In Lieu of Harlem Shake – Trap Edition

There’s a lot of good electronic music coming out early in 2013 and it’s most prevalent in the “Trap” scene. This style of music, made popular by hip-hop and rap producers, is known for its 808 drum kits, rolling high hats, & heavily bass-driven beats.

Much of the world has gotten a taste of the new take on trap music, to the likes of one of trap music’s best DJs, Baauer. By now many of you have seen the many “Harlem Shake” videos on YouTube. If you haven’t, go YouTube “Harlem Shake” for a good time, there’s something addicting about it. While it is a good song, there are much better out there.

Over the passed year this style has seen a steroid boost by some of today’s electronic DJs, producers, & artists. A lot of these artists have made the transition from the musical styles of dubstep and moombahton, bringing with them a vibrant array of sounds to introduce to trap music. The result is the modern day trap; heavy beats, vocal slicing, song sampling, pitch adjustments, build ups, heavy drops, and signature sound waves. With less emphasis on the lyrics or rapping, one can focus solely on the hype and intensity of the music and get lost in the emphatic, resounding, relentless bass.

Want to massage your brain with sound waves? Check out these artists and some of my favorite tracks as of right now…

Baauer
– “Harlem Shake”
– “Roll Up” remix of Flosstradamus
– “Yaow!”
– “You Won’t (Be There)” remix of Nero

D!RTY AUD!O
– “50oz”
– “Pourin’ Up”
– “Smoke Signals” remix of Jitta On The Tracks

Dillon Francis
– “Masta Blasta (The Rebirth)”

Flosstradamus
– “Underground Anthem”

Gent & Jawns
– “Turn Up”

Hucci
– “House Party”
– “Lambo”

KAOS
– “Come Alive”
– “Slip Disk”

RL Grime
– “Flood”
– “Pour It Up” remix of Rihanna
– “Satisfaction” remix of Benny Benassi

Stooki Sound
– “Ball So Hard” (with Hucci)

XXTRAKT
– “Headshot” (with Hucci)
– “Higher”

Kito & Reija Lee – Starting Line (Teaser)

Maaike Lebbing (known by her DJ stage name as Kito), turned heads in 2009 with a 4 track self-titled EP in 2009. Her pop-infused take on dubstep, turned the heads of electronic music lovers around the world. At age 21, her refreshingly unique style set her apart from a scene largely dominated by male producers and DJ’s. The first track on the EP titled “LFO”, features a long time friend of hers, singer Reija Lee. Born in Australia, these 2 created a sound unlike anything else out there.

Following the success of “LFO”, Kito & Reija Lee went on to release the Sweet Talk EP in early 2011. This 4 track EP was one of my favorite discoveries in the passed year, and even today I couldn’t say which of the 4 tracks I would consider my favorite. Even in the purity and greatness of this album, one still had the feeling the full potential of this duo has yet to be reached.

Later in 2011, Kito & Reija Lee got together again, to remix the track “Pacifica” by electronic megastar Spor. A stunning ambient construct of music that again leaves you wishing you had more of their music to submerge yourself into. It wouldn’t be until later in 2012 that we would hear another track, but “Run For Cover” gave us more of that signature sound that we have grown to love. While Kito has released some solid tunes with the absence of Reija Lee, it’s become clear that Kito’s music style mixed with Reija Lee’s singing…is a match made in heaven. It’s similar to those undeniable dynamic duos of the world that seem to bring out the best in each other; your peanut butter and jelly, your Bert and Ernie, or your Simon and Garfunkel. Are these things great on their own? Sure! But are they best experienced in tandem? The answer is yes. So when is the next time we will hear from the beautifully talented Kito & Reija Lee?

Welcome 2013. Released today (01/29/2013), comes a teaser of a track titled “Startling Line”. Taken from an exclusive play from DJ B.Traits on BBC Radio 1, this 2:28 clip has me anxiously awaiting the full release of whatever is to come from them. Samples of an unmastered version of “Starting Line” floated around the internet late last year. With the arrival of this clip, it seems Kito & Reija Lee have announced they not only fully mastered this track, but also their sound. While 2 and a half minutes isn’t much to go by, I think it’s safe to say there are BIG things coming from these 2 in the year 2013. Their musical conglomeration has mass appeal and you can expect to see their names again.

You can check this track out and more at… https://soundcloud.com/kitoreijalee

New Bonobo!!!

Yesterday morning I woke up to incredible news and a perfect topic to kick off the discussion of new music in 2013.

One of my favorite musicians of all time, and a musical genius, Bonobo, released a new track and announced his new album. This is his first original release since the acclaimed ‘Black Sands’ album 3 years ago. The new track is titled “Cirrus”, and needless to say…it’s fantastic.

Bonobo’s new album will be titled ‘The North Borders’ and is scheduled to release on April 1st, 2013. He will be touring the US to support his new album from April 10th through May 11th. Tickets go on sale at 10am local time on January 28th. He will also be following up his US tour with a line of shows in Europe from May 18th through June 19th. He is an artist worth traveling to see, no matter how far you have to go to see him!

Check out his new track at SoundCloud. You can also download it for free at his official website, bonobomusic.com, because music should always be free.

Let me know what you think of the new track! I will be posting what I view as the “Best of Bonobo”, in lieu of this news and for those of you unfamiliar with Bonobo. That and more coming very soon.

Favorite discoveries/tunes of 2012.

Listed below is some of my favorite music of 2012. Most all of this was released in 2012, or close to 2012. I’ve listed albums, (with what I think are the most notable tracks), as well as singles or individual tracks I got into this passed year. I wanted to post this to have something for people to look into, at least until more music of 2013 comes out. I will have a post about what I find to be timeless “classics” of recent electronic music.

Adventure Club – Adventure Club Remixes

• “Collect Call” remix of Metric
• “Crave You” remix of Flight Facilities
• “Please Don’t Go” remix of Mike Posner

André Obin - Lemondrop EP

Balam Acab – Wander/Wonder (w/ 4 Bonus Tracks*)

• “Apart”
• “Motion”
• “Now Time”
• “Under”*

Beacon – No Body EP

• “See Through You”

Bear//Face – Beat_Tape

• “Taste My Sad”

Bearcubs – “Cascade” & “Home” (off the Cadence Collective Sampler)

BL/\CK CIELING – “WVFFLIFE”

CRIM3S – CRIM3S EP

• “BREED”
• “GERMS”

Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles III

• “Affection”
• “Pale Flesh”
• “Transgender”

D!RTY AUD!O – 50oz EP

• “50oz”
• “Goodbye”

Dillon Francis – Westside EP

• “Masta Blasta”

Flight Facilities – “Crave You” (Version 1 & Version 2) & “With You” (Singles)

Grimes – Visions

• “Genesis”
• “Oblivion”
• “Vowels=Space And Time”
• “Symphonia IX (My Wait is U)”
• “Nightmusic” (ft. Majical Cloudz)

Hammock – Departure Songs

Holy Other – “Held” (off of Held)

Kito & Reija Lee – Sweet Talk EP

Mansions On The Moon – Lightyears EP

Martin Eden – Dedicate Function

• “Verions”

Nadastrom – El Baile Diabluma

• “i!!”

oOoOO – “Break Yr Heartt” (off of Our Love Is Hurting Us)

Purity Ring – Shrines

• “Amenamy”
• “Grandloves”
• “Saltkin”

RL Grime – “Flood” & “Pour It Up (remix of Rihanna)” (Singles)

Slow Magic – “On Yr Side” (Single)

Slow Magic – Triangle

• “Youths”
• “Moon”

Stenchman – “Free Will” (Single)

Stumbleine – “Approaching Fairwell (remix of Sweetheart of Kairi)” (off Remixes & Collabs)

Stumbleine – Spiderwebbed

• “Cherry Blossom”
• “Honey Comb”

Teeel – University Heights

• “Marx On My Heart”

XXYYXX – XXYYXX

• “About You”
• “Set It Off”
• “DMT”

XXYYXX – “Mystify” (off of Mystify)

Intro

First off, a little bit about me…

I am an aspiring musician. I’ve never had access to the resources that I’d like to achieve my musical goals, so I’ve never really made anything I’ve fallen in love with. Most all of what I’ve made has been at the hands of a computer, making music digitally and electronically. Fortunately, the years of struggles with making music and remixing songs, has at least given me a newfound appreciation for the amount of work that goes into a song. I’ve seen what it takes to create sounds, to arrange samples, and master a track. In this, I have fallen in love with electronic music, and the incorporation of instruments into this technology. The modern computer and electronics have opened the door to an endless world of genres and sub-genres, and an infinite number of sounds. It has expanded and multiplied the possibilities of music, and re-imagined what we know as music. I spend hours getting lost in the cyber world finding countless musicians that are changing the very face of one of the most important aspects of world culture, music. This music, it impacts my day and my life, and if it will do the same for others than these musicians deserve to be heard.

That being said, while my main focus is to help reveal music that deserves to be heard, I really will post about anything that I’m currently listening to, “mainstream” or “underground”. I listen to a wide range of styles but most of what I listen to is music that is heavily electronic incorporated. I don’t like categorizing music into genres if I don’t have to unless I am attempting to describe a certain style. I prefer to compare musicians and mention other musicians or sounds that something reminds me of.

Something worth mentioning is that, the only aspect of music that I do not really speak to is lyrics or singing. The lyrics of the song don’t carry the same meaning to me, as it may for someone else. I listen to the music, the production, the potential, and the vibe of a song. To me, the sounds mean more, say more, and speak to me more than any words can. The singing acts as another instrument in the song, and can enhance or potentially ruin a song. Often, I look passed the singing and rarely do I pick up on what people are singing about. It’s only when it is the focus of the song that I pay close attention. Again, my goal is to focus on the music, and much of what I post about will not be focused on the singing.

So this is my music blog. I don’t want this to be like any old music blog. I actually don’t like most music blogs or music reviews. We are all critics of music, and we all interpret music differently. I’m not here to tell you what you’re supposed to be hearing or listening for in particular albums, songs, or musicians. I’m not going to give you my interpretation of what I hear, but I will only post music that speaks to me and could potentially speak to you. Enjoy!