Last Japan's edit. I've been listening to Last Japan's edit all day (thanks to the kind people at NoisePorn who put it up) and it is quite literally f*cking sick.

Skream's original mix is obviously huge, but because I'm impatient I keep having to skip to the end so I can enjoy the most hardcore bit. Last Japan's edit just makes the whole thing hardcore, and increases the levels at all the right moments, introducing a posionous synth and a slightly more puncky snare to the mix. He preserves all the best bits of the original, and adds all the bits that were just missing (for me, at least).

It's huge!

La Roux - In For The Kill (Last Japan's (Skream) edit) Myspace

On a side note, both Annie Mac and Pete Tong tipped Surkin's remix of The Juan MacLean as destined for greatness. For those who are interested, I posted it here.

Some Traks

A-Trak recently produced Kid Cudi's 'Poke Her Face', a song of which I am not a fan - mostly because of the title, but also because of everything else about it.

However, seeing his name crop up again reminded me of all the good times. Like the time I heard his remix of Boys Noize 'Oh!', and the time I heard his remix of 'Idealistic' by Digitalism. He's a man of many talents, and remixing seems to be at the forefront of them - although he apparenlty also models (sometimes), is half of a record label, is half of Chromeo's brother, and is Kanye's current tour DJ, which explains his association with the aforementioned 'Poke Her Face' song (which Mr West features on.) But none of that is particularly important.

So, on to the songs... Both tracks show his flair for vocal sampling, and both are very solid tunes. His remix of 'Idealistic' is fast-paced, and it marries dancefloor-friendly wobbling bass with a grinding, distorted synth melody (for want of a better word) and a very tight snare, which is half-clap half-rimshot, and whole clubtastic. His Boys Noize remix uses the same kind of drum sounds, although the bass is slightly more punchy, and the hi-hat gets more of a say. Overall the song is less reverb-flooded and sharper, and the vocal sample and sirens give it a more aggressive feel.

Basically, they're both bangers. They've been out for a fairly long time, but for those who haven't heard them...

Digitalism - Idealistic (A-Trak Remix) Buy
Boys Noize - Oh! (A-Trak Remix) Buy

(His remix of Kanye's 'Stronger' is also one of my favourites, and one of the better mixes of that particular track. Well worth checking out.)

So this particular post has a broadly Japanese theme, although not one I expect to stick to with any kind of rigour.

I can't remember which blog recently brought Tommy February6 to my attention, but I'm fairly happy they did. TF6 is the alter-ego of Japanese singer Tomoko Kawase, who created the character in order to... well, I'm not really sure, it's probably some obscure Japanese reason. Tommy hijacks an 80's synth pop sound and wields it like a bright pink disco sword, and her videos and lyrics both ridicule and glorify the genre: revealing its formulaic style and the false innocence of it's stars, but embracing both at the same time. Which means its OK to listen to her brand of super-fun-teenage-sugary-love-pop because it's sort of like a political statement, innit? 'KISS ONE MORE TIME' (it's all in capital letters, because thats how young people like to live) is an upbeat, synthtastic pop romp. The lyrics (half-English/half-Japanese) make no sense, but they sound fairly good. You can kind of hum along. Anyway, if you secretly like Britney Spears and her ilk, I imagine you'll like TF6.

Perfume are pretty much exactly the same as Tommy February6, but they take it a bit more seriously, and they use Japanese more. The band is made up of three attractive girls from Hiroshima, and their production wizard, who hides in the background and makes their songs sound good. 'パーフェクトスター・パーフェクトスタイル' (Perfect Star/Perfect Style - you can hear them chanting it) is the happiest song EVER and is perfect for the summer, which is now here, whether the weather wants to admit it or not. It actually sounds like a bag full of brightly coloured sweets. And I highly reccomend it.

Their other stuff... not so great.

So... I ran out of Japanese pop groups, but I felt like I had to save the theme. 'Love Letter To Japan' is a track by The Bird and The Bee, who most people will know. I'm still not sure how I feel about The Bird, mostly because I'm not sure exactly what they are, or what they want to be. They are described as jazz-influenced electro-pop, which i suppose is fairly accurate, but it's a description that looks horribly avant-garde written down. Whatever...anyway, 'Love Letter To Japan' is a song that got realeased a while back, and which has a few more upbeat, electronic bits and bobs than their usual stuff. I'm not really sure how well Inara George's voice works on the track, it's a bit too airy and light for the chorus, but the song has some good moments - particularly the drop, which is cool. Check out 'Man' or 'Fucking Boyfriend' for some tracks that work a bit better, but which (unfortunately) don't have 'Japan' in the title.

Last up, someone I've posted about before - Neo Tokyo! Neo Tokyo is awesome. He isn't from Japan, unfortunately, but he hails from Wales, which is close enough. And he's obviously influenced by Japanese culture, considering the name. For those who are familiar with the whole Neo Tokyo movement in Japan, just think of Neo Tokyo's music sounding like that. For those of you who haven't, like me, just googled it - NT sounds like the future. He makes grimey electro bangers, which remind me a lot of Bag Raiders, but with more intensity. (Seeing as I compare everyone to Bag Raiders, that's probably not much help - but you can hit up his myspace for some free downloads of some of his mixes. They are very cool.) Cheers to the OhhCrapp blog for posting about NT originally.

Perfume - パーフェクトスター・パーフェクトスタイル Buy
Tommy February6 - KISS ONE MORE TIME Buy
The Bird and The Bee - Love Letter To Japan Buy
The Robot Disaster - Guitars Are Overrated (Neo Tokyo Remix) Buy NT*


*Links removed - for those who didn't get them, check out the myspaces and whatnots.