In the lull before the summer, it’s always exciting to see that there’s a new track (or preview, in this case ) from Zedd!

The German prodigy has been evolving continuously, and I’m always ecstatic to hear what new tricks he’s implemented. And ‘Spectrum’ has plenty of surprises.

While the track maintains his signature smooth synths and distorted chords, this latest endeavor is different from anything I’ve heard from Zedd before. With a glitchy beat and crazy synth runs, I honestly can’t wait to hear this track in its entirety! The song is just starting to pick up right as the sample ends (which I guess is on purpose, now that I think about it) and I was about two seconds away from starting an embarrassing fist-pump right as the sample ended. I guess I have the shortened track to thank for THAT, if nothing else!

But seriously. The last thirty seconds are ridiculous. I highly recommend listening to the song through headphones, to experience the energy of the song as the synths bounce from ear to ear. I say this every time, but keep watching this guy. To say he’s going places would be a huge understatement.

Warrior Music has been busy. Following up his release with Jake Robertz (Formerly of Knight Riderz) Warrior Music has released his highly anticipated single “World War Z” alongside a feature with Go Pro camera’s.

Head over to http://www.warriormusicbass.com for the download link.

+ if you haven’t had the chance to check his last release “Joust,” do yourself a favor and listen below:

Available exclusively on Beatport

Toronto musician/DJ/prodigy Damn Kids just released his second EP ‘Yema’, a three track effort with the maturity of a record by a producer twice his age.

The title track combines tribal drums, complex percussion switchups, lush sub, and clever vocal sampling to create a jump-up house anthem worthy of an artist’s 5th EP.

The second track, a collaborative effort with Caruzo titled ‘Buti’, is the darkest on the EP; it masterfully evokes tension through its use of sparse instrumentation and washing soundscape, and is an impressive display of the artists’ adroitness with reverb.

‘Totem’, while borrowing the same 40hz focus from ‘Yema’, is decidedly more techy and rolling, and subconsciously instructs the listener to put “sunglasses on.”

With just one listen it’s obvious that this is a record that is about the details, and that they have all been attended to.

Brooklyn aggro-popsters Sleigh Bells have been busy touring their latest album “Reign of Terror” for a good 4 months now but today, they took a short break to release a new video, remix, and announce more tour dates. Phewww…don’t wear yourselves out Sleigh Bells! Mad Decent ringleader and recent Sleigh Bells tour-mate Diplo is responsible for the meteoric remix of “Demons”. Dip re-works the cacophonous single into a trap-house banger while accentuating Alexis Krauss’ spiky vocals. Sleigh Bells guitarist Derek Miller is responsible for the Pantera-inspired, smoke-machine draining, and pseudo-heavy metal video for “Demons”. Watch below.

Catch Sleigh Bells this summer as they embark on a tour of North America (!):

06-01 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
06-02 London, England – Field Day Festival
07-02 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
07-03 Boston, MA – House of Blues
07-05 Montreal, Quebec – Corona
07-06 Ottawa, Ontario – Lebreton Flats Park (Ottawa Blues Festival)
07-07 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
07-09 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
07-10 Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
07-12 Kansas City, MO – Beaumont Club
07-13 Louisville, KY – Forecastle Fest
07-14 Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
07-16 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
07-17 Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theater
07-18 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls
07-20 Philadelphia, PA – Penn’s Landing, Making Time 12th Anniversary HYPER-RAGER
07-22 Washington, DC – Merriweather Post Pavilion (w/ Hot Chip and James Murphy)

I Love Bass Music is a facebook page which operates as a blog and extension of the The New Toronto. To celebrate One Year since its launch, I Love Bass Music has put together its first full length compilation. Released today for FREE, the compilation features 17 tracks from producers from around the world including a number of Canadian and Toronto based producers. The release is available now as a free download via bandcamp and it features tracks from Look Like, Henry Krinkle, Lohko, Exeter, Jesse Futerman, Sp3ktre, Dro Carey, Rommek, Pále, Goldenboy, Heim, Royce Rolls, George Jetson, Rewrote, VLSONN, Cure, and Ryan Hemsworth.

“Launched in May 2011, I Love Bass Music operates as a central aggregation site for all things bass music. Dubstep, House, Techno, Juke, Garage, 2-step, Trap, Hip Hop….. if it has a fat low end, chances are it has been posted on the page.

Now transmitting from various areas in Canada, we look to feature artists from around the world that are making interesting music that operates in our desired frequencies. Over the last year we have had the privilege of sharing amazing musical projects from all sorts of artists, familiar favorites and upstart producers alike. We’ve spent countless hours scouring the internet, listening to the radio, and sifting through record stores, and we’ve been lucky enough to have loads of promos and demos sent our way so that we enjoy the music ourselves and, in turn, share it with our readers.

So as a way to give back to you all for your support over the last year we’ve compiled a compilation of some of the artists that we have had the privilege of learning about through this page and in our daily digs for new music.

Clocking in at 17 tracks and 73 minutes, ILBM001 explores all the edges of the bass world spectrum. Crazy drum edits, weird Moog-led soundscapes, chopped up and re-pitched vocals, syncopated percussion, and a wealth of low frequency experiments. World wide representation on this one.

Big thanks to all the listeners, readers, and contributors.”

The latest edition of BBC Radio 1′s Essential Mix series is quite an expansive affair. Composed by the American-Chilean minimalist DJ/producer Nicolas Jaar, this adventurous mix spans across a wide range of the musical spectrum. A quick skim of the tracklist will reveal that Jaar is very open-minded when it comes to music. Everything from hip-hop (Jay-Z) to film scores (Jonny Greenwood) to gospel (Lashun Pace) to folk (Feist, Bill Callahan) to Top 40 pop (NSYNC!?) are present in the mix. On paper, Nico’s set appears to be all over the map, a jumble of varying genres with no overt compatibility. However, upon first listen, you will find that Jaar’s mix is truly coherent. With masterful poise and tact, Mr. Jaar layers ambient sound washes over multifarious vocal samples and minimalist drum patterns. Jaar is greatly indebted to fellow Chilean and electronic pioneer Ricardo Villalobos. Jaar’s lush, downtempo, classically-inclined approach to electronica is highly reminiscent of Villalobos’ distinct style of IDM. In this day and age, it’s rare to find a musician with such diverse musical knowledge and styles. Nicolas Jaar‘s music is a refreshing change of pace in a present-day electronica scene obsessed with maximalism and redundant club music conventions.

Tracklist

01. Nicolas Jaar & Maceo Plex – Gravy Train (Nicolas Jaar Remix) [Get Physical Music]
02. Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise [Clown & Sunset]
03. Laxx & Farkas – Creature
04. Nicolas Jaar – Don’t Break My Love [Clown & Sunset]
………………………………………………………………………………………..

05. Angelo Badalamenti – Conversation On Twin Peaks [Warner Bros]
06. The Brothers Four – Greenfields [Columbia]
07. Jay-Z – My First Song (Acapella) [Roc-A- Fella]
08. Jonny Greenwood – There Will Be Blood [NONESUCH]
09. Los Ángeles Negros – Tu Y Tu Mirar… Yo Y Mi Cancion [Harmless]
10. LaShun Pace – It’s Me Oh Lord (Acapella Praise) [Shanachie]
11. Jonny Greenwood – Open Spaces [NONESUCH]
12. Pearson Sound – Footloose [Pearson Sound]
13. The Electric Prunes – Holy Are You (There Is No God Edit) [Reprise]
14. Aphex Twin – Ziggomatic 17 [WARP]
15. Keith Jarrett – Tokyo, November 14 (Encore) [ECM Records]
16. My Girl And Me – Always Back To You (feat. Lorraine) [Unknown]
17. Vera November – Last Night Together (You’re Coming Back Edit) [Rough Trade]
18. Nikita Quasim – L’amour L’après Midi [Clown and Sunset]
19. Nikita Quasim – The Way I Felt Today [Clown and Sunset]
20. Feist – Caught A Long Wind [Polydor]
21. Shigeru Umebayashi – Yumeji’s Theme (In The Mood For Love) [In The Mood For Love OST, Higher Octave OmTown]
22. *NSYNC – It Makes Me Ill (Edit) [JIVE]
23. Unknown – Unknown
24. Charles Mingus – Myself When I’m Real [IMPULSE]
25. Bill Callahan – America! [DRAG CITY]
26. The Field – The Little Heart Beats So Fast [Kompakt]
27. Sneaky Sound System – Always By Your Side (Nicolas Jaar Remix) [Modular]
28. Just Friends – Avalanche [Unknown]
29. Pavla + Noura – Don’t Owe Me A Thing [The Prism, Clown and Sunset]
30. Acid Pauli – La Voz Tan Tierna [Clown and Sunset]
31. Igor Wakhevitch – Taddy’s Dream: Ramallah’s Road [Pathé Marconi EMI]
32. Nikita Quasim – Derridu [Unknown]
33. Beyoncé Knowles – 1+1 [Columbia]
34. Anouar Brahem – Vague / E La Nave Va [ECM]
35. Rio Grande – Let’s Groove (Tonight Edit) [Unknown]
36. Gonzales – Manifesto [Sunnyside]
37. The Grass Roots – Let’s Live For Today (Learn To Live Edit) [Dunhill]
38. Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues (Sk Edit) [TAMLA]
39. Man Friday – Real Love (The Paradise Garage Mix) (feat. Larry Levan) [Nite Grooves]
40. DJ Slugo – What That Do [Subterranean Playhouse]
41. Ricardo Villalobos – What You Say Is More Than I Can Say [Playhouse]
42. Untitled – Untitled [Unknown]
43. Nicolas Jaar – The Student [Wolf & Lamb]

As always, you can find the full archive of free Jeffrees releases here.

If you were down at SXSW this year you would have noticed the strong trending towards trap-infused house music, whether you were at a bass music party or the Moombahton Massive.

A label that’s leading that movement right now is called Jeffrees. They’re a sub-label or “extension” of Mad Decent, and as Diplo puts it:

Jeffrees, is the best new music -the most progessive, the most amazing. the deepest underground and subterranean sounds from the Earth’s crust; the best sounds available and it’s free. It’s what Mad Decent was originally made for – new artists thinking outside of the box

Twice a month, they put out a new EP for free on Thursday, with plans to sell a compilation every two months containing higher-quality versions. Cool, right?

But make no mistake, we aren’t talking about a collection of demos here. So far the label has released music by Diplo x Nicky Da B, Zeds Dead, Paper Diamond, and many more artists spanning, bending, and breaking sub-genres.

This week’s release comes courtesy of Baauer, a Brooklyn-native with rap and UK garage influences. Honestly I’m struggling for my own words to better describe him than the release on the Jeffrees blog “Baauer has found himself smack dab in the middle of the electronic renaissance”, because it describes at once his own unique fusion of disparate influences, and the change which, if you’re attentive, is happening in dance music right now.

The Wheel Wells are back with another track, this time it’s an edit that they made for their live sets.  They take the classic Daft Punk song ‘Something About Us’ and spice it up by adding the catchy vocals of LA producer/songwriter Goldroom.

As you might know, Goldroom (aka Josh Legg) was in Toronto to play Mansion’s Pop Kult party, which was a great time all around.  Rumour has it that after the show, he went over to the Wheel Wells place for an after party and put this song on.  If you haven’t heard Josh’s new song ‘Fifteen’, I recommend you check that out.  Pitchfork and HypeM both seem to think it’s worthy.

Now on to the Wheel Wells. These guys have been ripping up the Toronto scene lately. If you haven’t made it out to one of their shows, I would highly recommend doing so.  They are the Friday night residents at Czehoski and the Saturday night residents at Wrongbar.  Both places have been known to get crazy.

Here are a few upcoming Wheel Wells shows that I would recommend hitting:

May 18th they are bringing San Francisco producer Viceroy to Czehoski to play with them
May 19th w/ Juan Maclean @ Wrongbar
May 26th w/ Lindstrom @ Wrongbar
June 9th w/ The Magician and Plastic Plates @ Wrongbar for Pyramid Club

Word has it that they have a new original that will be out in a few weeks.  Definitely look forward to this one.

Trance prodigy Matan Zohar‘s latest single “The Sky” first premièred on the 419th instalment of Above & Beyond‘s ‘Trance Around the World’ podcast series. Today, “The Sky’ was officially released as a Beatport Exclusive by way of A&B‘s renowned Anjunabeats label. Here’s what they had to say about it:

“With his recent “The Bipolar EP” picking up support from DJs as diverse as A Trak, Above & Beyond, Afrojack, Steve Aoki and Arty, the London sensation Mat Zo delivers another impressive release with the classy vocal track “The Sky”; featuring the distinctive vocals of Linnea Schossow.

With two contrasting mixes that showcase Mat’s ability to master different vibes, “The Sky” also sees the London-based producer deliver his first ever vocal track with serious aplomb.

A dancefloor killer and musical journey rolled into one, the extended mix of “The Sky” builds elegantly with a symphony of synths and leads into a sweeping breakdown full of warm melodies and Schossow’s distinctive, searching tones. Lifting off with an epic thrust on the drop, “The Sky” is a classy, crossover anthem that brings together elements of house, progressive and trance into a unique blend.”

Purchase “The Sky” here.

As a bonus, Mat has released a “North American Fun Bus Mix” in support of the ‘Language’ tour with Porter Robinson and The M Machine. Check the dates for that here (FYI: I’ll be covering the London, ON show). If the ‘Fun Bus Mix’ is any indication of what Zo‘s live set will be like, June 21 is going to be the wildest night of my life.

Simian Mobile Disco have become synonymous with tasteful and top quality production. This hotly anticipated LP lives up to all expectations of the duo. Carefully crafted electronic dance music, the album manages to transgress boundaries between genres at blending contemporary trends and musical maturity.

Glaswegian, new-school hip-hop producer Hudson Mohawke is the man of the moment.  Earlier today, female rap sensation Azealia Banks  sent the blogosphere into a frenzy with the release of her new HudMo and Nick Hook-produced track “Jumanji”. As expected, Azealia is on-point as she transitions from confrontational rapid-fire rhymes to melodic sing-song vocals. Nevertheless, it’s the production that really blew me out of the water….and onto the island. The track opens with breezy windchimes and a clattering snare roll, immediately conjuring visions of tropicalia. HudMo’s stuttering rhythms glide along seamlessly with Hook‘s piercing string samples. however, it’s the steel drums that really made me fall in love with this song. I don’t know about you but I’m a sucker for those ringing pans. Try to resist…you can’t.

In other awesome news, Hudson Mohawke and like-minded Montreal-based hip-hop producer Lunice announced that they will collaborate for a five-song EP under the name TNGHT. The EP is set to be released on July 23/24 by way of Warp Records and LuckyMe Records. You can stream the bass-heavy single “Bugg’n” below. It sounds like a precisely coordinated blend of dripping water and the clang of metal cans. That’s a good thing by the way.

2005 marked the union of  Matrix & Futurebound, two highly esteemed UK D’n'B producers and record label founders. Their debut album “Universal Truth” was met with considerable acclaim and the pair have been working together ever since. As a matter of fact, the revered duo are gearing up to release their second full-length album this year on Futurebound’s own Viper Recordings imprint (home to the exceptional young’un Seven Lions and other notable acts such as InsideInfo and Camo & Krooked).

Unfortunately,  lead single “All I Know” sounds like an attempt to infiltrate the mainstream with Luke Bingham’s cheesy boy-band/Mike Posner-esque vocals and M&B‘s uncharacteristically watered-down proudction. Fortunately, however, Viper Recordings uploaded a free download of “Biology (feat. Cat Knight)” to their Soundcloud in concurrence with the release of “All I Know”. “Biology” comes from last year’s incredible “Worldwide 001″ compilation and its heavy basslines mixed with Cat Knight’s invigorating interpretation of The Prodigy‘s oft-sampled “No Good (Start the Dance)”  is the furthest thing from ‘cookie-cutter’.

John Roman has finally come out of reclusion. The second edition of his Reclusion mixtape series is finally available. It includes a wide range of new material that manages to blur the lines between genres. This edition of the mixtape features no remixes or edits and is 100% Roman. As an artist his evolution over the past 3 years has been something special to watch. From a hypemachine hitmaker who rose to the top of those charts to someone who has become firmly routed in the dance music community.

The last time I, like many others, was this excited to see Roman perform was for his debut at The Social in Toronto 3 years ago at Monday Meetings (RIP). You can catch Roman this Friday at Course of Time. RSVP HERE

Yoann Hebert has been balls-deep into music since picking up his first violin at 5 years old. At age 10 he was playing with an orchestra and by the time he was 12 was collaborating on mini-operas. By 2000 he was playing as a self-taught drummer in a metal band and began composing electronic music with the 3-man collective ADAPTEK. This led to the creation of the band ANTROPOD and the live performance known as Polakatek.

Following departure from the collective in 2008 he began to pursue his own projects.

Last year he set forth on a Dubstep project in order to create something more personal and untrodden. His knack for percussion is evident throughout the track, and I especially appreciate the well thought out breakdowns.

Expect big things from this man.

“I think this is what robots would f*ck to.” -Ben

Live-remixing trio Keys N Krates sure don’t publish many recordings, but when they do, they’re tight as hell.

Well, they’ve just released a remix of ‘No Prayers’ by fellow Torontonians Zeds Dead and Omar Linx, a track off a free EP released by Mad Decent sub-label Jeffrees a little over a month ago called Victor.

KnK have a big summer ahead of them. They are currently on a US tour, will be hopping over the pond to Barcelona for a set during Sonar (jelly, this is the festival I wanted to go to most this summer), and will return to North America for several more tour dates and festivals, including Osheaga, Shambhala, and WEMF.

Keys N Krates on Facebook

Out today on T&A Records Calgary’s finest, the Smalltown DJs, have put together a six-track EP today titled Loving the Vibe. The vocals, provided by Toddla T’s live emcee Trigga Nom, give it a jump-up feel very much in the style of the duo’s cross-genre DJ sets.

The original mix is a tropical summer party hit, which borrows from a number of influences like UK Funky and Garage, and the remixes on the package are yet more eclectic.

You can listen to the whole EP below, and cop it on Beatport.

Smalltown DJs on Facebook

Warrior Music has been busy in the studio lately. His latest track “Joust” produced in collaboration with former Knight Riderz (RIP) member Jake Robertz shows a lot of growth for the upcoming Canadian producer. As an official resident Bassmentality alongside The Killabits and Zeds Dead he slowly demonstrating the potential to become a much larger entity. Catch Warrior Music at this weeks Bassmentality.

He has also posted a preview of his forthcoming single “World War Z”. We have high expectations for this young Warrior.

We have a long installment for you this month which is decidedly more mashup-focused. As always, everything that is available for download has the thumbs up from the artist/remixer/bootlegger.

The standout track this month was an easy pick. Although I think it’s actually a couple months old, I heard it for the first time down at SXSW and I have been rinsing it steady since.

The other top four stood so far above the rest of the group that they were easy picks too.

What are your guys’ picks of the month? Share them in the comments below..

Standout Track of the Month

Top four tracks of the month

Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Soulwax Remix)

Jakwob – Slaves Ft 14th

Electro, House, Progressive

The XX – Infinity (Bruno Be Remix)

Dragonette - Let It Go (Faustix + Imanos Remix)

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Dave Edwards Remix)

Housse De Racket - Chateau (Gemini Club Remix)

Hype Jones ft Mario Vazquez - You Are The Only One

James Curd - Guide Me (Gigamesh Remix)

Marina and the Diamonds - Primadonna (Mr. Larsson Remix feat. DANGA)

Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack (Viceroy Remix)

Midi Matilda - Day Dreams (MyKill Remix)

Of Monsters and Men - King and Lionheart (Dzeko + Torres Streesh Bootleg)

SHM + Laidback Luke - Leave The World Behind (HLM Remix)

Dubstep

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge (Brummer Remix)

Chase + Status - Flashing Lights Ft. Takura (Mac Miller Remix)

Datsik (ft. Snak the Ripper) - Fully Blown (Rekoil Remix)

Datsik - Fully Blown (The Frim Remix)

Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love (Seven Lions Remix)

Tiesto vs Wolfgang Gartner - We Own The Night (Back From The Future Remix)

Mashups

Breakbot Vs Chromeo - Baby Be Night (Ugly Kids Mash)

Chrizz Luvly x Carly Rae Jepsen x Kanye West x Jessie J - This Is Cray (Basic Physics Bootleg)

Dada Life x Hardwell x Taio Cruz - Aviciis Epic Hangover (Kap Slap Bootleg)

Eric Prydz vs The Wanted - Glad You Came 2Night (Fero vs Dzeko + Torres Edit)

Kap Slap - Sexy Jello

Kaskade vs Sander Van Doorn vs Adrian Lux vs Mindy Gledhill - Eagle Eyes (HOHME Remix)

Kill Paris - Keep Your Secrets in Midnight City

Madeon vs Katy Perry vs Rihanna vs Journey - Dont Stop the One That Got Away (Compson Sound Bootleg)

Porter Robinson vs Coldplay - Every Language is a Waterfall (TeeTs + Henry Fong Mashup)

Pretty Lights vs Avicii vs Flo Rida - Sometimes (Cryptex Reglitch)

R3hab vs 3LAU - Bitch City (3LAU Bootleg)

Thomas Gold x Pendulum x R3HAB x Swanky Tunes - Island of Gold (Basic Physics Bootleg)

Whatsup Salacious faces,

Finnish dubstep duo Naraka and Foment have been homies since grade school. Naraka has always loved electronic and drum & bass but recently became attracted to the inspirational sound of dubstep. Foment is a self taught drummer interested in sound design and experimental music. They began experimenting with different styles in 2007 and eventually began producing dubstep.

“It gets deeper than Deepak Chopra.” – MF Doom

Buy it on Beatport
Follow him on Facebook
Vesicle’s Soundcloud

McNair and Clarke have been doing their thing in Toronto for a little while now. They’ve headlined at top tier venues such as The Hoxton, This is London and Riva. Next Friday you can find them playing Course of Time at The Supermarket alongside John Roman. Recently, they remixed Medallions’ “Other Lover” and its definitely a solid start. Hope to hear them evolve with a little more time in the studio together.