A Noob on the scene

France's very own Noob is moving in all of the right circles right now, with some high profile remix work and a deep, driving production style. The Brodinski remix is a head mangler of track, which sways to and fro, twisting up and around your speakers. Noobs remix of Popofs 'Serenity' on the other hand, is a clubbier track with uplifting build-ups and progressive, orchestral riffs.

Brodinski - Oblivion (Noob Remix) / YSI

Popof - Serenity (Noob Remix) / YSI

Scuba - Twitch (Jamie Vexed Remix)

Having got the word from Mumdance's Tweet i looked up this incredible Jamie Vexd remix of Scuba's 'Twitch' . The track is a slow roller with distinct Madlib / J Dilla-esque sounds consisting of broken vocal loops, deconstructed twitchy drums and soaring, yet deep bass.

Scuba - Twitch (Jamie Vexd Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Crookers - What up Yall

I do worry for the Crookers street cred if they head down that "mainstream" path, but for now, in this moment, this track fucking owns it!

Crookers - What up Y'all / (Y.S.I)

Bringing Music to the States

Hostage has managed to take some time out from his tour round the US of A to drop me his latest jams. The self titled "daft calypso rhythms with some dirty bass and ravey horn stabs going on" ! Its good honest fun ;-)

Hostage - Bring the Music / (Y.S.I) - in a nice 320kbps no less...

People Under The Stairs

A little off-topic, but:


San Francisco Knights

While trying to work, electro house tends to mash my head a bit. To bring things down a notch try People Under The Stairs.

People Under The Stairs - Acid Raindrops / (alt)

Volatile

After following up a recommendation from the awesome interview with Hostage, i got in contact with Volatile - the grimey electro / techno producers that have started to receive some radio play and blog love. I'm going to try and initiate the band wagon and get things rolling for them. First things first, check out their Myspace page and get them on your friends list. Second, download these tracks that they kindly sent over and get listening.

Their sound brings the term 'Apocolyptic techno' to mind, with huge whomping techno beats, air raid sirens and grizzly basslines fueling these grimey tracks. Its good to get the heads up on new talent, and Volatile definately have something good going on.

Absolute Zero and Subphonics - The Code (Volatile Remix)

Volatile - Faces of War

Mom & Dad

I'm still quite unsure why Mom & Dad keep passing under the radar. The Californian producer is churning out big house beats with jackin' choppy basslines - get on it.

Edu K - This is Shit (Mom & Dad Remix) / (Y.S.I)
Mom & Dad - On My Mind / (Y.S.I)
Mom & Dad - Kill Your Parents / (Y.S.I)

Don Diablo + The Ting Tings

Im not usually a fan of mashups, there a bit circa 2002, but Don Diablo's label sent over a few of his latest efforts, with my favourite being the Ting Tings 'Thats not my name' vs his own squeaky bassline from his Rave Rave Rave tune. Definately danceable:

Don Diablo vs The Ting Tings - That's not my Rave / (Y.S.I)

Only The Cool Kids eat Chewy Chocolate Cookies

The Chewy Chocolate Cookies are coming up in the world. They seem to be quietly churning out respectable remixes and I have just been emailed their remix of The Cool Kids "88". Give it a taste, let me know what you think of the crunky bits ;-)

The Cool Kids - 88 (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Jack Beats - It's the future, i've heard it

I know 2009 is going to be pretty big for 'electro' and i use that term quite loosely as the electro 'scene' can't easily be pinned down to a certain artist or sound that easily any more. The stuff that i like, and is being played around alot is taking samples from all different music styles including old school acid house, rock, techno, dubstep, reggae, bassline to name just a few. 2009 will see us being more exposed to these 'hybrid-tunes' that incorporate the best bits from some or all of these styles.

Im not a member of the 'genre police', but just love the way a sound will come and go having taken bits from others, to make something new. Jack Beats, in my opinion seem do this extremely well with a killer lineup of one part Scratch Pervert and one part Mixologist. With a well established history of music production and DJing experience between them, luckily they turned their hand to making a few club friendly electro-hybrid bangers:

Lady Sovereign - I Got You Dancing (Jack Beats Remix) / Y.S.I

Project Bassline - Drop The Pressure (Jack Beats Rinsed Out Rave Remix) / Y.S.I

White Williams - Violator (Jack Beats Remix) / Y.S.I

Boy 8-Bit - Fog Bank (Jack Beats Remix) / Y.S.I

Steed Lord - It's What U Do 2 Me (Jack Beats Remix) / Y.S.I

More Hostage Fun

Seeing as Hostage and I are now bestest of friends, he sent through one of his latest tracks. Think splodgy(?) electro with a tinge of old school breakbeat. Nice.

Hostage - The New Gun / (Y.S.I)

Tiga - Mind Dimension Remixes

Because this song has been stuck in my head for some time now it needs to be posted. This song from Tiga has been much abused in the clubs and for the very reason and its ridiculously heavy, with its buzzing synth, at times squirrel vocals and only the slightest smattering of a drum beat. To give the track a new lease of life i present to thee the original gangster and a couple of cheeky bonus remixes:

Tiga - Mind Dimension 2 / (Y.S.I)

One from Gingy which has alot more bounce:

Tiga - Mind Dimension (Gingy Re-edit) / (Y.S.I)

And the other from NT89 & Shinichi Osawa which is a touch grittier than the original:

Tiga - Mind Dimension (NT89 & Shinichi Osawa Remix) / (Y.S.I)

The Duke Rocks It

Mr. Oizo and Duke dumont were pretty awesome on friday - Mr Oizo stunned and surprised with his usual concoction of uber cool-ness and random everything goes playlists. Nelly Furtado - Maneater followed by some DnB anyone? I was kind of upset he actually learn to mix since i last saw him - i thought 'not mixing' was the new mixing?

Duke Dumont was much pretty jackin techno all night long, which was good because i was let down by his set last time - but got the right vibe this time. I didnt know much of it but recognised a bit of Popof and Style of Eye, which rocked the place considering it was filled to only half capacity.

Style of Eye - Girls / (Y.S.I)

Exclusive Hostage Interview and Beatport Mix

I was lucky enough to get an email from Alan Hostage an awesome house producer who is set up for a busy few months, starting with a US tour with the OH SNAP!! peeps. I mentioned Hostage in my top 8 artists for 08' and expect him to grow in popularity throughout 09', to kick things off we have an exclusive interview with the man himself and some shameless self-plugging of his recent Beatport top 10 mix.

Lets kick this shizzle off!

Hi Alan thanks for taking some take out for this interview, How are you?

I'm pretty damn good today, it's Friday afterall and there's partying to be done. A tad cold at the bodily extremities but nothing a bit of Friday won't sort out!


For those that dont know your music - how would you describe your sound?

If it was a recipe for a nice dancefloor-cake you'd do the following:
Ingredients:
500g of Electro and mixed with 250g of House music
125g of Techno
A dash of Old-Skool Hardcore
A tablespoon of Fidget (If you don't have any fidget a wee bit of Wonk will do)
A knob of Bassline
Blend them all together into a nice wobbly dough.
Bake at Gasmark 128bpm for 1 hour and 20 Minutes.
Sprinkle with UK Rave Stabs circa 1992


How did you get into the music scene? Any tips for readers interested in getting into the industry?

I've been releasing records for 10 years, starting by the usual route - sending tapes to record labels, DJing locally and slipping my own tracks into the mixes - I've just been doing this for many years and now the sound which I favour has a stanglehold on the dancefloors and the Blogosphere which has meant many releases, remixes and gigs all over Europe - Just work hard at it and do what you like.


So your based in sunny Edinburgh.... whats the music scene like there?

It's hmmm...ok...the clubs keep burning down in Edinburgh. All musical sub-genres are represented in the Athens of the North, just on a very small scale!

What sort of people do you think would go to your gigs?

Ravers, Sweaties, Goths, Ghosts, Hipsters, Fanboys and Fangirls, Hedonistis, Trainspotters, Those with an uncontrolable desire to wave their arms and legs about whilst intoxicated.


Are you involved in any sort of promoting or are you pureley a DJ / Producer?

I've dabbled a bit in the past but it's real hard work so I empathise when I meet promoters when they have their 1 hour of mega-stress 1 hour before the doors open - but now pure production and gigs.


Whats your favourite track so far this year?

Bird Peterson - The Essence


What do you think to Crookers potentially going 'mainstream'? Will this affect your production style at all?

It wont affect my production style at all but It's kinda nice that the sounds which I like are being accepted in a mainstream way.

I heard the Crookers remix of Kid Cudi's Day and Night on TMF at 9:15am on Monday morning this week - which made me think - AWWGAWWWD, but then I thought, no, wait, that's damn cool, I bloody love that bassline, Ok, i've heard it in every set in every club all year, but damn, that's good that it's so popular.

Who should we look out for in 09'?

Volatile.


You have your Shake it EP out now on Beatport, aswell as a Top Ten Chart. Any other big projects / remixes of yours to look out for?

I have forthcoming remixes coming out for Eskimo Twins and aUtOdiDakT. My Remix of Bill Cosby Sweater is out this month on the Australian 'Sweat it Out' Records.
I'm starting my US Tour on 23rd January in El Paso, TX and will bring the uk rave-house sound to NYC, DC and various other american backwaters ;)


Who would you most like to DJ alongside?

Jimmy Saville


Do you have any messages for our readers?

Have a most splendid weekend and an even more splendid 2009.


I think you'll agree that was awesome. Be sure to check our Hostage on Beatport, for now, sample his Beatport top ten mixed in wonk-tastic fashion:


(click the image)

And the You Send It Version: Hostage - January Beatport Mix

bonus:

Hostage - Stab Up / (Y.S.I)

The Ultimate Discovery

While digging around my old cds at home, i found the usual: crap bought on a whim, my very first CD's, a Michael Jackson cassette of 'Bad' and even my first dance cd : The Ultimate Rave - which has "21 mindblowing mixes". I dont know how i actually managed to get this CD considering it was made in 1991 - i would have been 5 at the time.

I also had to scan the front cover, it says it all really! This was a very exciting moment like when you find money down the back of the sofa... The CD has some jems that i know, some i didnt know and will learn to love and some absolute classics. Old school flavours, with the likes of K-Klass, The KLF, Prodigy and Bizarre inc. I cant be greedy and keep all the tunage to myself. Enjoy.

K-Klass - Rhythm is a Mystery (Remix Edit) / (Y.S.I)

Bizarre Inc. - Playing With Knives (Quadrant Mix - Radio Edit) / (Y.S.I)



And a more contemporary cheesey banger from 1999 you will either love or hate:

Darude - Sandstorm / (Y.S.I)

Bugged Out with Oizo

Tonight, Londons very own Bugged Out behemoth will be gracing Sankeys in Manchester, with a curious line up of Mr. Oizo and Duke Dumont. I'm very excited, not only because Mr. Oizo is like a very fine bottle of wine, only coming out on very special occasions, but because he has the knack of being able to blend electro / jazz / acid house and RNB in the same set and get away with it.

Oh, let's not forget hes joined by Dubsided's Duke Dumont. Hoy!

Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat / (Y.S.I)

And the backstreetboystotalrudeghettodancingclub (haha) edit of Dukes' Gypsy banger:

Duke Dumont - Hoy! (BSBTRGC dans le desert Edit) / (Y.S.I)

Riva Starr Remixes

Riva Starr (or Riva $) also be recognisable as Technoey breaks producer Madox has really impressed me recently with his transition over to something more clubby. His upfront driving techno style, tight production skills but also his ability to mix it up is always refreshing. Alot of his remixes are kinda minimalistic electro, but have enough substance to keep you going - It seems a logical way for Riva to go, and works well.

Here, Riva spices up the age old classic 'Sound of Da Police' by KRS One, which has been heard in partys all across the planet for what seems like an eternity. Its a cut-back techno beat with a thudding, rolling tempo. It also cuts and loops 'wooop wooop', which is probably a good thing.

KRS One - Sound of Da Police (Riva Starr Remix - ie: Sound of Da Pecan) / (Y.S.I)

For wobbly try his take on Pirate Robot Midget :

Pirate Robot Midget - Its My Beat Now (Riva Starr Remix) / (Y.S.I)

And for sheer awesomeness (sorry about the quality):

Fatboy Slim VS Riva Starr - Rockafella Skank / (Y.S.I)

Crookers are Animals

Not that 2008 wasnt already huge for Baile Fidgeteers the Crookers, i'm expecting even bigger things throughout 2009 and a shed load more remixes along the way. Things are also likeley to heat up especially considering their rumoured collaboration with Hip Hop remixer and producer Kanye West.

Kanye West has every right to jump on the 'popular scene' band wagon, his use of samples is one of his most appealing features of his music (although hip hop has been based around sampling since the early days)... It does fill me with sadness though to think that Crookers are probably going to be on MTV bass and the like... Anyhow, let me know what you think of their newest remix of Mike Snow's "Animal". It has a carnival feel again, similar to Punk Jump Ups remix of 'Carny'.

Miike Snow - Animal (Crookers Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Bass Weazels!!

BEWARE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN FIDGET. So will alot of my 2009's posts im guessin.. Bass Weazals are fun party tastic house producers. Fidget to the max with big beat, rave and crunk vibes coming as standard.

Plus, they remixed my favourite Switch banger ever 'This is sick'. Definately a duo to watch for '09:

Solid Groove - This is Sick (Bass Weazals This is Sick Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Plus bonus old school sounds:

Nyteowl - Bring Back Da Funk (Bass Weazals Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Happy New Years Electro Lovers !

Happy NYE everyone! Hope you all had a good one – Tramp was pretty good, a bit minimal at times but good vibes overall, with plenty of new and old tracks put together well. I also heard good things about the Wax:On night in Newcastle from my friends. Claude Von Stroke and Fake Blood were the nuts supposedly.

I’ve actually been running a few days late on this one, I lack any form of internet at my house and my neighbours have passworded their wireless signal – how dare they. I am basically here to put together a short list of my favourite 8 producers for the year and give examples as to why they are so awesome. The music scene in 2008 has been ridiculously awesome and has seen a big shift in not just electronic music, but the clubbing scene in general.

Pretty much gone are the days of ‘avin’ it’ electro in clubs, tunes from the likes of Justice and every other impersonator typified by huge distorted synths, legions of sweaty neon ravers and general madness. Thats not to say that style is not popular, or indeed won't come back. But right now, things have got a bit more cheeky, grimey and dubbier along the way with producers reinventing our favourite genres to satisfy our thirst for something new.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of a distorted banger in a mix but you wont be seeing any Boys Noize, Justice or MSTRKRFT in my top 8, times are a changin’ folks.

In no particular order i have loved:

Fake Blood:
The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (Fake Blood Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Crookers:
Azzido Da Bass - Dooms Night (Crookers Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Drop the Lime:
The Fugees - Ready or Not (Drop the Lime Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Jack Beats
AC Slater - Jack got Jacked (Jack Beats Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Boy 8-Bit:
DJ Touche - Girls a Freak (Boy 8-Bit Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Hostage:
Altern8 - Frequency (Hostage Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Proxy:
Autodidakt - Shit Your Rack (Proxy Remix) / (Y.S.I)

And last but not least: Foamo:
Mystery Jets - Half in Love With Elizabeth (Foamo Remix) / (Y.S.I)

Lets make '09 a good one!

x