Current Obsession 04/04/14: Ear Busting Levels of Brostep Part 3: Nero and Flux Pavillion

Its funny because I retooled my song of the day as current obsession but “Current” is difficult to lock down. Its not so much things I’m listening to only this moment or as of this moment, its more things that I “currently” feel like shouting out joy for.

The inspiration for this series of articles is that it is requested the most. There is just SO much electronic music out there and people dont have the time to sift through it for the good stuff. Everyone knows that I’m obsessive about this so I constantly get asked for recommendations on this set of genres. I’ve been a fan of that Skrillex level of obnoxious transformer bass filled body shaking wonder ever since I heard his remix of Benny Benassi’s “Cinema”.  Today I just wanted to highlight some artists I’ve been listening to a lot since then for people who are in the small group of human beings with robot ears. These are in no particular order and some of them have been highlighted in the past. Despite the title, not all of these artists are strictly defined by one form of EDM, I just think if you like one, you’ll probably like the others.

NERO: 

This london based EDM trio is best known for the amazing “Promises” but my first exposure to the band was through the song “Doomsday” which was featured in a Borderlands 2 ad. Definitely the most mainstream sounding of the bands I’ve featured so far, Nero ditches the robot sounds in favor of a more melodic focus and electro house sound. Still there is no denying those epic drops and beautiful beats.

Promises – Alana Watson has the perfect dubstep female vocals. She’s like Ellie Goulding with some meat on her bones. There isnt much to say about the wonder of Promises that isnt immediately apparent upon listening to the song. So good. So classic. This video has an intro since its the official music video.

Doomsday – Nero may be the Muse of EDM. Something about the theatrical setup to their dubstep maybe? I can help but picture people doing  the robot to this one.

Me And You – I LOVE the drop/chorus of this song. I can listen to it ALL day. Those four beats of the rhythm that slowly build towards the inevitable wall of sound drop is just so beautiful to my robot ears.

 

FLUX PAVILLION: 

This english dubstep artist is one who has been around for a while but that I’ve only recently picked up. Definitely most famous for his song “I Can’t Stop”, I’m really feeling his wall of sound style beats and approachable sound. Much more in the vain of Nero than say Borgore.

I Can’t Stop – That beat in perpetual motion that seems like it could make the buildings dance outside if you drove past blasting this from your car is what drives this classic.

Gold Love – Singer Rosie Oddie really adds to this song and for some reason it makes me feel like this would be a James Bond Theme song if they went EDM. Allusions of Goldfinger? Who knows but that bass is really wonderful.

Steve French – Collaboration with Steve Aoki? I’m in. This song doesnt really hit its mark until around the one minute mark but once it picks up, it really picks up. This is definitely a song for da clubs.

 

Current Obsession 03/31/2014: Ear Busting Levels of Brostep Part 2: Borgore and Adventure Club

Its funny because I retooled my song of the day as current obsession but “Current” is difficult to lock down. Its not so much things I’m listening to only this moment or as of this moment, its more things that I “currently” feel like shouting out joy for.

The inspiration for this series of articles is that it is requested the most. There is just SO much electronic music out there and people dont have the time to sift through it for the good stuff. Everyone knows that I’m obsessive about this so I constantly get asked for recommendations on this set of genres. I’ve been a fan of that Skrillex level of obnoxious transformer bass filled body shaking wonder ever since I heard his remix of Benny Benassi’s “Cinema”.  Today I just wanted to highlight some artists I’ve been listening to a lot since then for people who are in the small group of human beings with robot ears. These are in no particular order and some of them have been highlighted in the past. Despite the title, not all of these artists are strictly defined by one form of EDM, I just think if you like one, you’ll probably like the others.

BORGORE:

Borgore is basically the Mel Brooks of Brostep. A comedian who truly loves the material he’s parodying  resulting in some truly amazing music that also isnt afraid to poke fun at itself. My one knock against Borgore is that he can often be crude to the point of turning me off to some of his music. If you dig in though you can find some truly wonderful bass assaulting sounds. I first stumbled on to this Isreali DJ’s  classic song “Legend”.  On its own, I wouldnt recommend the song for more than one listen as it features the most hilarious drop I’ve ever heard which is also intentionally the worst drop I’ve ever heard. I read a comment once that described it as the sound of dying seals.

Legend (Carnage Remix) – I’ll post the original here so you can have a good laugh but dont let it turn you away from the wonderful “Carnage Remix” that turns this comedy song into one of EDM’s best songs of all time. Something about Borgore’s use of space around his bass beat adds this wonderful layer of motion to his music. It’s hard to listen to this stuff and not want to do “The Freak” from the Lonely Island. Specifically the moment around 1:15 comes to mind.

Kiss My Lips – It’s almost impossible to talk about with Borgore without mentioning the assault of glitchy bass that is “Kiss My Lips”. I love that it grabs your attention almost immediately. A lot of EDM doesnt get good till the drop. Usually thats because you dont want to take away from the awesomeness of the drop but here Borgore knows the magic he has in his hands so there is no reason to hold back. It’s impossible to not be blown away by the power of the drop. This is a song that wants to make you wave one hand up and down the entire time the beat is pulsing. If you dont like the vocals, there is also an instrumental version of the track (as with many of Borgore’s songs) and while I usually prefer the instrumental versions, here I really like the vocal input.

My Favorite Tingz – I love this really toned down Borgore dub twist on the classic “My Favorite Things”

ADVENTURE CLUB:

This canadian music duo first started as a hardcore pop-punk band before moving into EDM. They started their career remixing some truly interesting choices for dubstep which is where I discovered them. Who doesnt click on a link to a dubstep remix of “Daisy” by Brand New or “Broken Lungs” by Thrice? Adventure Club takes a softer approach to Dubstep with less hitting you over the heads with its beats and more relaxation (if there is such a thing in the genre, this is where you’ll find it)

Daisy (Adventure Club Remix) – The original song is a masterpiece but this version stands on its own two feet with some very interesting space around the original vocals. Jesse Lacey’s vocals were made for dubstep.

Broken Lungs (Adventure Club Remix) – Some of Thrice has actually flirted with electronica type sounds in the past so “Broken Lungs” is a natural fit. I find it interesting that in this case the original song is almost unrecognizable.

Youth (Adventure Club Remix) – This remix was my first introduction to the artist Foxes and her voice has never sounded better than on this epic  beautifully executed remix. I could drive around blasting the drop of this song all day. A perfect example of dubstep being used as music rather than random noises.

Thunderclap – While I mostly listen to Adventure Club remixes, they have started to release their own original music. My current favorite is Thunderclap with its electrohouse wonder that reminds me of a mix of Madeon and Glitch Mob.

 

 

Current Obsession 03/31/2014: Ear Busting Levels of Brostep Part 1: Knife Party

Its funny because I retooled my song of the day as current obsession but “Current” is difficult to lock down. Its not so much things I’m listening to only this moment or as of this moment, its more things that I “currently” feel like shouting out joy for.

The inspiration for this series of articles is that it is requested the most. There is just SO much electronic music out there and people dont have the time to sift through it for the good stuff. Everyone knows that I’m obsessive about this so I constantly get asked for recommendations on this set of genres. I’ve been a fan of that Skrillex level of obnoxious transformer bass filled body shaking wonder ever since I heard his remix of Benny Benassi’s “Cinema”.  Today I just wanted to highlight some artists I’ve been listening to a lot since then for people who are in the small group of human beings with robot ears. These are in no particular order and some of them have been highlighted in the past. Despite the title, not all of these artists are strictly defined by one form of EDM, I just think if you like one, you’ll probably like the others.

KNIFE PARTY:

If you havent heard of this australian DJ duo before, they basically sound like a mashup of Skrillex and early Deadmau5 filtered though Optimus Prime’s engines. They first appeared on my radar due to their insanely addictive stalker song “Internet Friends”, a true brostep classic that at times hits what I call the “Nine Inch Nails sweet spot”. Oh and for all those Deftones fans out there, they are indeed named after the song off of  White Pony. Basically I’m going to try and only a mention a few songs without getting carried away. If you like these, there are plenty more where they came from.

Internet Friends – Something about that robotic female voice repeating these ridiculous phrases of stalker crazy always makes me laugh. Still, it isnt until they use that cell phone ring in their build that the song truly hits its stride complete with door knocking and creepy horror music. Plus who can ever forget the line “You blocked me on Facebook… And now youre going to die!” The real show stopper for me though is at 2:13 when they brought back all my early memories of Nine Inch Nails. That little section that keeps coming back throughout the song is the true hook.

Fire Hive – The obviously Reggae influence aside (which is super awesome), the song really capitalizes on that transformers morphing sound. I also recommend the Tristram remix which focuses on my favorite moment in the song, this little carnival like sound that when put on loop in the remix with a different beat brought back memories of the town of Zozo in Final Fantasy VI for some reason.

Bonfire – Another Reggae influenced track, this one is definitely more traditionally danceable. It actually really reminds me of something Tom Morello of Rage against the Machine would write which is funny because he is actually a huge fan of the band

Tourniquet – Something about this song really reminds me of Deadmau5’s “Ghosts and Stuff”. That is not a bad thing.

EDM Death Machine – This one is kind of a sequel to “Internet Friends” in my mind with a similar robot talking sound and a non-traditional sounding build before the absolutely insane lazer machine gun on rapid fire wub-wub of its insane drop.

Song of the Day 01/30/13: Knife Party – Internet Friends

Quick warning, this song has some filthy language in it. I dont usual mention that unless it shocked me when I first heard it. Now that you’ve been warned… HOW HAS IT TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO GET INTO KNIFE PARTY?? “Now you’re going to die!” This song is brilliant!! Crazy Facebook stalker and some amazing Dubstep. Theirs this part around the 2:17 mark that I refer to as the Nine Inch Nails section and I cannot get over that little part! I could listen to this on repeat all day! I’m posting the original version because its the one I’m most into currently but I’ve heard a couple remixes that are more fast paced and intense and I’m really excited about getting into all of them!

Song of the Day 01/23/13: Nero – Doomsday

I’ve been wanting to check out Nero ever since they collaborated with Muse, but for some reason it has taken me this long. I finally got a chance to check out their album and was shocked to discover I already knew “Doomsday”. At first I was like, “Where have I heard this before?” Then I remembered that the new trend in video game trailers is to use dubstep and I was like “Borderlands 2!” I havent checked out the rest of the album yet but it seems promising based on “Doomsday”.

Song of the Day 12/23/12: Skrillex – Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites

So i wasnt going to put up this song because I figured everyone and their mother knows of its existence. However, I still find people who know nothing of electronic music except for the songs I post up here and it would be a diservice to not know one of Skrillex top tracks. Obviously the highlights here are his “Oh My God!” sample and an incredible rough fax machine drop plus the soft electronic melody that shows up all over the place. Enjoy.

Just when Im about to catch up, I go and do a thing like enter the final stages of planning an elaborate surprise proposal to the love of my life and now FIANCE! Im sorry this site has fallen off in that time but I fully intend to bounce back. Though probably not till next week considering Im now spending some time with said fiance in New York.

Song of the Day 12/17/12: David Guetta – The Alphabeat

Ive been making these christmas mixes for my siblings as I do every year and now I’m finding all these songs I was obsessed with last year! If you ever wanted to hear the closest thing David Guetta will produce to Daft Punk, the here is “The Alphabeat”. If you can get through this song without wanting to bob your head even a little bit, then you do not care for electronic music at all. It is impossible to not want to bob along if not full on head bang along. Ive made a couple small arguments recently about how similar I really think the metal and dance genres are and I think “The Alphabeat” is yet another song to add to that growing list. The way it builds and then breaks down and then rebuilds differently all while promoting you to wildly thrash around. I also like how it includes both regular instruments and synthesizers in a completely intermingled way. Plus the few little piano parts always give me chills.

 

So… I’m going to post this message on every post for the next couple days. I got way behind due to being on vacation, work, and christmas shopping. I’m planning to post a ton of stuff now so I want to encourage you to check back and take a look at all the songs since Ill probably be posting at least 10 songs of the day in a two day period. Thanks for continuing to like, comment and share my little works.

Song of the Day 12/06/12: David Guetta – Little Bad Girl (Ft. Taio Cruz and Ludacris)

This is another song I got into last winter when I didnt have a blog. Ive been creating some new mixes  and stumbled across it again. Anyone who loves to dance wont complain when Taio Cruz and David Guetta make a track together. This song is manufactured to make you feel like dancing. It’s simple but it definitely gets its job done.

Song of the Day 10/02/12: Madeon – Finale

I love how this song starts out with “Brace yourself… Brace Yourself”.  Because seriously, you have to brace yourself for the amazing music thats’ about to BLAST (seriously, play this loud) out of your speakers.  I’m always looking for new EDM sounds and I was really really happy to discover Madeon.  I think he has a really unique sound somewhere between “Ghosts ‘n Stuff” era, Deadmau5, and the more melodic Skrillex tracks.  Definitely looking forward to more from Madeon!