Tuesday, December 28, 2010

#8 : Ghosts, sprites, spirits, and stuff (Contd.)

         "Merry Christmas!"
"Lol, BH (Bah,humbug)."


This isn't a new post. So I'm calling it a continuation of #8. And you can consider it as gifts from good ol' Santa.
Anyway, I've discovered a few more partystarters. And here they are.


First up, Moar Island n' Stuff, a vocal edit from a Pendulum track. Ghosts n' Stuff (From which the aforementioned track has come to existence) too had Rob Swire from Pendulum doing the vocals. Will get your attention at from 1:30.





This next one became viral on facebook, and for good reason. It's life changing, to say the least. D n' B executed brilliantly. I don't know if you have a spiritual side, but believe me, you'll feel one with yourself. The vocals are just.. beautiful.





The next one will change your mood again. It goes by the name of "Heart of Gold" by Maury, mixed by Jaybee. It's an unofficial mix not on any EP/album, and is, maybe, part of a live set. It's probably one of the best club mixes I've heard in a quite a while, and I've had this one on repeat, which means it's a must hear. But there's a problem.


It's unavailable on YouTube.
And it's pretty much sequestered from any modern means of transmission.


The only thing I could find was a Russian site where you can hear the song. Need not worry, there is a only a 'Play' button you have to click to hear it (Download button fails to work). If you wish to hunt down and find it for your iPod, you'll find some progressive mixes with this song on torrent sites. Or you can have me give it to you via Yahoo Messenger or whatever you kids use these days.


Believe me, you'll want it after you hear it.
Link to the awesome club mix. Click here.


If you've visited my blog before, you'd notice the recent addition of an iPod to the end. I've removed the Autoplay setting for your convenience. Be sure to check out the playlist there. I've added new songs, among which is one called "Summernight Symphony" by Juventa, which will play as soon as you click on the play button in the widget. Albeit the lack of vocals, it's a great trance track. Give it a hear.


And lastly, I've got three words for you.
Swedish. House. Mafia.
For the uninformed, this is the trio of world renowned house artists Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello (All in the Top 20 according to DJ Mag, FYI). I've posted a more recent track called One (Instrumental)/ Your Name (Vocals from Pharell) by SHM a few posts earlier. Check that out too if you haven't.
The track's called "Leave The World Behind" and features Laidback Luke (A prominent House music figure) and Deborah Cox. This track grew on me, and has become a recent favourite. The video reminds me of the DAMN GOOD LIFE. Ah, man. Miami.





And that's all the goodies you get this christmas. A happy new year, people.


Arrivederci.
Audiophile 93

Saturday, December 11, 2010

#8 : Ghosts, sprites, spirits, and stuff.



Okay so it's been a month since I posted, and seriously this blog is beginning to die. It doesn't seem like I'll be posting much in the next 5-6 months, due to preboards, boards, coaching and entrances. (For anybody not in India - the final 12th grade examinations are carried out a lot differently here. And there's not one specific exam that everyone must give regardless of the stream they're pursuing. It's crazy, yeah, and let me tell you, the system is changing, but a bit later than what I would have liked.)


So.
Time to party?



(Yes,you've heard it before, but it's awesome.)

Yeah! It's the end of 2010!  And we usher into the new decade with parties and raves and what not. So this time, it's going to be mostly Electro House and Dubstep. So I'm pretty sure the rockers are dissapointed, but I have a few songs for you at the end, feel free to skip all the EDM parts.


I don't think I really need to introduce you to Electro-House, it's probably the most played genre at any discotheque. 125-140 beats per minute, pretty heavy on the bass, and these days a lot of traditional instruments are heard, and to great effect. You probably know all about Akcent and Edward Maya by now, I wouldn't bother you. I'll come to it later though.


And Akcent is coming to New Delhi on 10th, an event that I'll miss even though I can walk to the venue. You know why. FML. So let's get on, shall we?


I went on to discover dubstep recently, a somewhat new genre that's becoming very prominent. I really relate it to Robot Rock, it's really as if Iron Hide or Optimus Prime would be doling out some cool moves to this stuff. A massive thank you to Tanvi for linking me to Skrillex, the newest phenomenon in Dubstep these days. He's currently the protégé of well known "I'll do whichever genre I want" Deadmau5, being a part of his mau5trap recordings. I see Skrillex coming out and becoming a legendary dubstep producer on his own though. Talent can't be contained. What really surprised me though was that that Skrillex, a.k.a. Sonny Moore, was a part of a post-hardcore project circa 2007. That is one massive change of plan. And for the better.


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Search Results

  1. Artist: Skrillex
    Album: Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP
    Released on : October 25th, 2010


    So, when I got this EP, I had only heard Skrillex's mix of Hey Sexy Lady, an iSquare number, and I was impressed by his style. To be honest, I'd be pretty much impressed by anything if it was Dubstep, 'cuz apart from a few Deadmau5 tracks and some other artists, I really hadn't gone into Dubstep at all.
    But after having heard some other Dubstep too, I have to say, this guy has talent. And that's why he's under the mau5trap moniker.


    So, we start out with "Rock N' Roll", probably one of my favourites on this album. It takes about a minute to settle in, though, if you're impatient, you're likely to skip this one. The title track, like other title tracks in other albums of various genres, isn't the best song around. But it's has nice synthesized beats that a Dubstep fan can take in. And with "Kill Everybody", we're coming back to Rock N' Roll grade awesomeness. Interestingly, the next number is a lot more vocal house, which is why it's probably one of my favourites again. Penny sounds dulcet, and it's somewhat like the Deadmau5 mix of Morgan Page's "Longest Road" or even his mix of Medina's "You and I". It's much more than a song, I feel like it's a portrayal of feelings. And I love the little keyboard/monome bits. Scatta will again be on the receiving end of my criticism, but let's not go there. "With Your Friends" makes up for it with a House-like quality yet again. The other 3 songs are mixes of the songs already present on the EP, and i seem to like the original versions a lot better.


    So even though every song isn't a gem, I think it's worth more than just a hear. Maybe a thousand hears. The songs I like have that kind of playability. And these songs make it a must buy/download. 
    3 and a half stars out of five? Easily. Four? Maybe. 


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    What else? I heard this awesome Noel Sanger track mixed by Solarity. It's like a certain somebody's trying to make your heart listen instead of your ears. It.. moves you. It's somewhere in between trance and progressive house, you figure it out. But it's genius. That's for sure.



So let's get back to electro house! A certain someone by the name of Pallavi introduced me to DJ BL3ND, and he stays true to the DJ acronym, mixing and creating live sets of other people's music. But he's quite the electro connoisseur, and scavenges for the best of electro. A good way to keep up if you're not the kind to scrounge for music yourselves.

This is the set I was linked to :




Also check out this Afrojack number that's been doing the rounds (spins?).



For the love of house, download this. My brother creates mixes of progressive, vocal, and disco house every month. And it just gets better every time. 


Mystic Sounds (December mix)


Oh and this just came out. Dubstep done dirty.





Anyway, I'm coming to the end of this post. I might post a bit more of electro and progressive house later this month, depending on whether I get the time. Anyway, like I promised -


Ruoska is a finnish industrial metal act much in the same vein as Rammstein (which is like its german counterpart). I really don't get the lyrics but I like it nonetheless.





Also, some stone temple pilots from earlier in the year. I haven't heard this before :s Guess good stuff gets suppressed by the news of Gaga's sartorial sense?



And that's it? It's kinda rushed, isn't it? What can I say. Life's a bitch.


Arrivederci.
Audiophile 93

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

#7 : Keeping Promises

"Hey! Hey!
 Excuse me!
 Your mother.. soooo fat, that when sheee jumppp for joyyyyy,
 She got stuck." - Russell Peters

Actually, I'd really thought about going about my blog posts in a sequential order, genre by genre till I cover them all, and then going on to post about new releases biweekly, but that's not how it's panned out. Rap/ Hip - hop was scheduled for my seventh, and then I thought, what's the use of me introducing you to 50 Cent, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Lil' Wayne... you get my drift. And generally the not so known rappers really don't make sense to me, in either of the two ways :

a) Too fast - Like when Flo-rida says something really really fast. Then again, so many people listen to "Low","Right Round" and "Club can't handle me".

b) Lyrics make no sense - Too many examples to cite.

So I'll probably link you to a few good hip-hop songs every once in a while, okay? 

On other news, DJ Mag posted their Top 100 DJ List, and predictably, Armin Van Buuren retains his top spot. Actually it's David Guetta who surprised me, I really don't think he's that great, but due to his collaborations with Akon and all, the house phenomenon has 11 mil. fans on facebook, and that's a lot. Van Buuren has only a million. 
Guys, you've already heard of Tiesto, he's number three. One of my favourite progressive house/ electro-house artists Deadmau5 is #4, and then the trio of Above and Beyond on #5. I've talked about their podcast before, and no. 340 and 343 are fantastic, including guest mixes by artists such as Jon O'Bir. It's free too, downloadable via iTunes. Get it!

Actually, I've just discovered more house this time, but it's been great music from artists I've not heard of. Take this for instance, Starchaser - A New Society, mixed by Thomas Schwartz. He clearly gets his influences from Deadmau5 and Adam K, puts his own touch in this song as well, and the result sounds so much better than the original.



Anyway, check out these other house tracks as well, it's very good stuff.


1. Shingo Nakamura - Memory Of The Sea (Beautiful house track, the piano's excellent.)
2. Alex Lamb - Freedom (Incognet Rework Mix)
3. Jean Elan - What It Takes (DBN Mix)
4. Dirty South - Areena (Thomas Gold, David Tort & David Gausa)
5. Tiesto - I will be here (Wolfgang Gartner mix)


And we had the EMAs this month, and as expected, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Eminem and BIEBER won awards. Cheers to Paramore, and 30 Seconds to Mars on their success. Yes, I'll ignore the other artists whose combined fan following is ten times of what Paramore's and 30STM's is together. The gags really sucked though, and the bummer is, most of the winners at the EUROPEAN music awards aren't EUROPEAN. -.-



Also, hip-hop fans, I thought I'd introduce you to Gorilla Zoe. He's a great artist who's not getting as much attention as he deserves, even though he's worked with hip-hop moguls like Lil' Wayne. I really like "I got it", give it a hear.



Anyway, that's it for this week. Yes I know it's pretty short, but what can I say. I'm finding less time these days. Apologies.


Arrivederci,
Audiophile 93

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

#6 : Everybody lies.





How did I not link you guys to this video before? It's obviously not new, but it's huge, and was played by demigod Deadmau5 at the VMAs. I have mixed feelings on the vocals of Mike Posner. Sometimes it's like I don't mind it at all, and sometimes he sounds like Justin Bieber when he's thirty. Anyway.




The video first looks like a live clip, but the music video starts from one minute. The starting of the video is actually Mike Posner ending his gig with his song "Drug Dealer Girl" and then going to an afterparty, or something like that.


Since we were talking of Bieber before, did you know he's launched his own line of nail polish, and already has a range of dolls to his name? 
I told you in my first post that he was a 14 year old girl. You just wouldn't listen, would you.


Duff Mckagan and Axl Rose are back together again. And they're getting fined for delays together again. Throw in Slash and some booze, walou GNR is back!


And how did Lady Gaga even say she was inspired by Freddie Mercury of Queen? 


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Anyway, I found that I had not written about Alternative Rock/Modern Rock, a genre I absolutely love. It's so much easier to listen to, since you need not have the intent to murder a guy [ A requirement if you plan on listening to metal]. Most probably, you guys already hear a lot of this stuff. Bands such as Nickelback and Seether all fall in this category. 


Weirdly enough, the wiki page on Seether says that they are a "Post-grunge rock and Alternative metal" band. But I disagree to some extent. They are definitely nowhere near as heavy-sounding as their metal counterparts.However, I have to admit I find similarities in the vocal styles and riffs of Seether and grunge acts like Mudvayne.






Most songs of this genre generally have a very basic song architecture, with sometimes just a verse and chorus. For that reason alone, guitarists in such rock bands have to focus on chugging fast paced riffs and breakdowns that should get you stomping and jumping in a concert [We'll leave mosh pits for metal]. Also the spotlight is on the vocals. Strong vocals plus great lyrics will ensure it's a success. And solos are pretty uncommon. 


Okay, enough of the professing. I'll hook you up to a playlist before I bore you guys to death, à la Mr. Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother.
(For further details, refer to "Subway Wars" that aired in the US last week)








1. Red - Hide
2. Alter Bridge - Metalingus
3. Saliva - Always
4. Evans Blue - Cold (But I'm Still Here)
5. Chevelle - The Red
6. Incubus - Make A Move
7. Tool - Vicarious
8. Breaking Benjamin - So Cold
9. A Perfect Circle - Passive
10. 12 Stones - Anthem For The Underdog
11. Filter - Hey Man Nice Shot
12. Chevelle - Sleep Apnea
13. Porcupine  Tree - Shallow
14. Seether - (Back to the) Remedy
15. My Chemical Romance - Teenagers
16. Skillet - Comatose 


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Some other stuff.



Swedish House Mafia - One (Your Name) [feat. Pharrell]


A nice house track by Swedish House Mafia, a collaboration of 3 house artists including Axwell. I want to own that keyboard thing.


Also a recent song made by Adam K. See if it grows on you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We_QqCBWSCE


Also here's a video that I saw recently by AILD ( A band that I haven't yet heard completely). "I never wanted" is a great metalcore song with excellent vocals, and definitely a lot slower with a lot more emotion than any of their other songs.





Anyway. That's it for this week. 


Arrivederci,


Audiophile 93.


p. s. 


If you were wondering why the title is so inapt, it's not a title. It's advice. 
And electro, too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9ARUNKTfvE





Thursday, October 7, 2010

#5 : The fabulous life.




Had I known that right after the the 10 days of exam madness coupled with a 330 marker goliath at my coaching centre, I would have to endure even more coaching exams, tests, and other challenges, I would have never promised you guys that I'd be returning back. This is the "important period that decides the course of the rest of your life". Anyway, I'm sure you've heard that before. Make it or break it, they say.

Yawn.
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I've been returning to a bit of metalcore this week, a genre outlined by the alternating vocal styles, a relatively subdued chorus, breakdowns, and relatively new age bands. Ever heard of Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, und so weiter?
I'm guess a bit of Bullet, maybe. And that too 'Tears Don't Fall' [groan.] and 'All These Things I Hate'. 

But let's get a bit beyond that. I wouldn't want to talk about the calmer songs. The genre is based on displaying emotions of anger, rage,irritation or betrayal, in the least violent way possible. Which is still pretty violent to the ears, mind. But what I see in these songs are the technical aspects of the song architecture. Say the riffs and the interludes. The riff doesn't consist of barred Drop D chords (to the layman : the guitarist seems to be using just one finger while playing) , but are almost always interlaced with notes, connecting them together like dots to form the riff. 

And it's even more interesting to learn to play them, if you're a rhythm guitarist. Not quite the lead guitarist's solo heaven, but there are a few exceptions. The interludes and choruses have a sense of calm about them (which you'll notice in any Killswitch Engage song) and the verse is more or less like metal. Oh, and many usually have a pretty calm intro, which suddenly transcends into a heavy riff section (à la "My Curse" by Killswitch Engage)




I don't follow this genre all too much, because not too many bands define themselves as metalcore bands. So even I'm limited to the few bands aforementioned. And like I do always, I'll hook you up with a playlist that you can check out.







1. As I Lay Dying - The Sound of Truth
2. All That Remains - Two Weeks
3. Bullet for My Valentine - Hand of Blood [NFS - Most Wanted? Yes.]
4. Killswitch Engage - This is Absolution
5. Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
6. Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
7. Bullet For My Valentine - Begging For Mercy
8. August Burns Red - Meddler
9. As I Lay Dying - This Is Who We Are
10. August Burns Red - Mariana Trench

And you can also hear the songs I mentioned before the playlist if you already haven't heard them. Sorry, but I can't provide much of variety.


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On other fronts, I've become a real fan of Kaskade, a house artist who's grown in prominence in recent times. Check out these two videos. The first is probably the definition of what house music is like in 39 seconds, and the other showing what house playing european clubs look like.





Sorry for the short length, but I'm really overburdened.

Arrivederci,

Audiophile 93.


P. S. 250 unique views! Thanks for the support! :)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

#4 : Trance makes you dance

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Okay, so after a long blogging-hiatus, I return to write a bit about the music I heard,and discovered during those weeks (after all, who studies day in and day out for the exams.. oh wait, Sarthak Vaish does). But before that, I wanted to ask you guys this - "How long has it been since you bought a CD?". I really can't remember the last time I bought one (i.e. Gifts not included). With the advent of iTunes and such,let alone illegally downloading CDs via torrents or P2P networks like Limewire, no one would want to make the effort to not download, and go out and buy a record ( like Will Smith suggests in "Switch" ). But even if all did download legally, I'd miss that one thing you got with every CD - the album jacket. 


It's amazing to see some of these and marvel at the effort that goes int making them. Oh and the art is accompanied with lyrics,and the names of the members involved in the composition, even musicians that were for hire and not part of the band,but made the song more special. I wish all these online vendors sold a .PDF document along with the CD. And if I'm not mistaken,apple has already started doing this in the form of a 'booklet'
(You'll see this if you check out an album on iTunes).


Anyway, I've discovered a lot of trance, a genre I've ignored since my fling with House music. I follow a podcast called Trance Around The World, a 2 hour weekly with Messrs. Above & Beyond, who visited Delhi on 19th. One of the elites in the 'DJ' world,(read, all electronic dance music artists hate the term 'DJ', notwithstanding guys such as a 'DJ Bunty', or popular Indian DJ, Aqueel) they generally give only 5% playtime to their own songs,and give the rest of the airtime to other artists and mixes. Also for the last half an hour, they have guest mixes by other EDM artists of the world. So it's my way to keep up with the happenings of the trance scene.






Moving on to the music I've heard, I thought I'd sum it up in the form of a small playlist, consisting of euphoric,vocal and progressive trance tracks,and I've appended a few trance and house tracks I've heard a while ago, but still make my house rumble.Trust me,this isn't your usual party mix.


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1. Orjan Nilsen - So Long Radio (Original mix)
2. D-Mad - She gave happiness (Arty mix)
3. Oliver Smith- Restless (Signalrunners mix)
4. Jordan Suckley - From paradise(John O'Bir mix)
5. Paul Keeley - Cloud 9
6. Gareth Emery - Sanctuary
7. Deadmau5 - Strobe [Must hear]
8. Prezioso & Marvin - The Riddle 
9. Andy Moor - Fake Awake
10. Kopi Luwak - Far & Away(Arthur Schmidt & Adymus mix) [Must hear]
11. Lange - Let it all out (Ft. Sarah Howells)
12. Medina - You & I (Deadmau5 mix) [MUST HEAR]
13. Serge Devant - Take me with you (Ft. Emma Hewitt)
14. Ercola vs. Heikki L - Deep At Night (Adam K & Soha mix) [MUST HEAR]


The last one has about 1023 plays on my iPod alone, so check this list out from bottom to top if you want. :) But be sure to check out the must hear's,lest you make perceptions about trance and house from the very first song.


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I heard two John Mayer tracks this week, maybe you've heard them already. If you're looking for some soul in Blues, check out 'I Don't Need No Doctor'. Also give 'I can't trust myself' a spin (I think he made every chick fall in love with him by coming up with this).To me both of them are the 'song of the week', so choose your pick.



Thanks to Rudraksh for these two.


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And that's it for this week. Watch this space.


Arrivederci
Audiophile 93


P.S.







Hilarious lyrics!


You kids think - your gear is iconic
But I'm gon
na take you back to see some real electronics 
gimme a beige PC, green text, black screen
and 64 kB of memory (thats plenty!)
forget a phone that fits in your pocket
I keep my phone in a bag in my car (thats how we rock it!)
who needs a camcorder, the size of my hand?!
you know I wanna look like a news cameraman!
(I wanna perch it on my shoulder...like an overweight parrot!)

my disks were floppy but my hair was stiff
and all my stickers were scratch and sniff!

In the 80s! If it was big it was good!
80s! My TV was wood!
80s! My car was shaped like box!
80s! Back when everything rocked!

You're tellin me mp3s oh, they're so great
I'd rather push rewind and sit and wait!
my first VCR cost me five grand
VHS is best! (I'm a Beta Man!)

16-button controllers really make me sick!
gimme one red button and a joystick!

In the 80s! the bigger the betta
80s! I had an antenna!
80s! my TV was thick
80s! we didn't point and click
80s! I had a big boom box
80s! I calculated with my watch
80s! My mix tapes were hot
80s! Back when everything rocked!















































































































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