Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Bangerz: Devastating Stereo

This is an extraordinary track from an american collective called The Bangerz. They’re veterans of the stage, performing live and opening for numerous artists. You've heard their original music featured in several ads. They're also famous for touring with MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, The Jabbawockeez.

Devastating Stereo by The Bangerz

Monday, August 27, 2012

Looptroop Rockers: Professional Dreamers

These swedish bastards are good at almost everything. They have a producer called Embee, who creates touching, soulful hiphop music you never heard before. He is also famous for forming Looptroop Rockers with Supreme, Cosmic and Promoe. Their proper swedish names are in order Magnus Bergkvist, Matias Lundh, Tommy Isacsson and Marten Edh.

Looptroop Rockers

The group was formed two decades ago, but they’ve been supporting themselves solely through music since they formed their label DVSG. Their secret is a strong work ethic made possible through the conviction that your business is your pleasure, and that the two perhaps shouldn’t be separated.

And that as a tight group, believing in and loving each other, no stumbling block can stop you, only make you stronger. With that strength comes the independence that makes you realize your worth and not sell yourself short in the cut throat music industry. And with maturity comes the humbleness that makes you realize your limitations and search for good partners and strong bonds in that same industry. Through the social sacrifices that have been the result of that lifestyle they have still never lost the ability to dream. The group's fifth release, Professional Dreamers has a lot of fantastic tracks imbued with this kind of spirituality. All of the songs got beautiful, high quality videos.

Embee's hard hitting beats, laced with deeply reflective melodies create an enchanting universe for the listener to explore. Lyrically, they’ve rarely wanted to waste people’s precious time with nonsense rhymes.

The messages, of politics, independence, love, life and death have appealed to people all over the world. With an incredible ability to recreate themselves, fans sometimes fear what will come next, but the Looptroop Rockers has always needed that constant evolution not to stagnate or get tired of themselves.

The album is independently spirited, colourful and musically individual, just as we got used to it from their older works. Also, I can feel the influence of new trends, especially on the beats. The instrumental intro, Don't Wanna Wake Up leads up perfectly the entirely release as well as the title track, Professional Dreamers. The whole album stays by this dreamy, extremely soulful and rhytmic vein with an intense electro impression. I fell in love with the vocals of Any Day. This Music Sounds Better At Night and Do are perfect examples of how simple beats can absorb the listener. El Clasico has a perfect symbiosis of cymbals and careful construction of drums which then make place for a wave of sampled vocals, really cool. However, my favourite tracks are Magic and Joseph, which give me an inredibly meditative, joyful affection. I think these are tracks I'll never get tired of. Professional Dreamers is an ode to everyone living their dream, and dreaming their lives.

Professional Dreamers
Tracklist:

Don't Wanna Wake Up
Professional Dreamers
Any Day
This Music Sounds Better At Night
Do
On Repeat
Sweep Me Away
Blow Me Away
Darkness
El Clasico
Magic
Late Nights Early Mornings
Joseph






Sources:
Ezinearticles
Wikipedia
Discobelle

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Fracture Design: Wildlife

Egor Tucsin was born in a small russian town called Tyumen, but is currently living in Budapest, Hungary. In his childhood melodies were everywhere as his father was a huge fan of music, also the neighbor played the piano all the time, hearing the instrument was an instant love for Egor. He got his first synthesizer as a present when he was 12 years old and he started messing around with it. Ever since he gets his inspiration from the most beautiful city at night, Budapest.

Wildlife by Fracture Design

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Raphael Saadiq

Charles Ray Wiggins was born in Oakland, California. His early life was marked by tragedy, he experienced the deaths of several of his siblings as a young child.

Saadiq states that he does not want his music to be reflective of the tragedies he experienced, saying that "And through all of that I was making records, but it wasn't coming out in the music. I did it to kinda show people you can have some real tough things happen in your life, but you don't have to wear it on your sleeve."
I think this is impressive.

He has been playing the bass guitar since the age of 6, and first began singing at age 9 in a local gospel group. Later, he joined a group called The Gospel Humminbirds. He and D'Angelo were occasional members of The Ummah, a music production collective, composed of members Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla. He came a long way to build a successful music career. Saadiq's critically acclaimed album, The Way I See It released a few years ago featuring artists like Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone and Jay-Z, received three Grammy Award Nominations and was voted best album on iTunes.

His fourth and latest album, Stone Rollin finds Saadiq on bass, keyboard, guitar, percussion and drums. Throughout, his falsetto remains supernatural and his songwriting successfully summons the ghosts of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. Saadiq is a classicist of the best kind, one who not only carries on tradition but expands it. Give him your love on his website.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Sun Glitters

Sun Glitters is the alias of musician and producer Victor Ferreira, a downtempo artist from Luxembourg. His sound is an ocean of lush melodies, pitch-shifted vocal samples, ghostly choirs, warm bass melodies driven by alternately dense and relaxing beatwork combinations between downtempo and wonky beats. Everything Could Be Fine is Ferreria’s first release, and it’s a swirling melting pot of many different influences and textures. Sun Glitters displays a unique and rich sound that’s both genre defying and packed with emotion.

Beats are complemented wonderfully with eerie and beautiful vocal samples, rumbling bass and layered ambiance. Everything Could Be Fine is an excellent mix of the hazy ambiance found in artists like Tycho, the vocal samples of Swarms and the trippy vibes of Boards Of Canada. Hauntingly nostalgic female vocals peep in and out of the drunken beats in songs like Too Much To Lose and A Dragonfly In The City while synths and fat bass lines build structure to the music. Simply wonderful.

Sun Glitters is definitely a worthwhile addition for anyone who enjoys relaxing electronic or chillout music. You can get informed about Ferreira here.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Emalkay

This is some really crazy, head banging music from Birmingham's finest, Emalkay. Yesterday, I had the pleasure to experience it on OSG13, in Budapest. Martin Knowles works with warped, future bass drones, epic strings and huge drops. He released his debut album, Eclipse in 2011.

His music captured the interest of such prominent dubsteppers as Benga, and received major support from acts such as Scratch Perverts. Give him your love too.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Dirtyloud: Kill Humans

Dirtyloud is an electro project from Brazil, formed by Marcus Campos and Eduardo Nascimento. Their productions stroll among many dance music genres, but progressive electro, house and trance are the main roots. Since their first releases Dirtyloud pledges a place among the major electro players worldwide. Happy first birthday to this sick banger. Attention, this is dirty and loud.

Kill Humans by Dirtyloud

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Soulero: Out There

This track couldn't be simpler and cooler, it got me completely addicted. Soulero is a 20 year old studio producer from Sweden. The name originated when he was in his early school years, along with a friend in his class. He used the name in online games along with music production, and it has stuck ever since. Soulero is currently trying to delve deeper and explore other genres.

Out There by Soulero

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Benga

Already in his fifteenth year of making music, Benga is one of the first dubstep producers from the times when the style was emerging. He wandered into Big Apple record shop where they were amused and gave the cocky teenager a shot at spinning there. That's how it all got started.

After seeing his prodigious talents, they signed him to Big Apple Records. Over the next few years, Adegbenga and his friend Oliver Jones’s creations could be heard at the shop. Since his acclaimed album Diary Of An Afro Warrior, Benga has propelled club music in many directions. There’s always bass, but he refuses to be limited by a sound or scene. Benga has done big business with subterranean basslines, evocative instrumentation and undeniable choruses, placing him in the upper echelons of producer remixers working right now. “They can call it whatever they wanna call it, I'm not afraid to say that my music is dubstep. I've always made this mental music and I made it accessible. I love to use hooks because I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, real music. That's why I made music in the first place.” He insists.

There's a perceptible difference between the oldschool tracks and the new ones, his style changed, it got a bit more electro and less dubstep, he uses more drums, vocals and synths and less bass. It's up to you, which one you prefer. If I had to choose, it would be oldschool. Funny, bright, charismatic, and like all genius musicians, a bit mad, Benga’s enigmatic personality shines both behind the decks and within his music anyway. Give him your love on his website.

Since those early days of Big Apple, Benga has worked with great artists, remixed Example and The Prodigy and performed quite literally all over the world. It’s pretty much actual fact that you need to book a day off life after experiencing a Benga set. “Crowdsurfing in the London Eye, that was a good one.” He laughs of his exuberant, energetic approach. “It was nothing we ever planned to do. It was just natural for me and Skream to get smashed before a show. I was turning up to places and people were telling me I was more rock and roll than rock and rollers.” He says.

Alongside Artwork and Skream, Benga formed Magnetic Man and signed to Sony Columbia. Their self-titled debut featured an eclectic roster of vocalists including artists like Katy B and John Legend and won the trio fans from all around the world. Now signed as a solo artist to Sony Columbia, Benga is ready to take his sound even further with his new album, Chapter 2.

Smack Your Bitch Up by Benga Midnight by Benga I Will Never Change by Benga

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Phutureprimitive: Kinetik

Addictive beats, heavy bass, sensual vocals, total immersion, all of these can be found in the newest, extraordinary album of Phutureprimitive, called Kinetik. This is a long awaited second release of the artist. The older one, Sub Conscious is less bass-centric and operates with longer tracks. Kinetik has a completely different, more ambient atmosphere, which opens a whole new dimension for the artist.

He has updated his sound in line with current musical trends, and expertly fuses heavy doses of dubstep and his trademark, melodic tendencies. Kinetik uses all the knacks of the new dubstep wave, but not the primitive way. His work demonstrates an influence from professional downtempo too.

As someone who only recently discovered Phutureprimitive, it will be a great adventure through a whole new world of dark, heavy electronic music. Perfectly timed beats and symphonic sounds are creating a great harmony, this music manages to be relaxing and motivating at the same time. Listening to this album was a really interesting experience, there weren't any tracks which I didn't like.

Here’s what Phutureprimitive has to say about the album: “This album is a reflection of the times we are living in, hard and aggressive, lush and beautiful, kinetic, frenetic, distorted, ever changing, but with each passing moment, a chance to move through life and make it a better place than we found it.”





The first track prepares you for the rest of the album, Cryogenic Dreams is simultaneously melodic and energetic, afterwards comes Kinetik and Xotica, both full of power due to their motion and fluidity of sound. They're very motivational, absolutely perfect for sports like running. Some of the tracks like The Changeling has heavy, powerful bass booming and deep, weighty vibes. In my opinion, there are two more notable songs, Ripple Effect and High Rez both have interesting human and digitally altered robotic vocals. These vocals on High Rez bring contrast to the heavy tone of the album with a more upbeat feel, still connecting to the rest of Kinetik with its choppy bass undertones. Synthy base lines overlay an irresistible rhythm created by digital percussion and intense melodic diversity in his work.
I think this is an album which can't be ignored.

Tracklist:

Cryogenic Dreams
Kinetik
Xotica
The Changeling
Rapid Cognition
Ripple Effect
High Rez
Predatory Instincts
Center Of Gravity
Disappear






Sources:
The Untz
Splendid Beats
Inrevu

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Monthly Chart: July

These are the best 10 freshly discovered tracks of July:

10
09
08
07
06
05
04
03
02
01