Each year we put together a playlist of our favorites that are performing at Outside Lands, but we got bored of that this year. So we decided on putting together a bunch of Kanye mashups & remixes instead, ’cause Kanye would want it that way. Except them being remixes maybe.
A little disclaimer. For the most part, don’t take these too seriously, especially the first one. Some of the tracks even fall outta sync at times, but each has their moment.
Just prepare yourself with these “unofficial Kanye collaborations” and hope he debuts his official one with Disclosure this Friday at OSL. It could happen. It should happen.
#3 is the best, by the way.
Last year I heard Insomniac was taking its Wonderland festival and bringing it to The Bay. The thing I remember most when looking into Beyond was that Insomniac was trying to create a festival so visually & audibly stimulating there was no need to rely on ecstasy or LSD. As you can imagine, I was pretty eager to find out how well they pulled it off both personally as well as for other attendees. And as much as I can’t speak for them, though some of the pictures can, I will speak a little on my own account.
Visually, everything was pretty enchanting my two nights there, but during the day the drabness of the Shoreline Amphitheater seeped through. Much of the crowd was dressed in full fantasy and really made the scene more than anything. But where as the visuals were decent, the music faltered.
Some of the night acts, namely Zeds Dead & WhiteNoize, were a helluva time, but the music that played most of the day can best be described by one song, the dirty bit version of ‘Time’ by The Black Eyed Peas. In other words, once the beat dropped everything went to shit […]
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88592510" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
I gotta admit this was an impulse postage. In that I really didn’t take the time to see if it was even worth posting. But when you have Pretty Lights + Talib Kweli in the same sentence, it’s pretty much on auto post.
On the up & down side, Pretty Lights sticks to that electro-funk hip-hop he’s personified so well. And even though I’m not sure how long lasting ‘Around the Block’ will be, it’s only the first single off PL’s new album, A Color Map of the Sun, so all it needs to last is ’til the release (that being July).
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87930214" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18" /]
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.
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/48663111" iframe="false" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
I’ve actually had my ups and downs with this one, it’s not that I ever disliked it, I just didn’t have as strong of a feeling for it. I love that signature Pretty Lights sound, but there’s really nothing new as far as experimenting and that’s why I love the dude so much in the first place.
Still, it takes us back and makes for one hell of a Run-DMC remix… although, it’s still not on the level of his 2010 unreleased remixes (yet).
[audio:Its-Tricky-Remix.mp3|titles=It’s Tricky (SSX Pretty Lights Remix)]
Other than the Mixes & Mashes, 2011 was the year of Electro Music here on SNG. It all started out through our transition with hip-hop. I remember thinking to myself that we needed more uptempo, dance type music. A year later and the majority of the site is just that. As much as we need to hop back on the hip-hop wagon, this electro ride has been one of our favorites!
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Pretty Lights was asked by the ReGeneration Music Project to fuse his style with country music for a documentary they are doing. He decided to do two different versions, one is “a dusty hip-hop style track laced with dobro and steel guitars” and the other, a “banging electro hip-hop remix of the first version.”
PL just released the first version and I’m sure the second one is right on its way – probably before the documentary’s release in early 2012.
[audio:Wayfaring-Stranger.mp3|titles=Wayfaring Stranger (ft. LeAnn Rimes & Ralph Standley)]
For the last feature of our 30 Days of SoundKlout, I wanted to show off one of my favorite electro artists, Pretty Lights. However, instead of just throwing out my handful of favorites, I went through every one of his albums and plucked the top ones. It took an assload of time, so I hope you enjoy.
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When I saw this posted up on the Pretty Lights site, I made a little girlish yelp. Ever since I saw the live version on YouTube, I was obsessed with this industrial, bass-heavy grinder.
Lately, I’ve been talking a lot about bass producers over complicating their drops. Take the advice in Pretty Lights ‘Truth’ that it’s not about how dirty the drop can get. Like all writing, whether it’s music or language, use only what’s necessary! and forget the rest!
[audio:Know-Truth.mp3|titles=I Know the Truth]
Pretty Lights is remixing the shit out of 2011 with some old-school rock classics. In today’s feature, PL splits up 7 Zeppelin classics into one electro mashup. In parts, Pretty Lights shines, however, in others I feel like it could’ve been a bit more Zeppelin’d out. I love the grimey, electroness PL always has to offer, but Zeppelin had much more to offer this remix.
[audio:Pretty-Lights-Zeppelin.mp3|titles=Pretty Lights vs. Led Zeppelin]