Headnodic’s The Iguana album is all sample free, but I’m still dying to figure out what lovely lady he got to lay down some vocals for Zaya. And until I do, take a listen to Headnodic’s smooth, culture song and help me figure it out.
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Terror Tone’s Tundra instantly reminded me of times out in London, back when I was there in ’09. I worked for Universal Music at the time doing digital marketing for a few of their rap artists. And as terrible as they all were and the rap scene in general out there, I think I’ve finally found something from England, and technically Toronto too, that’s got potential. And even though the Ragga Twins are nothing new to the scene, if anything quite the opposite, with Terror Tone’s garage edit, this puts a whole new spark to “UK rap.”
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Ghetto Funk’s yearly roundup of electro funk remixes wasn’t as eventful this year compared to last, but of course there was at least one funkadelic remix to highlight. Lewd Behavior’s remix of ‘Fell in Love with a Girl’ by The White Stripes is a bass rollin fanfare, ‘specially with those drops. I bet if Mr. White himself went funky with the electro, he’d probably tune the bass to something like this – it matches his sound that well.
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God Pierce really pulls the magic from Paul Meany’s voice. This Mutemath remix has all the bells & whistles you usually find in a Pierce Fulton bit, electro-weirdness & all, but these Mutemath vocals really top it off best. Love a song that makes you reflect (I should make a mix of them all, someone please remind me).
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I, Aeronaut is a pleasant change of pace from all the disco-electro we’ve been raving about lately. ‘Everything’ is a no frills, downtempo relaxation, but carries a calm, emotional melody to keep your attention. Once again, however, some vocals may have done another instrumental track some good (easier said than done, though).
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Last year if you had asked me which country was home to the most quality and innovative producers, without hesitation I would have said France. In the past few months, however, it’s clear that either my alliances have shifted or the UK is on FIRE with their creative and talented producers.
Maribou State is the latest UK production duo I’ve stumbled upon and whenever I try to listen to something else, they find their way back into my playlist. Genre-wise, they go by “ambient” or “future garage”, but genre has become such a fluid idea with electronic music that they really can’t be classified. Every instrument and sound in this song is isolated in such a way, that each time you listen you hear something new. The vocalist, Saint Savior, gives the song a driving purpose and and the light percussive beats give the song a light and airy feel. It’s a pretty easy song to fall in love with, so don’t fight it, just let it happen.
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It’s 2013 and I know you’re all just dying to move on to the next big electro-genre. UK Garage is nothing new on the scene, but the last months of 2012 were pretty explosive for the genre—classified by that funky 4/4 kick-drum rhythm and shuffling hi-hats—as. Disclosure, two teenage producers from Surrey (UK), have made their way onto major radio playlists, namely BBC Radio 1.
The two have been producing for quite a few years, but their big break out on the scene was late in 2012 with their smooth Garage hit ‘Latch.’ Disclosure wastes no time building a percussive intro, and dives right into a song driven strongly by the rhythm as well as its explosive and gorgeous vocals. I’m a sucker for some strong male vocals, and what I particularly love about the UK Garage genre is how heavily its vocals always pull from R&B influences. UK Garage has a tendency to be driven more by the percussive beat than the melody, but Disclosure’s ability to create a track that pushes those boundaries through more complex melodies really shows their potential to make their own distinctive mark on the genre […]
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Lovin the melody on ‘Tuna Melt,’ but while that’s on break the song seems to get a bit repetitive. It’s just one of those things ya gotta get (or fast-forward) through, but once you do it’s one funky-ride melody. Hopefully, A-Trak & Tommy Trash decide to radio edit this, I think that’ll do the trick.
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When I first caught Milwaukkee on Amtrac’s remix, I thought they were some act associate with Bon Iver & that Midwest folk scene. Not only are they not from around there (or even this country), but they’re on a blog’s label I frequent, LessThan3.
Both Amtrac’s remix & the original ‘Alone’ take what sounds like Ellie Goulding’s voice and mixes her in two separate ways. The original went for a more uptempo, disco vibe, where Amtrac went with some hybrid of hypnotic soul. Either way you like it, both succeed separately (though Amtrac is still slightly ahead).
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The EDM scene seems to have missed our radar this year, but we did manage to bundle up a bunch of electro remixes anyway. And there are a few gems in there that you’ll definitely need to listen to – contrary to my lack of effort in electronic, it will be a big part in the future of music.
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