Escape from Electric Mountain is a brilliant bit of departure from Feed Me’s earlier electro-house driven EPs. You’ll still get that trademark glitch-meets-dubstep sound, but you shouldn’t be surprised to hear a fair amount of progressive house tracks mixed in with the bunch which are, frankly, a breath of fresh air.

I really wish the intro swing of One Click Headshot continued throughout the song; it’s a delicious bit of stomping that gives the entire track a much-needed groove. Comparisons will be drawn to Skrillex’s ‘Reptile’ — some vocals sound directly sampled –  and I guarantee a good amount of mixes and mashups of the two tracks. I’m a bit more excited by the crazy bit of headshot rant sampling that gamers may recognize from the Toronto-based webseries Pure Pwnage. It’s probably the most cheerful track on the EP.

Trapdoor and Whiskers are great examples of what an effective music collaboration /should/ be; there aren’t any distinct ‘you take this part, I take that part’ sections. Feed Me melds his own sound with that of Hadouken! and Gemini seamlessly.

If you’re going to take any one track as evidence of Feed Me’s progression as a producer it’s got to be Relocation. The prog-house chords are a nice Deadmau5-influenced bit of the album. Watch out for the Blood Red easter egg.

Trichitillomania (despite sounding alarmingly like his previous track Chain Smoker) is probably the most recognizably ‘Feed Me’ track off of the EP, and features some great crunchy synths. Embers is a personal favourite. Originally, I felt that this bastard child of prog and electro jumped genres a little too often without warning. It took me a few listens to really think of it as a cohesive track, but after a few dedicated sessions I warmed up to it.

If you’re coming to this album expecting another straight-out ‘trademark’ track from this album (see also: Cloudburn, Pink Lady, Strange Behaviour) you probably won’t find it. There are plenty of high-energy quality tracks (Whiskers, Trapdoor) and fun bits of crunchy electro (Trichitillomania, One Click Headshot) but the whole album definitely takes on an exploratory tone. I find that a lot of albums written on tour such as this one lack a certain depth, or perhaps something differs in the mastering. The bass could have been a little more intense, the highs just a little more soaring. But these are minor grievances; the EP is a great listening experience from beginning to end and what it may lack in any capacity is made up for in sheer originality. An Escape from Electric Mountain, indeed.

Feed Me’s Escape From Electric Mountain is available now on Beatport.

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In advance of his first full-length effort I interviewed Alex Syse, aka Basic Physics, so that you guys might get a taste of the man behind some of 2011′s biggest and baddest blogosphere bootlegs. That’s often a dirty word – bootleg – in this industry. It usually connotes a lack of originality, and almost invariably a lack of production quality.

But Alex is breaking that mould, and constantly pushing the talent behind his very popular work forward. In just a year, he’s come from receiving over a hundred thousand plays on his Ghost on a G6 mashup to releasing a 16-track album loaded with both originals – a big step – and the quality bootlegs we’ve grown used to. I’m taking my first listen now, and I’m impressed. There was obviously a ton of care and attention to detail that went in to this album.

Download the full album for free at the bottom of the interview, and support Basic Physics on Facebook.

Cal: A/S/L?

Alex: Alex Syse, The Northwoods aka Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cal: What is your background in music? How were you trained?

Alex: From an early age, I was interested in how music was made. I had a brief stint with the piano, guitar, and drums in middle school but the simplicity of being limited to one instrument was always a turnoff to me. However, this helped lay a foundation to know what was in key, how to play certain notes, and how composition worked. After middle school, music took me on a journey from hip hop to jam bands (I saw Umphrey’s Mcgee nearly 100 times) to indie rock and finally electro. As college began in 2007, MSTRKRFT, Daft Punk, Justice, and Pretty Lights were in constant rotation on my iPod. After listening to countless electronic artists, it gave me the itch to dive into creating my own music. After acquiring Ableton Live, I began sifting through the manual and the whole trial and error process. It was during this time that Girl Talk was blowing up. I had the opportunity to see him at Summercamp in 2008 and that sparked my interest to not only listen to more mashup music, but create music of my own.

Cal: How would you describe the genre of music you make/perform?

Alex: The genre of music I create would be categorized as Electro / Hip Hop / Pop Mashup, but I don’t want people to be afraid of that word (“mashup”). Like all genres, the mashup game is saturated with lots of artists and various styles. When I’m producing a mashup, I want it to be big, memorable, worthy to be considered one of the best, and in most cases, should make you want to dance your ass off. Some people like to do it for fun. I want to do it for more than that.

Cal: In your opinion, which is the manliest instrument? (physical/virtual/corporeal)

Alex: The “Magic Pipe” that That 1 Guy uses during his live sets. (If you don’t know, get familiar!)

Cal: I noticed that there is a bunch of rocketship / space / blastoff type imagery and language surrounding the album launch – any particular reason?

Alex: The first album I released was “Nightlife in the Northwoods” in April of 2011. The goal with that project was to get my name out there. With the album titled “Lift Off”, I’m hoping it will do just that, lift off my career. I would like to think I’m one of the best in this genre and I hope that this album gets the attention of many. Besides taking my career up to different level, I thought it would be fun to run with the “Lift Off” concept. Apollo 13 was one of my favorite movies as a kid and once I found soundclips from the film, I had to use them! The album art, created by the great Joshua Bull, was his interpretation of “Lift Off” and I thought he did a phenomenal job.

Cal: How many tracks have you made which haven’t made their way on to the internet?

Alex: Roughly 20, including 3 original productions. Patience is critical when transitioning from mashups to originals.

Cal: So your name is Basic Physics – which of Newton’s laws is the best? Why?

Alex: Newton’s Third Law: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. I think this one is the easiest to understand so it is my favorite. Anything with an equation (Newton’s Second Law) is in a league of it’s own.

Cal: The genre-space you are making music in is competitive, wouldn’t you say? What do you think Basic Physics brings to the table that gives you a leg up on the competition?

Alex: Absolutely. The amount of mashup / DJs that have sprung up in the past year to year and a half is staggering. The emergence of a DJ being a “rockstar” has turned a lot of people on to EDM and producing in general. Since I started in the Spring of 2010, I have learned so much from a musical standpoint and a marketing standpoint (graduated with a Marketing degree this past December). At the end of the day though, my drive and passion to succeed in music will be my greatest attribute. I have so much more planned then just mashups and I can’t wait to release it to everyone.

Cal: Any goals for your production career that you’ve set? (short or long-term)

Alex: Transitioning to more remixes and originals is in the short term goals. I’m ready. As far as longer term goals, I would love to collaborate with some of my favorite producers down the road, get official support from some of those artists, climb the Beatport charts, meet Pete Tong, play at the likes of EDC, Ultra.

You’ve got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make it come true.

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ColeCo have been racking up the accolades in the last several months, taking care of all live programming for The Weeknd’s upcoming tour as well as remixing for them, Torro Torro, Bedouin Soundclash, and Young Empires.

They’ve supported The Magician, Com Truise, Fake Blood, and they played CMJ in NYC at the end of 2011. Finally, they just released a new single on Nervous, and have another upcoming on Kitsune in March.

So I’m proud to announce that I’ll be rocking a party with ColeCo on Friday February 10th in Toronto, at Riva Supper Lounge. Expect sexy, groovy, disco rhythms.

Get full event details here.

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There has been some talk as to why their track “Snake Charmer” was a lot more bumpin’ than usual.

Today they revealed that the real snake charmer was indeed Cassian!

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Crizzly, one of the most notable new guys of 2011 hits us with a new mixtape dubbed (ha ha ha “dub”) Crunkstep. His mastery of bass is impressive, and his crossover style raises the question “where will (the sound of) dubstep go?”

He demonstrates a keen sense of rhythm in his remix of Aj Hernz’s Snap Back Swag. The track’s pre-drop excitement level is dizzying, and the drop delivers fully and satisfyingly.

This new installment gives a taste of his previous work, while showcasing his growth as an artist and hinting at greater things to come! Stylistically, it’s hip-hop inspirations are evidence, and it is accompanied by an understanding of how a dubstep-style drop can really impact an audience!

Please take a listen and make sure to check his Soundcloud!!

One thing I love about music like this is that I can forget it’s dubstep, and be sent back to a time when I was metalhead. And lets be honest, Metal-heads and Dub-heads aren’t that different. We both have an undying love of our respective genres with a faith that is unshakable.

Crizzly has come along way from the first song I heard of his, and most importantly has kept what initially attracted my attention. This dude had it down when Willow Smith was still popular!

Collaborations are not a stretch for this guy either.

ENJOY!!

(And If you like him you will enjoy this Dude too…)

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Yesterday, Alpha Pup Records dropped the second single from the debut album of intriguing electronic duo Virtual Boy. I can’t say that I’ve heard any buzz surrounding the album or Virtual Boy for that matter, so, I’ve taken it upon myself to put this “buzzwagon” in motion.

“Let Go” opens with a vocoder that is curiously reminiscent of James Blake’s sparse “Lindisfarne I” and segues into an electro-acoustic guitar loop. At 1:36 the track reaches its apex as the beat jolts in and all the elements of sound converge. A brief overlook of Virtual Boy’s biography will reveal to you that members Henry Allen and Preston Walker are classically trained musicians. This is really no surprise considering the precision and technicality of “Let Go”. Their sound owes as much to Bach and Mozart as it does to Ratatat and The Glitch Mob. (bio via wearevirtualboy.com)

Virtual Boy’s self-titled  debut album drops on February 7. In the meantime, you can watch their groovy video for “Let Go”:

Follow Virtual Boy on:

• Soundcloud
• Facebook
• Twitter

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Some of the tail end releases in 2011 gave a fresh light to what 2012 was going to bring us. On December 12th, disco viking Jonas Rathsman released his first tropical-sounding release on French Express. Having made an impression with his first release “Love Is My Middle Name” on the French Express Vol. 2 compilation, they snapped him up for another deal. His retro disco-style certainly fits the bill.

Prepare for sunshine:

Jonas Rathman on Soundcloud

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An awesome new artist has crashed on the electronic scene. Going by the name Wick-It The Instigator, the Nashville native has just come out with an album comparable to the likes of Pretty Lights (consensus.)

This ingenius ensemble of mixes features music spanning genres and samples from notable Tarantino films, two of which lend their name to the album.

Featured hip-hop artists include the emerging Yelawolf and a veteran to the game Busta Rhymes, and many more!

Pulling from his roots in hip-hop/turntable music, Wick-It has fused some music from the recent developing electronic scene. He demonstrates his mixing skill in a remix of the the Motley Crue classic “Shout at The Devil”.

Wick-It The Instigator is definitely one to watch in the new year.

If you would like to download this album and anymore of his music check out his soundcloud.

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Zetto just flew into my lap not too long ago and it was for a good reason! Having little knowledge on the background of who Zetto is or where he came from makes it all the more exciting.

Take a deep breathe and dive in friends! No turning back, no regrets…
 

But the only thing that matters is to get a catchy melody and drop it!
ReySon
What came first, the chicken or the egg?
Zetto
The egg, of course. Lol
 

Remember, until Jan 31 every “Like” on my Fb page results in a .50cent donation divided between Oxfam, Save The Children & The Salvation Army. Change the world!
Cheers,
Corey

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Every year, between October and December, major studios like to release their Oscar contenders… It’s a time of year where releases are characterized by serious writing, director-driven filmmaking, and demanding acting.

Every year, around January, I think we’ve all noticed the trend that major producers like to release their festival anthems — those samey, major key, busy, vocal pieces that we’re all supposed to get good ‘n used to so we can travel across the continent without hearing anything unfamiliar.

I can think of two that got their “official” drop dates in the last couple weeks; Avicii ft. Nervo – You’re Gonna Love Again, and Thomas Gold and Dirty South ft. Kate Elsworth – Eyes Wide Open.

I can list a lot of differences between each song, mainly the trademarks any producer might leave on his tracks — the reverb heavy, staccato, and up-swinging synths sit on every track by Bergling has ever done, from his Tim Berg days to the Avicii era; Messrs. Gold and South maintain a much more even, melodic (slightly discordant) feel. I think, though, that I can say what I’ve been dancing around: both these songs, while examples of fine craftsmanship, are different only in content (different notes, different words), and in terms of stylistic tics. Because each song does the exact same work, and will likely appear in the same sets in the coming months (and especially festival season), they suffer from fundamental sameness.

I think that the fundamental, and I do use that word again deliberately, similarities between these two songs tell us something minor and innocuous, what makes a successful song, and something major and insidious, which brings to mind George Santayana’s aphorism “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”

So — common elements of two songs tailored for broad, festival appeal. Listen to the dynamic, pitch corrected (female) vocals delivering uncomplicated messages about realization of human contact (assurances one will love again, “close my eyes I’m next to you,” etc) and thinly veiled references to MDMA. Notice the repetitive, build-drop verse structure. Every chord is, of course, major. I think we have a new genre emergent from the explosion in popularity of house music — House-less Music.

Houseless Music, that is, music that is designed to be played in fields at festivals and for crowds of tens of thousands in impersonal arenas is a marketable commodity with its own superstars (SHM, Avicii, Alesso, just to name three Swedes) and the radio airplay (and broad appeal) of an Eminem song five years ago.

Despite their different backgrounds, House-Less superstars Afrojack, Alesso, Avicii, and Calvin Harris are all billed near the top of the 2012 Coachella lineup. Ten years ago, the only act like this near the top billing at the same festival was Tiesto.

Okay. Electronic Dance Music is the new Rock’n’Roll, and has a broad “arena” genre emergent from its own popularity… in other Obviousness News, the sky is blue, America will pursue its foreign policy interests in Asia, and coffee tastes great. However, this realization brings me to my next point about history, and its repetition.

According to a certain 19th century German whose surname rhymes with “sparks,” every epoch contains the seeds of its own downfall — in terms of history, it is oppression that leads to uprising, but in terms of music, it is popularity that leads to the dreaded uncoolness.

It was the backlash against over-commercialization that killed Disco and made mention of its name a tauntable offense. It was the backlash against crass materialism that forced inventive hip-hop underground. Pop killed rock in the same way that Darth Vader killed Anakin — the personality was entirely subsumed, but the form (five piece band with a guitar and a singer and rock-beat) was largely the same.

It will be the backlash against contentless, uncomplicated, and fundamentally (there’s that word again) samey arena filling House-Less songs that come out every year between January and March in our world’s perverse version of Oscar season that will lead us all dancing and raving to march into the sea.

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