A very late-breaking edition of Sweets of the Week here, tendered with apologies: what with the jam-packed summer schedule of festivals and events, it can sometimes be tough to get the weekly playlist assembled in time for Friday. But don’t you stress — I will always provide for my homies.
This week we hear a massssssssive new big-room track from Laidback Luke, which has owned my iPod for the past couple of days, plus new stuff from Toronto’s Dzeko and Torres, Riva Starr and Butch Clancy, aaaaaand a sexy, sultry ballad from Ellie Goulding. These taste sooooo good! Have at it, kids!
A little more than fashionably late with this post — but better late than never, right? Right? Right!
Fresh from an incredible set thrown down at last week’s A-Trak show in Toronto, Meech is back with his brand new EP , I Want. A perfect title, and a probable subliminal marketing campaign, as this EP is exactly what we’ve been craving.
The taste of something different in this clusterf*** of similar sounds is exactly what the Toronto native delivers. Jumping into action the minute you press play, the title track is a must-have whether you’re a fan, a remixer or a DJ seeking out perfect focus tracks for your sets. The sample is quick and precise, and the blending of percs and proper kicks in perfect proportion give this song an immediately comfortable feel. Until the 2 minute mark, anyway, when the sh*t goes h.a.m.
The great aspect of of this track is its versatility. You could just readily expect to hear it at a lounge, a main room or a festival stage. Honestly, I think it would sound best as an instrumental for a conscience rapper like Shad or Q-Tip to flow over. If we’re going to tear down genre limitations, Meech is the guy writing the handbook on how to do so.
This week we see the continuing evolution of bassssssss, as Feed Me and Gemini team up on “Whiskers.” Even heavier and nastier is the newest remix from Adventure Club, who are quickly becoming big dawgs in the dub world. So what if nearly all of what they put out is remixes? All of them are fire. This remix of Foxes‘ “Youth” might just be their best yet. Like I said, heavy!!!!
We also had the release of Steve Aoki‘s “Ladi Dadi” remixes, featuring some of our favourite artists. But the highlight of the week had to be the return of Bob Sinclar. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard anything new from Sinclar — so long I’d practically forgotten he used to hold a top five position on the DJ Mag 100. But on the evidence of these two new tracks — both fun and easy on the ears — I have a feeling that come the middle of summer he’ll be headlining once again at all the big events.
By the way, WMC 2012 in Miami is just around the corner; look out for some announcements next week. Keep it locked!
Longevity and music don’t always go together. The industry is littered with careers that lasted for a cup of coffee. One low-fat soy latte later, and these artists aren’t much more than ghosts on your iPod. Up they pop when you’ve got it on shuffle, and you’re left to ponder: “Oh yeah. Whatever happened to these guys?”
Cosmic Gate are not that type of group. With seven albums to their name over a span of 10 years, I think it is safe to say these guys are here to stay. Their hypnotic synth sound established itself as the unofficial soundtrack to the Guvernment’s dancefloors back in the early years of the last decade.
It all started with “The Drums” in 1999. Back then, on the eve of the millennium, EDM wasn’t anywhere near as big as it is now — at least, not in North America. But this song managed to cross the Atlantic and spread light on us. It’s always fun to go back and listen to a group’s first hit just to see how far they’ve come. But honestly, “The Drums” is so big and so perfectly “cosmic” that it feels as though it could have been released yesterday. They may have a little more melody and some softer sounds in their music today, but tracks like this are still what gets the crowd wet at Cosmic Gate shows. Of course, remixes by Markus Schulz and Robbie Rivera will help get your name out there.
Longevity in the music game doesn’t come without effort. It takes years of late night studio sessions — and generally a couple of days without showers as you try to figure out the right combination of LFO envelopes and cutoff filters to make that song a thing of true beauty. If you look at Nic and Bossi’s remix resumé, you’ll see that these two never take a day off. A rundown of their best remixes:
Now fast-forward to the present and the release of their album Wake Your Mind. This is soundtracky, heavenly, emotional and all-around good music. With the tools available to all our favourite artists now (Native Instruments’ plugins, Nexus, almost anything made by AiR), you can really tell who’s a pro and who’s a joe. Anybody can make a song now — but it’s the pros who know how to make a song that’s out of this world. And Cosmic Gate are the living proof.
I don’t know if they’ll have time to bust out all of their originals and remixes when they hit The Guvernment this Saturday — but I am sure the ones they get to will be the cream of the cream of the crop. If you’re in town, I definitely recommend you catch this show. More than a state of trance, sure to make you dance! CLICK HERE FOR INFO & TIX.
Bitter cold throughout the city of Toronto this weekend, but that didn’t stop the concert and party scene. I, however, am the biggest wimp when it comes to minus-15 weather. So I grabbed a couple movies and a couple of mixtapes, some wine and steak sandwiches, and called it a hibernation weekend. It’s a shame, too, because Burakka Som Sistema had been calling my name for the past couple of weeks, but I just wasn’t up for it.
What I was up for was dedicating some time to finding new cuts you’ll love. And what I came up with was Steve Aoki remixing Bassnectar, Urban Noize brightening up Young Money‘s Tyga, and more. Take a taste and savour the flavour.
Bassnectar dropped the new Divergent Spectrums EP on Friday, and it features a host of remixes from some of our favourite names. I’m not sold on all of them, but the more I listen the more I hear pieces of a picture I admire. Plus when it’s free and it’s Bassnectar, you want to just snatch it up and worry about the fine details later.
Urban Noize‘s remix of Tyga‘s “Rack City” seems to have disappeared from Soundcloud. Here’s a link where, with luck, you’ll be able to find it. If not, be sure to check it on YouTube — it brings a different feel to a song that a lot of people are jumping on.
Forgive me for being tardy with this one. Our favourite Swedish electro duo F.O.O.L. (F**k Our Ordinary Lives) gave a way a free track for us last week and I missed it. The good news is, I’m all over it now — and it’s dark, which I find to be F.O.O.L’s best style. Pick it up!
We’re excited to be launching a brand new bpmtv.com EXCLUSIVE feature. Starting today, you’ll be enjoying a regular series of podcasts produced and hosted by bpm:tv’s Scott Willats. SCOTT’S SELECTIONS will round up the biggest, best and baddest electro tracks from the club scene, for your delight and wonderment.
We’ve got Episode One for you right here. Check below for the track listing, with links. And stayed tuned for SCOTT’S SELECTIONS #2 — coming soon!
Follow Scott Willats (SAWStruck) on Twitter
