Category: Music

Mystique – Brand New

The world’s hottest dance label, Ultra Records/Sony Music releases Mystique – “Brand New” on 8/22. The song is available for download on Beatport.com.  This is a House track that will be sure to shake up the end of the summer parties in Ibiza. The video’s not yet available, but there’s a preview from Mystique’s YouTube channel, which we’ve got for your below.

For you twenty-somethings, the vocal sample, “You make me feel brand new,” was most likely resung by a session vocalist and that voice was put through and effects processor. The original idea comes from a classic slow jam by The Stylistics, a Philly soul group from the late 60s and early 70s.

Also, check out Mystique’s latest Beatport chart.

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Remixes of Ruffneck feat. Yavahn – Everybody Be Somebody

This classic originally produced by Ruffneck feat Yavahan in 1995 took that years Winter Music Conference by storm. It’s heavy kick drum and sweet female vocal declaring that “Everybody wants to be somebody” made people move on dance floors around the world. It’s interspersed male vocal popping up throughout the track added a sense of urgency contrasting against the sweet female vocal that quietly reminded us that we all want to be someone. Today, house music lovers around the world immediately identify with the original. It’s 19-years since it’s original release and we’re finally seeing remixes of this classic house music track. Check them out below.

We’re diggin the Lucas and Steve Remix, but if you’re looking for something with an EDM flair, then you’ll want to check out the Luca Guerrieri Remix. Thanks to DJ Strobe for putting us down with this new anthem, which is featured in his latest MixCloud set. Of course, DJs can purchase the Lucas and Steve Remix as a download at Beatport.

Ruffneck Feat Yavahn Everybody Be Somebody (Lucas & Steve Remix)

Ruffneck feat. Yavahn – Everybody be Somebody – Luca Guerrieri Remix

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Francesco Rossi ft.Ozark Henry – Godspeed You (David Morales Remix)

An incredible and beautiful treatment from DJ David Morales who on Fracesco Rossi ft. Ozark Henry’s “Godspeed You” (Energy Production Records) is expanding his sound beyond what we’re used to getting from this house music legend. It’s a warm summer record that we’re sure will be well received at end of the season parties in Ibiza. You’ll surely hear this record at sunrise on a beach somewhere.

While the drums are Latin house flavored, the overall vibe of this remix is deep house and tech house with progressive house elements. Very unique mix from David and certainly one to listen for one dance floors around the globe. Leave a comment and let us know what you think of this record.

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New Imogen Heap album – Sparks

Imogen Heap is one of our all-time favorite modern electronic music artists. We absolutely love how she blends her unique singer/songwriter vocals with the melodic patterns of downtempo electronic music (sometimes called folktronica) by incorporating beats and synths underneath her gorgeous piano patterns and bright, sweet and breathy vocals.

Imogen traveled the world recording this new album and says that there are 14 videos for all 14 songs on the album. We can’t wait to follow along and post them one at a time as they are released.

Her new album, Sparks, is now on pre-order from iTunes. You can preview it here on NPR.

Check out the album preview on YouTube.

Or, listen to the interview with Imogen Heap, “Painting Her Songs In the Air, Imogen Heap Keeps Innovating” on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

Pre-order by clicking on this button: [itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sparks-deluxe-version/id899603432?uo=4″ title=”Imogen Heap “Sparks” (Delux Edition)”]

Kiesza – Hideaway Remixes We Love

Kiesza
Kiesza

We’ve been looking for a remix of Kiesza’s Hideaway, a pop house track with deep house leanings that have every 15-year old girl around the world finding a street corner and shooting copycat Instagram videos of themselves dancing like Kiesza.  After surfing around the web, we came up with two that we really loved.

The first is this piano stomper from Zac Samuel, a little known producer out of Brighton, U.K., who brings a bit of energy to the track. Here’s YouTube video below.

Sure that was fun, but we wanted something even DEEEPER! Well, say no more. We got it with this version by the Bixel Boys, who by the way don’t seem to really go this deep. Listening to their other stuff on their SoundCloud leads me to believe this duo from Los Angeles – who make “underground tunes for big rooms” – took a left turn and settled it down a bit from their normal big room electronic sound. Heck, we’re not complaining!

Dance Music Is Just Too Repetitive, Man

Kraftwerk - Moogfest 20014
Kraftwerk performs live at Moogfest 20014

Yes. BAD dance music is too repetitive. We hate repetitive music too. That’s why you listen to the good stuff, like this live set from Kraftwerk at MOOGFEST 2014, and you don’t have to deal with the insanity! It’s really the way to go.

Dig deep. Don’t settle for pots and pans and click tracks! You might even want to learn a little about Electronic Music Production. Take a class at Dubspot in NY, LA or online or do an online semester at Berklee College of Music.

Unless the artist is going for a theatrical or moody effect, it is best to keep moving along. If an artist or DJ plays the same track, the same noises for too long…you raise an eyebrow. What’s going on? Keep it moving! Not in every scenario, of course, but if you just find yourself standing there wondering what they heck the DJ is doing, that may be indicative of a slack DJ set. We hate slack DJ sets and we hate repetitive beats, too. Enough said! Enjoy the electronic music you love!

But, dig deep. Research. Understand the layers and the nuances. Look for artists and songs who push the envelope and don’t just hit you with 4 on the floor for hours on end. This is supposed to be a journey, not a moment lived over and over and over again. You can learn a lot from watching the pioneers.

The magic of Chris Malinchak’s “So Good To Me”

Last night, I’m at the Disco 3000 party at Ben’s Tune-Up in Asheville. I discovered this party online. When I moved to Asheville on January 28th of this year, I immediately started looking for the house music spots. At first, I didn’t find much. But after digging a bit deeper, I stumbled upon Nighttimeswerve aka Adam Thome who is a member of the Earthtone Sound System crew with Josh Hughey. They’ve created for themselves quite a following as Earthtone Sound System, which was born in Atlanta, but has since relocated to Asheville. Along with DJ Trevor Baker, they created the Disco 3000 party, which currently occupies the outdoor space at Ben’s Tune-Up, a local Asheville restaurant/bar, weather permitting. On cold or rainy nights, they bring it indoors.

ETSS and Trevor are focused on playing a blend of indie dance, nu disco, breaks, house and tech house. It’s really about whatever is funky and gets the crowd going. They vibe off each other and switch off, preferring blending with Serato then using Traktor with the dreaded sync button (which I actually do rely on – I have no shame!). They surely had a dance floor moving last night. Now, I’m a sucker for these emo style house and tech house songs that feature singer/songwriters, rock vocalists or unexpected soul samples. So, to close out the night, Trevor ran this amazing song “So Good To Me” by New Jersey’s Chris Malinchak, which samples “If This World Were Mine” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The song went to number 2 in the U.K.

I was in the middle of a conversation with Adam when Trevor dropped eased out of the current track and brought this one in. I immediately cut-off Adam (sorry, dude!) and said, “what the f*** is this?” It was beautiful, but then again, anything that brings a deep house sound together with the legendary vocals of Marvin Gaye and Temmi Terrell should stop a conversation dead in its tracks. And, that’s what it did. So, without further adieu, here is the SoundCloud and official YouTube video below for your listening enjoyment.

http://soundcloud.com/frenchexpress/chris-malinchak-so-good-to-me

If you’re looking for a hot remix, check out MK’s reworking of this instant classic. I love both versions. Depending on the vibe of the party, you can rock either one and get a groove going.

 

Two great remixes by the renowned, MK!

Mark Kinchen, known around the world simply as MK, has been producing dance music since the early ’90s. MK is responsible for three incredible house music classics, including “For You” under the pseudonym 4th Measure Men, “Love Changes as MK featuring Alana,” and the legendary record by Nightcrawlers called, “Push The Feeling On.”

I first learned about MK when I heard this record, “Somebody New” (which I still have on vinyl!) on KMS Records in 1989. KMS was Kevin Saunderson’s label out of Detroit. One could argue that while we attribute tech-house to German producers like Terry Lee Brown Jr, MK was really one of the early pioneers of tech house – the blending of techno and house. And, it’s clearly apparent on this record as well as the “For You” release.

According to his Wikipedia entry, his discography stops short in the late ’90s and doesn’t pick back up again until 2009. But in an interview with PublicSF, MK mentions doing two or three remixes a month after the Nightcrawlers record. A quick check over on Discogs and you can see that MK has credits on 435 remixes at the time of this writing. That’s pretty incredible, as I personally had no idea he had done that much work. I guess someone has to get started correcting the Wikipedia entry! It’s a huge body of work and maybe it’s time to go back and revisit many of these mixes. Well, that’s when I have some time, because that’s a lot of stuff to wade through.

Since we’re not going backwards but forwards, here are two recent MK mixes that I really loved. The first is a remix of Duke Dumont’s hit, “I Got You,” which is also available on Beatport as a download.

http://soundcloud.com/mixmag-1/premiere-duke-dumont-i-gotyou

This one, Wankelmut feat. Emma Louis, “My Head Is a Jungle,” was one of the top tracks on Beatport’s Deep House and Tech House charts. MK took a crack at this one and the results are here on Netmix. We love this mix and we hope you do too!

Coldplay – Magic (Sebastien Remix)

We’ve been listening to phenomenal music this week. Coldplay’s new album, Ghost Stories, hit the store on May 19th. When we were scoping out Moby’s latest release, Almost Home, we discovered that the same DJ/Producer, Sebastien remixed that record and this one too! Of course, we had to just jump on the Sebastien bandwagon and get this one onto the blog as well. Okay…so we’re a little late to the game on this Sebastien dude. He seems to be scoring a few points with choice artists who make incredible music. Could Sebastien be the next Calvin Harris? It looks like he’s working his way down that road, for sure.

Here’s the original official Coldplay video for single, “Magic.” The song is about a love somehow broken. By whom it doesn’t say, but the memories of that love still persist and while the relationship fades from view, it was still like magic, even if it’s now no longer together.

Here is the Sebastien remix of Coldplay “Magic” we discovered on SoundCloud. He gives this record a nice bottom end deep house flavor with simple piano chords throughout that keep this song grounded near the original. Simple, emotive and effective.

http://soundcloud.com/s-bastien-official/coldplaymagicsebastien

Not sure yet where to buy this remix as the download has yet to make itself available. Hopefully, we’ll see it soon.

If you’re looking for more of an electronic dance music remix, the legendary Giorgio Moroder gives this one a spin as well. You can hear the difference in the more polished sound of the experienced dance music veteran in the complex synth and drum patterns.  This is available now for download through iTunes.

Moby feat. Damien Jurado – Almost Home (Sebastien Edit)

Moby’s new album, “Innocents” is out now and this song, Almost Home, features the American singer-songwriter, Damien Jurado on vocals. It’s an emotive and sensitive downtempo number with a sweeping hook and long synth pad washing underneath. Very ethereal and though provoking. Classic Moby in his ability to find and work with interesting vocalists flying under the mainstream radar, but popular in their own right.

You can hear more of Damien Jurado’s folk sound and singer/songwriter abilities on his website.

Here is the official YouTube video for Almost Home.

If that’s a bit too downtempo for you, here is a remix from Hamburg, Germany based DJ/Producer, Sebastien. This guy is definitely someone to watch for his ability to work with strong vocals. Maybe a German version of Calvin Harris? We’ll see!

Buy this release on Beatport