Summer Styles

Now that we're in the middle of the summer, I've noticed a strange phenomenon taking place. The more pool parties I go to and long days at the beach that I spend (with subsequently longer nights) the more and more addicted I find myself getting to the big room, hands-in-the-air house sounds of artists like Avicii and Swedish House Mafia. Everyone's already heard every song by either of those a million times though, so today I'm gonna focus on a couple newer, lesser known jams that still fall into that same category. All of these songs are selected to be the soundtrack for any summer situation, be that a sun soaked pool party during the day, the depths of a bumpin' dancefloor in the middle of the night, or some sort of festival setting like the picture above. Enjoy.

We're a little late on this one, but you know what they say right, better late than never? Anyway, this track 'XOXO' is a ridiculously massive BOMB from Russian house group Swanky Tunes. Listen to the drop at the 1 minute mark to see what I mean. This is straight up the catchiest song I've heard in a long while. Show the group some love and grab it off beatport HERE.
Swanky Tunes - XOXO (Original Mix)



Sultan & Ned Shepard always seem to bring the heat when they team up together. This track is simply good vibes all the way through. Really nice vocals from Angela McCluskey too. [Beatport Release]
Sultan, BT, Morgan Page, Ned Shepard - In The Air ft. Angela McCluskey (Extended Mix)



Every part of this song just shouts 'fun in the sun' to me. The vocals from CSS are so darn catchy, add that up with the magical stylings of Californian producer Dillon Francis and you have yourself a summer anthem. Keep your eyes out for the official release sometime this week.
CSS - Hits Me Like A Rock (Dillon Francis Remix)



It should be no surprise to anyone that Laidback Luke absolutely crushes this remix.. So I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about the artist behind the original, GTA. They're a duo based out of Miami who are relatively new and completely unheard of, but mark our words within a year or two they'll be one of the biggest names in house. Everything they've done so far is completely massive, I was talking to Sir Real one time and he even went so far as to say they're gonna be the next Swedish House Mafia. I honestly wouldn't be that surprised, have a look at their soundcloud here to see why: http://soundcloud.com/wearegta. Check the release for this remix on beatport here too
GTA - U & I feat. Zashanell (Laidback Luke Remix)



This mashup manages to take the new Britney Spears single and transform it into something that's not only listenable, but actually ridiculously catchy and huge. I know it's hard to believe, but have a listen for yourself below:
Britney Spears - Till The World Ends (DJ Dan Liu 'Troucid' Mashup)



I know this track is waaaay old and most of you already have it. But recently I've sort of rediscovered it and completely fallen in love with it all over again. Why doesn't deadmau5 make music like this anymore?? We may never know. For those of you who don't have it already, grab it below before you do anything else, this is a straight up classic..
Medina - You & I (Deadmau5 Remix)



These last three are more on the downtempo side, perfect for lounging around by the pool or straight relaxing wherever you may be..

Newly formed, Washington DC based group Volta Bureau have come up with a chunk of pure auditory gold on this track. No joke, I've listened to it like 10 times today already. Summer vibes if I've ever heard them. For everything you'd ever want to know about the group, check this article (definitely recommend reading it, it's quite interesting): The Washington Post on Volta Bureau
Volta Bureau - Love Cubed



We posted a Fred Falke remix of this track a little while ago that was pretty great. This is probably one of the few instances in the world though where someone else's remix actually manages to top the Falke effort. Newcomer producer out of LA, Baby Monster (funny ass name..) completely takes this track to a new echelon. See for yo' self below
Wolf Gang - The King And All Of His Men (Baby Monster Remix)



On a different note, I wanted to quickly let you all know about a really cool website/company that one of my good friends is working for and helping to develop. It's called Findthebest.com and basically it helps you compare the prices and qualities of different things so you can find the best one. You might be asking yourself, "Augustus, what does this have to do with me?" Well, if you're in the market for any number of music related things this site is really great for helping you find the right stuff. For instance if you're trying to become a producer but aren't exactly sure which music software to get, you could use the service to compare the best music editing softwares (click the link to check it out). Or if you're in need of good headphones (this is aimed at all of you out there who have been listening to today's post out of your laptop speakers, shame on you) you could go there to find the Best Headphones. Have a look, I promise you'll find it helpful.


Last but not least this one is for all of the Radiohead fans out there. Radiohead will always have a special place in my heart because they were one of the first bands that really pushed me to be embrace music off the beaten path and often electronically inspired, which probably ultimately led to me being able to love house music so much. Genius producer Gigamesh takes the classic 'Everything In Its Right Place' and subtly twists it into a total dancefloor beast. Listen to it from the very beginning, the first drop is soooo satisfying.
Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (Gigamesh / DiscoTech Remix)



Stay Classy,
Augustus

Yes or Not

Two of the Netherlands most exciting talents, Tiesto and Hardwell, combine their strengths on this MASSIVE, still unreleased tune to make a progressive sounding dutch masterpiece with more raw energy in it than a nuclear bomb. This is a radio rip, since the track isn't released anywhere, but the quality is better than just about any radio rip I've ever heard. This track isn't set to be released for more than a month, so help yourself to a serving of unreleased epicness.
Tiesto & Hardwell - Zero 76 (Original Mix)



 Felix Da Housecat's most recent production clearly shows him trying to take his sound in a new direction. While the familiar, rave-leaning hi hat heavy sound of Felix is still present on Zaman, the track is clearly an attempt to imitate the big room sound we've come to expect out of artists like Kaskade and Laidback Luke. I think Felix succeeds for the most part, considering I find the song highly enjoyeable, but still it's a little disconcerting to see one of the games oldest and most respected names trying to warp his sound to conform to the contemporary vogue. Either way, this one is huge and it deserves to be bumped as soon as possible from your speakers.
Felix Da Housecat pres. Thee Nese Djouma Projesi - Zaman (Club Mix)
 

You might remember we posted Lazy Rich's remix of the Porter Robinson single Wildcat. You might also remember that the remix was multiple levels of badass. At the time, you probably thought that the reason we were giving you this remix must've been that the original itself by mr Robinson must've been somehow deficient. Not so. In fact, the original single itself hadn't been released yet, but it was released recently and it's even more of a banger than the Lazy Rich remix. Porter robinson reaffirms here why he's one of the fastest growing names in electronic music, and all signs point to that he's here to stay.
Porter Robinson - The Wildcat (Original Mix)


The Parisian madman known as Danger has released another remix, this time of the dubstep leaning group Nero. When I first saw the combination I thought it would be an interesting match, considering the two artists' preponderance for a darker, harder-edged sound. The track delivers on the darker edge of the spectrum, as the opening grinding electro chords suggest, but the track quickly develops into a more melodic, bouncy, french filter house sounding tune. Overall it's a seriously worthwhile effort from one of the most mysterious producers in the game.
Nero - Me & You (Danger Remix)


Sultan & Ned Shepard strike gold again here, crafting an epic remix that retains all of their big room sound while introducing a really interesting streak of electro-house to balance it out. I really love this direction of their sound, hopefully we get to see more of it. The drop around the 3:00 mark really pulls everything together.
Thomas Sagstad - Meiri (Sultan & Ned Shepard Remix)


I don't like Rihanna, so if I'm posting a remix of her, it's a pretty solid indication that the track is really good. That's exactly the case here as Dave Aude uses plucking strings and a trancey progressive feel to give this track a complete makeover.
Rihanna - S & M (Dave Aude Club Mix)


Le Troublant Acid is, as the name would suggest, an Acid House song. But it's probably an Acid House song like you've never heard before, considering it restrains the normally frenetic acid sound within the tight, filtered parameters of a french-house sensibility. The result is a dreamy, Daft Punk sounding track that's perfect for a relaxed day at the beach. I found out about it through this review, in which RA gave it a 4.0/5.
KZA - Le Troublant Acid


Deep
All of the tracks from here on out are about to be overwhelmingly, soul-movingly deep, so if deeper, techier sounds aren't your thing, consider yourself warned.
 
Personally I think this one could do without the vocals, but it's still got an irresistibly catchy groove and an awesome, rhythmic feel that begs to be blasted out of a huge soundsystem.
D.O.N.S. & Shahin feat. Seany B. - Rollin' Deep


Rule # 4080: Tribal drums and a sexy woman's voice are always a winning combination.
Bastian van Shield - King Of My Castle (Original Mix)


Found this one in a DJ set Umek played in Poland. So, yeah, it's completely nuts. The vocal sample and the pounding techno vibe make this one a must have. Here's the set if you're interested.
Alex Di Stefano - Yes or Not (Original Mix)



Stay Classy,
Augustus

Bloons

Massive big room anthems are becoming a regular thing for Kaskade. Following up on a 2010 that was nothing short of collosal, his first release of 2011, a remix of Late Night Alumni's single It's Not Happening, shows him poised to take things even bigger this year. Aside from his solo stuff, Kaskade's melodic house group, Late Night Alumni, has their first scheduled album, Haunted coming out sometime early this year. This is a remix of their first single off the album, and its got all of the incredible vocals we've come to expect from the alumni perfectly blended with the signature huge kaskade sound. In other words, it's a floor-crushing big room monster, and you don't want to miss it.
Late Night Alumni - It's Not Happening (Kaskade Remix)


Another Late Night Alumni remix by progressive house wizards Sultan & Ned Shepard..
Late Night Alumni - You Can Be The One (Sultan & Ned Shepard Remix)


Another titanic Sultan & Ed Shepard Remix
Kaskade feat. Martina Of Dragonette - Fire In Your New Shoes (Sultan & Ned Shepard Electric Daisy Remix)


In case you haven't gotten your daily fill of the spacious sounds of progressive house, here's a brilliant EDX original I grabbed off the recently released Toolroom Records vs. Leaders Of The New School (Best of 2010) compilation.
EDX - Party of Politics


Bobby Burns & Sidney Samson combine forces here to put together a fierce bit of electro-house sure to be devastating dancefloors near you sometime soon. Look for the release on Wall Records (Afrojack's Label).
Bobby Burns & Sidney Samson - Countdown (Original Mix)


Myon and Shane 54 rework the 90's pop classic Wonderwall into a full blown house anthem.
Oasis - Wonderwall (Myon & Shane 54 Helpless Mix)


Stay Classy,
Augustus