To start things off today I've got a simple house jam from Prince Club to set the mood. This one comes off of the 12th installment of Snatch Records along with two other supa-beats from the duo. Just in case I haven't hammered this point into your heads enough, these Canadians are ones to watch out for. Prince Club - Body Holly (Original Mix)
Fellow German techno wizards Boys Noize and Housemeister team up on BNR's latest release: "Shizzo". With it comes "Saturday", a strange and distorted creeper with a rolling bassline and a eerie interlude that preps you for a pretty massive drop. See what you think below. Boys Noize & Housemeister - Saturday (Original Mix)
On the more banger side, this one from Will Bailey is exactly that, a banga'. Some classic rave stabs build into a diabolically grimy drop that'll blow the pants right off your legs. Will Bailey - Dance 1.1 (Original Mix)
Porter Robinson's name is on the tip of everyone's tongue in the EDM world, garnering an impressive reputation for his genre-blurring, intricate, and downright filthy releases. This latest remix for Innerpartysystem shows us a slightly different side with a main melody I think would be right at home in the middle of a Sven Vath set. Of course, there's plenty of his typical bang and boom in the drops that follow, but it seems the NC whiz-kid is developing his style quite nicely. Buy the full release on beatport y'all. Innerpartysystem - American Trash (Porter Robinson Remix)
Now this a release I was looking forward to for a long time, ever since I heard the beginnings of the track in his "Shake Me Please" mix a while back. "Feel Alive" is a classic display of Jean Elan's progressive mastery. I'll let the music do the rest of the talking, but please show the man some love and support the whole EP on beatport. Jean Elan feat. Cosmo Klein - Feel Alive (Original Mix)
And to leave you, two tracks that I strongly encourage you to drop at your next party. The first, a killer edit of Laidback Luke and Steve Aoki's bomb "Turbulence", and the second...just listen to it, you'll understand. Laidback Luke & Steve Aoki - Turbulence ft. Lil' Jon (Inquisitive Edit)
Nicolas Jaar's new LP "Space Is Only Noise," out on now Circus Company, is something confusing and emotion-laden; propelling yet alien. I'm not gonna lie, I haven't listened to the whole thing. Freaked me out. But, one thing is for sure: this work is art worth exploration, especially coming from a boy who started making music at the age of 14 and is currently a 20-year-old student at Brown. Here are my two favorite tracks off the LP. The first is a discombobulated hip-hop beat verging on lounge and the second, a riff which turns into a pulsing gallop beneath swirling kicks and eerily funky vocal cuts.
Mid-terms... woo yeah awesome great super splendid grand. I love studying a lot for things I don't care about at all. If I didn't have a constant stream of new electro music to listen to, I don't think I could make it through this extended period of indentured servitude they call college.
So a while back, I was really against getting a twitter account. All of these social networking websites are overwhelming and there are times when I want to run away into the forest and never return... but alas, I have been repeatedly rewarded with great tunes directly from artist's twitter accounts. Today's example is an absolutely swell new Tepr remix of Jamaica's Jericho. Much like literally everything Tepr does, I love it and so should you. I'm getting some Justin Faust vibes on this one. Jamaica - Jericho (Tepr Remix)
This disco gem comes hot off the presses from Soundcloud. Oliver is a tag team combo of disco house masters U-Tern and Oligee. I think I speak for everyone everywhere when I say that this is a match made in heaven. Lovely funk side chained kick, grimey bass synth, bright and shiny synth lines floating over top of a Chromeo-esque vocoder vocals. Yum. Juan Atkins - Dayshift (Oliver's Nightshift Remix)
I mean... it's Tensnake. Always spot on with his remixes. This one isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but as usual he brings the heat. I'm not sure if you needed more funk in your diet after that last one... but here it is. Lissie - When I'm Alone With You (Tensnake Remix)
New Le Castle Vania mix tape. Download it for free (!) on his soundcloud page. Track list after the jump.
"Over an hour of bangin indie electro goodness exploding in your face! This mix contains tons of brand new and exclusive material including 2 unreleased singles “Awake” and “Back To The Light” as well as exclusive unreleased remixes that I have done of D.I.M.’s Is You and John Lord Fonda’s Sound Of A Melody"
Alright so we've been slacking a bit recently (only 11 posts in the first 21 days of february, yikes!), but fear not because we've got big things in store for this spring and this summer that we've been working on. Among some things we've got coming up are an interview with Sticky K and the resurrection of our weekly Saturday Essential mixes, except the mixes will be coming with a twist. Instead of just having one DJ do the mixes every week, we've decided that we're going to start using the weekly mix as a way to showcase talented DJs from around the world (DJs if this is something you're interested in, send us a demo mix or shoot us an email). Another thing we have coming up is later this spring we're going to start throwing events in southern California, and this summer we plan on doing a weekly club night with big name djs on the east coast, either in Washington DC or in New York, or maybe both. Stay tuned. For now though, enjoy the collection of great tunes I'm about to throw at you.
John Dahlback has been one of my favorite producers ever since seeing him perform on Ibiza last summer. The man is simply a masterful producer and DJ, able to easily conjure up moods and grooves like few others in the business are able to. I have two complete bombs from him here for you. The first, called Winter, is his newest single and it demonstrates a perfect execution of gorgeous piano-driven progressive house. The second, a remix of Benny Bennasi's recent single Electroman is a HUGE electro-house jam that features tribal drums and centers itself around a viciously massive synth line reminiscent of Congorock's Babylon. John Dahlback - Winter (Original Mix)
New deadmau5 remix here, and I'm happy to say that it's rather progressive and quite wonderful, sounding more like the old Random Album Title deadmau5 than the new 4x4=12 shit. My faith in the mau5 has been continuously broken down, ever since his lackluster performance at last year's ultra and all of the terrible music he's been releasing lately. However, this remix, released this week on Ministry of Sound's Chilled House Session 2011, shows him returning to form, and hopefully this is a sign of more good things to come from Mr Zimmerman. Marco Demark & Casey Barnes - Tiny Dancer (Deadmau5 Remix)
Avicii has been releasing music at a relentless pace recently, and one would probably expect that the quality would start to wane with him pumping out tunes at such a fast rate. Well, that's not the case, as this remix shows. I like the mix of the progressive sounding mallet hits with the electro drone that he seems to be favoring recently (see: the swede dreams remix I posted last week). I feel like this could mix seamlessly in a dj set with the awesome BOTNEK remix we posted a while back. Maxie Devine, Viani DJ, Veersus - Dreamer feat. Janice Robison (Avicii Dream On Mix)
Chris Moody, the man responsible for the absolute bomb that was his remix of Justice's classic "We Are Your Friends", teams up with DJ Riz to turn this Boney M hit into a bone-afide (see what I did there?) floor filling house jam.
Newcomers onto the scene, the '96 Bulls have really impressed us with their fun and funk laden remixes and have definitely become a name we look out for. Recently, they've released two stellar mixes for mega aussie dance duo PNAU and Gold Fields, both fo' free. Take a listen below.
Busy P & DJ Mehdi released the Let The Children Techno compilation back on the 14th, featuring the likes of Mr. Oizo, Siriusmo, Brodinski, and Djedjotronic. Amongst all the madness you can imagine those guys brought to the release, this beautifully done synth disco romp from Breakbot was especially appreciated. Great great stuff from the Frenchman.
I believe we posted a rip of this a release a while back, but you'll be glad to know I have a 320 version for you all today. Louis La Roche + unreleased Duck Sauce. It doesn't get much better.
There hasn't been a Tensnake release that I've heard I haven't thought was perfect. Hercules & Love affair's "My House" garnered a lot of love from the B&S crew, but this remix from Tensnake just takes it to another level entirely. This is how house music should sound.
Pleasurekraft have really started to grow on me the more I've listened to their stuff. Masters of the tech-house sound, these DC locals (reppin') have an insane arsenal to get people groovin' to heavy beats. I just heard this remix today and immediately purchased it. It's beyond good, and if it doesn't make you dance your ass off, you must have a serious physically or mentally debilitating medical condition for which you probably need urgent care. An undulating, whip-like flare noise lifts you off your feet, carrying you until the melody drops and the foreign, tribal vocals begin to pulse above a softly beating drum, building and building into a massive drop that'll smash you right back into the floor again. It's a doozy.
And finally, I happened upon this video on Gregori Klosman's youtube channel the other day. It's a preview for an upcoming track entitled "Peacock". It sounds maybe the slightest bit huge.
It's been a bit too long since my last post, but hopefully the tunage I'm bringing you tonight will make up for that. I encourage you to crank your speakers, lock the doors, and hide the children, as these songs will assuredly transform you into a dance-happy maniac.
Patrick posted the GLOVES remix of "Sunlight" earlier, and although I don't think this mix from stopmakingme quite reaches its level of awesomeness, it's still damn good. I'm a sucker for those vocal stabs.
Thadius Hunter, who comprises one half of Australian dj duo Down N Dirty Djs, will have you busting loose with this Chicago house inspired edit of Heatwave's classic "Boogie Nights".
The blogoshpere (ourselves included) is all over Kartell right now, and for good reason. The frenchman has an apparent knack for all things funk and disco. Pantera may be one of my favorite house/nu-disco jams to date. Here's a nice little remix he did for Teenage Bad Girl that I spotted on Upside Sounds. Check it out.
Still more funky house goodness, I got my hands on this one from Galactik Knights earlier this week. These guys were a big part of the sounds that got me seriously into the french house scene. This particular remix should show you exactly why, with an upbeat, high energy, and downright danceable beat that anyone could get behind.
Augustus posted Part 1 for everybody to download, so I'll go ahead and post this 192 version of "Time to Change (Part 2)" for you all as well. Just like I said in my last post about it, it's a dance-floor destroyer with a heavy hitting drop brought in by a wonderfully disco-y buildup. Pick up the 320 from Highbloohere.
And to close things out and get this Saturday night started, how about some mad electro craziness from Ninetynine Hertz and Mr. Oizo? Have a thoroughly Bright & Shiny weekend errbody.
The good people over at RiotMaker Records were cool enough to send us this bad ass Fare Soldi remix the other day. We posted a streaming-only version of this song a while back, but here's the whole sh'bang. Fare Soldi continue to impress us with the versatility of their production skills; in contrast to their typical disco-fueled stlye, this track feels like straight badass electro with a fat bassline and vicious synths reminiscent of some earlier Boys Noize (a compliment of the highest order). Herr Style - Jack (Fare Soldi Jackette Remix)
If you don't know about Dillon Francis yet, consider yourself warned. Recently signed to Mad Decent, mr Francis has a fresh style that seamlessly blends bass heavy, but still melodic, electro with slurred down, almost hip-hop beats. I'm not surprised this kid caught Diplo's eye. This particular track is a perfect representation of the style Francis continues to establish as his own. DWNTWN - Transition (Dillon Francis Remix)
Highbloo has been on my radar ever since Brodinski included My Sitar in his monstrous set at this year's HARD Haunted Mansion. Time To Change Part 2 has been getting a lot of attention on the blogosphere, so here's Part 1. It's a relentless electro tune centered around an almost baroque-esque fugal synth line. I could see this one being worked into a darker themed dj set to devastating effect. Highbloo - Time To Change Part 1 (Original Mix)
The remix release of Cassius' I <3 U SO EP came out the other day, and it's stocked from top to bottom with really quality remixes. We already mentioned the awesome effort by L-VIS 1990 & The Neon Dreams on our comically underfollowed twitter, so I'll mention two others here. The Gessafelstein effort is a techy, bizarre, Siriusmo-esque piece of electro that'll suck you into some form of hypnosis if you listen to it for long enough. The Bowski remix is similarly deep, featuring a meticulous build and subtle yet huge percussion. Cassius - Les Enfants (Gessafelstein Remix)
Avicii has managed to hijack the classic by Eurhythmics and proclaim it as his own, and then release an EP with 3 versions that sound virtually identical. If that doesn't mean he's on top of the game right now, then I don't know what does. Nonetheless, bump this one like it's 1995. Avicii - Sweet Dreams (Avicii's Sweeder Dreams Remix)
A close friend of mine named Matt once wisely explained to me that the true power of dubstep lies in the sharp contrast between lightness and darkness that it can often provide. The hyper-polarization of themes, often played out between a beautiful woman's voice and dark, floor-crunching basslines, can, when done correctly, present a spectrum of emotion seldom seen elsewhere in music today. This Bassnectar remix is a perfect example of that. Ellie Goulding - Lights (Bassnectar Remix)
His Majesty Andre has been tearing it up recently, and his recently released Battle of The Spurs EP is an energy packed french house showcase that keeps up the intensity from start to finish. BBQ Sauce, starting with the name, is a track that makes no pretensions about being serious in any way shape or form. It's a fun filled french house track that shows why Andre is definitely one of the names to watch in 2011. His Majesty Andre - BBQ Sauce (Original Mix)
Released today, this one is typical Angger Dimas between the huge progressive synth lines and crazy electro breakdowns. For some reason I never feel like his tracks are mastered properly though... Kaskade - All You (Angger Dimas Remix)
Last but most certainly not least, we posted a radio rip of this track a couple weeks ago before it was released. Here's the original in all it's 320 glory.. (buy it here)
It's warm and sunny and all I can think about is the beach. Sand and waves. This week is gonna be a test of my already waning dedication to school work... At least I have a great little playlist to distract me from my egregious slacking.
First track I have here was given to me by my friend, Austin. A Twin Shadow remix of a Twin Shadow original, featuring Ray Barretto. It's deep, it's latin, it's sexy. I cannot get enough of those dissonant acoustic piano stabs. Twin Shadow - Acid (Twin Shadow Remix)
Frenchman Pyramidhall has done it again with his latest remix of Daft Punk's, Something About Us. Reaching number one on the hype machine, this particular remix has done very well throughout the blogosphere, and I think you can all tell why. Daft Punk - Something About Us (Pyramid Remix)
This soothing track by Lone, has a great atmospheric feel to it. When I listen to it, I close my eyes and imagine that I'm somewhere far away where the breeze is warm and the water is lapping at my feet. Unreleased gold. Lone - Aquamarine
Alright I just spent a retarded amount of time writing this post...and then it somehow managed to delete itself... so here's the music but without much description. It doesn't even matter though, cause all of these songs are pure gold, and they should have you going strong from now till Monday. Happy first day of the weekend.
If this week's going as slow for you as it is for me, you're gonna neeeed the tunes I'm about to drop on your face.
Starting off with some funky fresh french house goodness, I've got two jams from young Chicago dance producer Alpha Snail. We've posted some his music before, and for good reason. It's a shame that he's not a bigger name, as he's churned out some of the grooviest disco house sounds I've ever heard. Anyways, I'll leave it to his tracks to convince you, and convince you they shall. Thony Ritz - What I Am (Alpha Snail Remix)
And onto more dancey awesomeness, B&S favorites Fare Soldi uploaded this remix to their soundcloud just the other day (shouts to Patrick for the heads up). Calling perfect production "typical", isn't something I do with most artists, but it's certainly something I do with these Italians. Chilly Gonzales - You Can Dance (Fare Soldi 'Gonzobot' Remix)
On the harder side, I've got a bangin' remix from Bassjackers on Dada Life's latest release "White Noise/Red Meat". To honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the original from the Dada bros, but Bassjackers have deftly added a dutch house vibe that's simply too good to ignore. Dada Life - White Noise/Red Meat (Bassjackers Remix)
As I continue to add to the deeper and darker side of my music library, I come upon the name Prince Club quite often. They're a Canadian duo from Montreal and they're making some noise in the blogosphere with some seriously deep and groovy house releases. Jump on this bandwagon as soon as you can, folks. Adele “Rolling In The Deep” (Jamie XX Remix) (Prince Club House Edit) by Prince Club
Finally, a wonderfully uplifting remix from Wolfgang Gartner. Finish the week out strong errbody.
As a young teen, Sharooz began his musical ventures as a punk guitarist before ultimately shifting his sights towards dance music in 1998. Beginning his stellar career with debut single, Hell Yeah (2006), Sharooz quickly cemented himself as a major player in not only the UK electronic music scene, but worldwide. As he rose in popularity throughout Europe, he garnered the respect and support of many big names such as David Guetta, Pete Tong, and Roger Sanchez among many others. Playing alongside talent like Afrojack, Congorock, and Tocadisco, Sharooz’s reputation as an artist and performer began to grow, landing him many opportunities for remixing some of electronic music’s most sought after artists. By the end of 2009, he had completed two US tours as well as gigs throughout all of Europe. Capitalizing on his rapid success, Sharooz launched his own record label, La Bombe, in 2010. In addition to his label, he co-founded Sample Magic alongside fellow producer, David Felton. Sample Magic is a sound design company that has won numerous awards for its samples and loops, including Remix Magazine’s Product of the Year award. He was kind enough to give me an opportunity to ask him a couple questions. Now to hear from the man himself:
Amazing high energy house dynamite, Hysteresis, was just released last month. This one needs to come with a Surgeon General's Warning. Buy it here, now.
Beginning as a punk guitarist, how did you eventually make the transition into the underground electronic dance scene and how has your sound matured since your early days as a DJ? Who are your most prevalent influences?
I grew up in Belfast at the height of the political unrest. There were loads of random bombings and shootings. As a youth we naturally wanted to rebel against it all, so there was a thriving punk scene. We preferred the homegrown talents such as Stiff Little Fingers as opposed to the bigger bands. The punk scene eventually turned rave and I started sneaking in to see the likes of Carl Craig and Andy Weatherall every week. After a few years I got bored of Techno and got into Electro. Nowadays I'll listen (and play) from almost any genre as long as it serves the crowd well and makes people dance. I prefer to go by label rather than artist.
So here’s a scenario: You are commissioned to do a remix and inspiration strikes. What is your creative process and how do you go about making alterations until you have something you can call your own? What advice would you give to any fledgling producers out there just trying to get started?
If there's a vocal element normally I'll start with that and begin building a loop around it. Usually I don't listen to the original mix unless it's accidental. I try to use as many original parts as possible and program a whole new song or vibe. It's not exactly new advice, but for fledgling producers, putting bootlegs on Youtube and Soundcloud still garners huge attention, if the original rights holder doesn't ask you to take it down first..
I’ve noticed that you and Phonat have remixed each other’s work many times. Phonat is hands down one of Bright & Shiny’s favorite producers and I’d love to hear about your guys’ relationship and if we can expect any future collaborations.
I've known Michele (Phonat) since his first release. We shared the same label, Mofo Hifi, for many years and met through The Young Punx. He's probably my favourite artist in the world right now. I owe him a remix for Love Hits The Fan, which I didn't have time to do, so I'm itching for the opportunity to do something new for him. We actually did a co-write, alongside 5EYA, but the guys have been in Italy all year and we haven't had the chance yet to finish it. That could come out on La Bombe, so stay tuned!
You’ve done remixes for high profile names such as Robyn and Moby, in addition to many lesser known artists. Who has been your favorite artist to work with thus far and what other producers are you dying to get in the studio with?
I'm currently working on a remix for the French band Gush. I've been a massive fan for years. They blend Chanson with these amazingly intricate harmonies sung in English. It's been a real challenge as the original record is 98BPM but it's easily been my favourite track to work on in recent memory.
Your label, La Bombe, has a small roster of fantastic artists. What was your process for finding these producers and did you play an integral part in shaping their skills and sound?
La Bombe has a very simple philosophy in that I just cherry pick my favourite artists (new and old) from browsing Soundcloud, Beatport charts, Facebook etc. There are so many talented producers out there seeking an outlet for their work, who fall under the radar of many of the bigger labels. We literally listen to everything we're sent and aggressively pursue those artists we see as having potential for our label. Our Soundcloud dropbox is checked for demos almost daily.
3 pieces of musical equipment in your London studio that you could not live without.
SSL G-series hardware buss compressor
Prism Orpheus soundcard
Focal Twin 6 BE monitors
Lastly, what can we expect to see from Sharooz in 2011? Any up and coming remixes, collaborations, originals, tours, or new artists on the label?
I've just had approval on a remix of one of the biggest bands in the world. They've never been remixed so I can't give all details yet. But when it drops in March it'll be a very high profile release. I'm remixing Lazy Rich and Porter Robinson's new collab and also doing a 'Get Off' remix package with some of my favourite artists in tow. As far as La Bombe goes, we've just signed Opptimo for an album due for release in April and have new material from Swedish producer Blende and a second single from 5EYA in the works, all due in the next two months..
Time for more of that sensational tunage:
If you ever find yourself in a position where you need to make people dance, simply press the play button on this lethal remix. Dance they shall.
This next Sharooz remix is my absolutely favorite. The vocals are such an amazing compliment to the bass synth and the chord progression. I cannot get enough.
One of La Bombe's new recruits, 5EYA, has been featured here on Bright & Shiny before. I bring you Sharooz's sexy reinterpretation of an already intoxicating original.
Opptimo - Locate Peace Treaty - Cal State Anthem (Sharooz Remix) Boys Noize - Yeah Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix) Treasure Fingers - It's Love Fred Falke & Burns - You've Stopped Loving Me (Treasure Fingers Remix) Tiga - You Gonna Want Me (Hey Today! Remix) Eemus - Bleak (Fuzzy Hair Rework)
To start things off today I've got a simple house jam from Prince Club to set the mood. This one comes off of the 12th installment of Snatch Records along with two other supa-beats from the duo. Just in case I haven't hammered this point into your heads enough, these Canadians are ones to watch out for.
