What is Radical?
Article by
Y.Pro
Mar 23, 2009
Genre: Electronic
Category: DJ Mix, Music Commentary
Artists: Bloc Party, Bloody Beetroots, Deadmau5, Klaxons, M.A.N.D.Y., MSTRKRFT, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, Thomas Schumacher, Y.pro
I am talking about the parties we go to, and more specifically the DJs we go see. Who is radical and what makes them so rad?
The one thing that has become almost an absolute asset in this industry is being able to work your way around a production program. Whether it’s doing simple remixes or creating your own tracks, having that skill helps legitimize your involvement in the industry. The ironic thing about this new standard is that you can be an amazing producer, and not be a great DJ. If you have some great tracks out, and people want to see you play them, there is a lot more motivation to get that skill down fairly quickly eg. Deadmau5, who went from not being on the DJ mag top 100 list in 2008, to being number 13 this year next to Carl Cox and Infected Mushroom. He is my number one choice for radical DJs this year. A close second to him is another local DJ named Noah Pred, he just recently launched his own record label named Thoughtless music. He plays at Toi bar and throws a party called “milkrun” at a studio near the beaches. He has numerous tracks on Beatport and will definitely be up to some big things soon.
Marketing can be a frustrating demon to a DJ/producer, having great tracks and being a great DJ just isn’t enough anymore. You have to be a public relations master as well, logo designer, MySpace designer, and being just plain cool, it’s an up hill battle unless you’re Steve Aoki. He is my choice for marketing wizard of this year. Besides signing some of the best Indie bands like Bloc Party and the Klaxons, he also signed some of the best DJ’s in the world like MSTRKRFT and The Bloody Beetroots. Did I mention that he is also a world class DJ himself? He had the coveted residency at Space in Ibiza last summer and throws the famous Dim Mak parties at LAX nightclub. He also has a successful clothing line called Dim Mak Collection. It goes to show that playful logo treatments, some great party photos, and a great ear for music can go a long way. And if that’s not rad, then I don’t know what is.
Here are my top 5 dj/producers for the year
1. Deadmau5 (local hero)
2. Noah Pred (local hero)
3. Sebastien Leger
4. Steve Aoki
5. M.A.N.D.Y.
I put together this mix, inspired by the Get Physical record label.
Tracklist:
La Luna – Miss Jools
Cave Canem – Martin Eyerer
Picanha – Thomas Schumacher
Lower Instincts – DJ T
Everybody to the Sun – Josh Wink
Booty Call – DJ T
Murder – Paul Rich
9 – Komytea
Check out MySpace to listen to some original production!
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Bloc Party, Bloody Beetroots, Deadmau5, Klaxons, M.A.N.D.Y., MSTRKRFT, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, Thomas Schumacher, Y.pro
Deadmau5′s productions are terrible. He made a few good songs in the beginning and then just spammed out average tunes. I’m not hating, I just think he should be ignored unless he makes something truly worthwhile.
do you have anyone that you find amazing at production? I would love to check them out. I am completely open to hearing anyone’s opinions. I base my opinions on technical skill, use of equipment, originality and great sound. I have a fair bit of education on music production and a classical music background, so thats why I steer towards deadmau5 because he implements all of those things into his production.
thanks for the input
y.pro
wowa, deadmau5 is a very good respectable dj and best part is hes totally down to earth/modest for someone who’s topping charts with the likes of carl cox and others
he however is just one example of a local canadian dj who went from nothing to something overnight…there is so much other talent in toronto not recognized.
yes mstrkrft is doing big things, but then there’s hatiras who has serious potential, and has started his own record labels hatrax & blow me-dia. just an example/thought …there are many other djs in the house scene not getting nearly enough recognition…lets expand horizons and support the local ‘toronto beat’. babamm.
thanks so much for the input! I am really glad that people really have a strong opinion on these topics.
Educated opinions! I guess I really haven’t given Hatiras too much of a chance, I generally avoid super electro, but I have to respect the amount of production that he has done and the amount of tracks he has had on the beatport charts. If we are talking local artists that I follow avidly and respect a great deal, I already mentioned Noah Pred, but Deko-ze is an amazing Toronto DJ who isn’t throwing out like a track a week, but he is still amazing. I want to talk a whole lot more about this, but I am going to be writing the next two articles about the minimal/techno scene which will obviously include some of Toronto’s great local talent.
Thanks again for the feedback.
y.pro
Dirrty set. im in love with the horns on the dark grooves.
Thanks! there is a new one coming next week.
y.pro