Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Song Of The Day: Bassnectar - Upside Down


Today, Bassnectar released the first single off his upcoming release Divergent Spectrum (available August 2nd) called 'Upside Down.' The single is available free to download here. If you've got a pair of headphones, you'd better get them on, and get them cranked up.



*Image Courtesy of www.bassnectar.net

Song Of The Day: DJ Shadow - Giving Up The Ghost



In looking at the state of music today, I believe it's as important to look back at where things have come from as it is to look forward to where they are going. DJ Shadow, aka Joshua Paul Davis, is one of my favorite producers and DJs, and was a pioneer of instrumental hip-hop. His first album, Endtroducing... was released in 1996 on Mo Wax Records to much critical acclaim. 15 years later, his style has evolved, his work has influenced many, but he still tours with the same energy and dedication he had when starting out.

'Giving Up The Ghost' of Dj Shadow's 2002 release, The Private Press, is undemanding, eerie, wildly energetic and beautiful all at once.



DJ Shadow is currently touring around the world, including at this Summer's US Identity Festivals.

*Image Courtesy of MCA Records

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Song Of The Day: Sound Tribe Sector 9 - When The Dust Settles



On June 7th, Sound Tribe Sector 9 have released their first EP since the return of their frontman and bassist, David 'Murph' Murphy. Overall the EP continues in the same exploratative direction they have been going over the last few years with Peaceblaster, and their more recent Ad Explorata. The EP has 5 tracks, with my personal favorite being the eponymous 'When The Dust Settles," a lengthy, rolling track which harkens back to some of their earlier work, specifically 'Shock Doctrine' and 'Metameme' from Shock Doctrine.

The EP is available for purchase here.



*Image Courtesy of 1320 Records

Monday, June 27, 2011

New Video: Skrillex - Rock n Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)

Skrillex's newest video "Rock n Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain) seems to be his own iteration of 2010's wildly popular "Barbara Streisand" video by Duck Sauce, to show you just how many famous people he knows (or will allow themselves to be filmed in his company), and how much better the life of a DJ is than your own. Enjoy.

Song Of The Day: Signal Path - Taste


Signal Path is a progressive, genre-defying livetronica trio hailing from Denver, Colorado. The group consists of Ryan Burnett (Guitar, Live Production), Matt Schumacher (Bass, Live Production), and Damon Mentzer (Acoustic Drums). They've released their fourth EP Minds Make Light last Tuesday, June 21st. The release is completely free, and available here. Their style fuses elements from many genres of live and electronic music with a live performance style similar to other electronic/live performance groups like the Pnuma Trio, Big Gigantic, and Sound Tribe Sector 9.

Signal Path has been touring heavily so far this year, hitting up festivals like Nocturnal, Summer Camp, and Sonic Bloom. I look forward to their next visit to the Northeast where I definitely plan on checking them out. Here is one song from their newest EP, Minds Make Right.

Signal Path - Taste


*Images Courtesy of www.signalpathmusic.com

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Song Of The Day: Emancipator - When I Go (Michal Menert Remix)

My apologies, as my music player/cloud website appears to be having technical difficulties, so I will posting all songs on YouTube until I find a solution.

Today's entry comes from Michal Menert, straight off of Emancipator's new album Remixes, released yesterday, June 21st, 2011. The album consists of numerous remixes of tracks from Emancipator's 2010 release, Safe In The Steep Cliffs, by artists such as Big Gigantic, Blockhead, Michal Menert, Ooah of the Glitch Mob, and Emancipator, aka Douglas Appling, himself.

Many have noted that Michal Menert's sound is similar to earlier releases from Pretty Lights, while it is tough to not draw comparisons between the two as Michal Menert is now on the PrettyLightsMusic label, Menert co-produced Pretty Lights' first EP Taking Up Your Precious Time. Michal Menert's style has remained true to the original, drawing influences from funk, psychedelic rock, blues and hip-hop, and relying heavily on his own instrumentation and sampling, it continues to grow around itself while remaining on the same course.

This track, and the whole album are available here.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Preview: Governor's Ball Music Festival

This Saturday, June 18th, marks the inaugural Governor's Ball, a dance-centric music festival located on Governor's Island in New York City, featuring some high energy headliners. The event also boasts numerous art installations, interactive events like a satellite Beer Pong tournament, table tennis, beach volleyball, and much, much more. Here is a little information about a few of the headliners.

Pretty Lights - Still Rockin (Big Apple Stage 10:30pm - ???)


Pretty Lights is Colorado-based producer, Derek Vincent Smith's most recent musical project. Relying heavily on old funk, soul, and hip-hop samples, Pretty Lights infuses this blend with his own style of Bass heavy music, and electro beats, to create a very unique and evolving sound. Smith performs live with fellow producer and drummer, Adam Deitch. Together, Pretty Lights has become one of the most sought after live performances in electronic music today, and with the combination of talented musicians, unique performance style, remarkable stage production, and high-energy sound, it is easy to see why.

Girl Talk - Still Here (Gotham Stage 9:05pm-10:25pm)


Musically, nothing is sacred when it comes to Pittsburg native Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk. The self proclaimed king of the mashup has been starting dance parties around the country for the last few years, combining everything from Elton John to Notorious B.I.G. to create some of the most notable mashup mix tapes of the last decade. Expect to sweat, suddenly notice a large portion of the crowd has climbed up on the stage, and see Gillis standing atop this sweaty writhing masse of people, shirtless, laptop in hand, showing you why he deserves his title.

Empire Of The Sun - We Are The People (Big Apple Stage 8:00pm-9:00pm)


Known around the world for their ostentatious performances, and synth-pop anthems, this Australian electronic duo is no stranger to high energy events like Governor's Ball. I've never seen them before, but know few people who haven't heard some of their music by now, so I'm excited to see what they'll have to offer.

Neon Indian - Ephemeral Artery (Big Apple Stage 5:55pm-6:50pm)


After the release of their debut LP Psychic Chasms, this Texas-based group has been garnering both critical and popular attention, and are hitting this summer festival season hard, performing at Camp Bisco X and the North Coast Music Festival in addition to Governor's Ball. The group also recently partnered with Pitchfork for their 3d Music Video series with their song Mind, Drips. It will be interesting to see what they have in store for this performance.

Tickets to this event are still available, and can be purchased here, or at the gate on Saturday morning. Tickets include round trip ferry, and the first one leaves 11:15am from Pier 11.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Song Of The Day: Pretty Lights - Pretty Lights vs Radiohead vs Nirvana vs NIN

From PrettyLightsMusic.com: "Pretty Light's newest creation remixes and samples Radiohead's "Everything in its Right Place," Nirvana's "All Apologies" and Nine Inch Nails' "Closer." This is the .mp3 of the first release for Pretty Lights 2011 Remixes collection."



*Image Courtesy of Pretty Lights Music

Friday, June 3, 2011

New Release: Feed Me - To The Stars EP



British Producer/DJ Jon Gooch aka Feed Me has just released his first EP of 2011 on Mau5trap and exclusively on Beatport. Feed Me's synth-laden, hard-hitting, Electro House style is a welcome addition to this year's many solid releases, and I can say without any restraint that he is the artist I am most looking forward to seeing at this year's Starscape Music Festival.

Feed Me - To The Stars (Original Mix)


Feed Me & Tasha Baxter - Strange Behaviour (Original Mix)


Feed Me - Pink Lady


Feed Me - Chain Smoker


Download the EP here.

*Image Courtesy of Mau5trap Records