Benny Benassi Walks Into A Bar…
Want to hear a joke?
A man and a young girl are walking into a dark forest in the dead of night.
The young girl says “I don’t like this forest at all. It’s really scarey”.
The man replies “You’re scared? I’ve got to walk back on my own!”
Nasty innit.
So is this Benny Benassi tune.
Benny Benassi – Finger Food – 
To Like Or Not To Like…That Is The Question
There’s no denying it, Calvin Harris has the potion for making hits.
Since Acceptable In The 80′s made it’s first debut back in 2006 he’s been one of the biggest commercial success stories in the UK. Now whether they’re good hits or not is entirely up to you but he’s infiltrated the charts like a SWAT team on 80% pure.
I think it was the title to his debut album that put a bitter taste in everyones mouth – I Created Disco is a brave name for anyones album, regardless of their musical stature and reviews since then have been all-round bad but it seems the new album has managed to gain some positive appraisals.
The Rain is the opening track to the new album and it’s won me over. I haven’t listened to any more of the album yet. To be perfectly honest I’m a bit scared to as I don’t want to ruin everything by venturing any deeper in case things gets shit.
As well as that I was recommended a hidden gem by a friend. Featurecast has done a Drum & Bass remix of I’m Not Alone and it needs to be heard.
Calvin Harris – The Rain –
Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone (Featurecast Remix)
Anyone actually listened to the whole album? Drop a line or two about it and maybe it will persuade me to listen to it!
You Got The Remedy?
I’ve been waiting to hear some hot new electro this week – so far it’s been a big mixture mainly of downtempo and chill-out stuff but then in drops something golden in my inbox – a new song from Sound Remedy and something rarely seen with producers/DJs – a music video.
The video is great and well worth a watch – considering it was probably done on a shoe-string budget it’s really nice to see this kind of 360 degree promotion for a song.
The song’s progressive and airy and I love hearing new material from producers hard at work in their ‘macbook studios’.
Sound Remedy – Field - download
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Rotten Fruit?
I watched the coverage of V Festival on TV over the weekend.
Honestly, I’d rather spend a couple of years in Guantanamo Bay then go to that ‘festival’ and whilst I screaming for mercy at the lineup as each ‘artist’ racked off their popular hits, on walked a once British legend, The Streets.
I’ve got, sorry I had, a lot of respect for Mike Skinner. Original Pirate Material was raw, organic and well, original and he almost carved out his own genre with his music. Witty and edgy lyrics that we could all relate to as well as top notch production straight from his bedroom was what made The Streets.
However somewhere down the line it all took a turn for the worst. His last album was absolutely awful. Something you really couldn’t listen to without thinking “HOW COULD SOMEONE PUT THEIR NAME ON THIS!?”.
So let’s turn the page and reminisce on what once was – the opening track from his debut album.
The Streets – Turn The Page –
Modern Masterpiece.
James Brown In The Jungle Groove
The weather’s played quite a big part in some of the blog posts recently – that’s because it’s been so shit recently!
At first thought, James Brown and Drum & Bass sound as compatible as smoked salmon and mince pies but Featurecast have ‘regrooved’ a classic track by warming it up with some light and fluffy warm D&B and it works so well.
It’s a shame the Godfather of Soul is no longer with us – he passed away on the Christmas morning of 2006 after performing thousands of shows across the world for decades. He really was The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.
It’s nice that Mr. Brown can live on in different musical forms – especially a bit of Drum & Bass!
James Brown – Sunny (Featurecast Remix)
Dub Fx!
Some musicians have developed talents with new musical technologies that are unbelievable.
A film maker who goes by the name of Dowdenboy has picked up on some of these musicians in the UK and showcased some amazing street music.
Dub Fx is one of these and he’s incredible. Essentially he’s a beat-boxer/ singer who creates some insane sounds using his vocal talents and some basic recording equipment. The Australian native has incorporated Drum & Bass, Dub, Reggae and Soul using minimal tools to such a maximum effect.
Beat-boxing is something I never thought I could sit back and listen to whilst I work or play. Until now.
It’s my priority to get an In The Spotlight feature from him this summer!
Who the fuck needs Ableton or Logic when you can use your mouth!
Lifelike
Not usually are there two posts in the same week on the same artist but Lifelike’s remixes and his originals are two completely different things and deserve to be heard in quick succession.
The French house/electro producer has 15 pages worth of goodies on Hype Machine and is the bloggers favourite at the moment. It’s amazing how this organic online viral begins for certain people – his online marketing campaign has been generated for free by the buzzing community and it’s amazing.
After a successfully sunny day in London, his own production called Sunset is just what’s needed. This is going to be something I have on my speaker system at Bestival whilst I watch the sun come up at 6am!
Sunset has got a really uplifting feel to it – you can really feel the vibe of a sunset view.
Lifelike – Sunset –
Check out the Empire Of The Sun remix posted up earlier in the week.
Black Dominoes
Passion Pit have had a ton of remixes since they first started to surface last year – whether they’re official or not isn’t important because the big melting pot has resulted in some top versions and is easily credited toward them being as popular as they are today.
Miike Snow laid down their thunderous remix to lots of acclaim but a DJ/Producer by the name of Black Dominoes has attracted my attention for his mellow take on The Reeling.
He told me he used a mix of analogue and digital tools for the mix – I think it’s got a bit of a tropical jungle sound to it.
He’s already gained spins on Radio 1 and Xfm despite only stepping up the decks for the first time a year and a half ago!
We’ll be keeping a close eye on any new remixes he releases.
Passion Pit – The Reeling (Black Dominoes Remix) - download
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