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Mord Fustang’s Facebook profile describes his music as “arpeggios, wobbles, 1-up mushrooms and disco basslines,” which is about as good a set of adjectives as any to describe his latest track “Milky Way,” particularly the 1-up mushroom part. “Milky Way” could totally soundtrack Super Mario Galaxy. Don’t know much else about Fustang except that he’s from Estonia and has been burning up Beatport in the new year. Good stuff.
In preparation for the Winter Music Conference this upcoming weekend in Miami, the Klap will be busting out all sorts of electronica this week, starting with Swedish house wunderkind Tim Berg aka Avicii aka “the future of progressive house.” Guy was just able to legally buy a beer in the U.S last September and already has all sorts of Beatport hits, not to mention an electric live show (caught him in Las Vegas on New Year’s). “Street Dancer” is his latest single, and it’s got a bouncy, almost jazzy sort of feel to it that I love.
Tuesday’s as good a day as any to dance, eh? Having trouble finding any information about this guy (Dyson, however, is a fairly well-known German electro house producer/DJ) so let me know, this track bangs.
Hypster – “Nitro Party Music (Miles Dyson Edit)”
Sorry for the poor quality, but Warner Music is all over this one. Excellent remix of Pendulum’s “The Island Pt. 1 (Dawn)” by everyone’s favorite Swede and his friends.
Pendulum – “The Island (Steve Angello, AN21 & Max Vangeli Remix)”
My man Steven Zhu is releasing his debut album Suits & Boots on all major e-retailers today – be sure to download a copy and support a rising producer. Check out his Soundcloud below for more info and take a gander at “Grimeland.”
Daily Klap
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DJ, electro, Grimeland, house, Steven Zhu, Suits & Boots, USC
L.A.-based duo Christopher Gaspar Isla and Manuel Luquin have been blowing up the West Coast rave scene lately, even receiving some mainstream radio play in the area. I first heard them at the Lost City of Atlantis Festival at the beginning of September, and they made an unfavorable early time slot one of the highlights of the night. Check out Hype Machine for a bunch of their stuff. Also this video is priceless.
For a DJ who only started producing his own tracks a few months ago, Steven Zhu is already making it rain on the mixers at the University of Southern California, and people have taken notice. Check out these superb tracks, a Kaskade edit and an original mix, and if you like what you hear, take a gander at the man’s Soundcloud, where the whole of his upcoming album can be streamed and downloaded. Suits & Boots will be released on all major e-retailers later this year.
Kaskade – “Dynasty ft. Dada Life (Steven Zhu Edit)”
Steven Zhu Suits & Boots Soundcloud
Steve Angello may be known to most as merely one-third of house supergroup Swedish House Mafia, but his solo productions are what really propelled him into the DJ limelight. “KNAS” is the latest, released on the first of this month (although the track has been in existence for a while), and is just the kind of fist-pumping excellence most have come to expect from Angello at this point in his career.
Latest pair of tracks from British house new wavers Jack Beats, both of which absolutely slay.
Brian Transeau has always been something of a musical renegade. Going from a classically trained pianist at the Berklee College of Music to a trailblazing electronica pioneer in Los Angeles, BT has become world-renowned for his innovative techniques as well as for his huge role in developing progressive house and trance for the masses. Calling the man a one-trick pony would be an insult, though; nearly every album he’s released after his debut has incorporated numerous genres and bits of pieces into his diverse arsenal, from jazzy trip-hop to classical scores to straight rock. These Hopeful Machines, his sixth album, continues this trend, returning to a more dance-oriented sound than 2006’s This Binary Universe but retaining the prevalence of vocals and stylistic mish-mashing.
As an artistic effort, These Hopeful Machines is immediately inspiring and, truth be told, a bit intimidating. Clocking in a bit under two hours, the mammoth record is split into two slightly more manageable sides, although the differences between either are negligible. It’s an interesting concept, and one that speaks to BT’s desire to release an album as opposed to a dance record. There is an ebb and flow that’s obvious from opener “Suddenly” to the Psychedelic Furs cover “The Ghost in You” that closes everything out. At times it’s a rewarding experience, where all the jagged pieces fall together into a thing of seamless beauty that is as amazing for its coherence as it is for its understated complexity: check the shimmering collapse of “The Emergency” into the glitchy “Every Other Way” or the way the filthy house rave of instrumental “The Rose of Jericho” gracefully downshifts into new-wave rocker “Forget Me.” For a man of BT’s talents it should come as no surprise, but it’s hard to make it through a full listen of These Hopeful Machines without coming off with the impression that the record is a bit bloated, particularly much of the first and fourth tracks off the second disc, which meander about melodies and dreamy soundscapes without much of a purpose or hook.
It should come as little surprise then, that amidst the typically excellent mood pieces and foot-stomping parties BT throws down, the album really succeeds on the contributions of its vocalists, from Transeau himself to guest vocalists like Rob Dickinson, Kirsty Hawkshaw, and Christian Burns. At times they make the track, as on Burns’ urgent vocals on “Suddenly” or the delicate performance Transeau puts on “The Ghost in You,” which overhauls the original into an entirely new atmospheric beast. On the other hand, Hawkshaw’s angelic work on “A Million Stars” comes off as far too airy, making the rather boring track seem like a bad Enya trance mix. Dickinson’s throaty effort on “Always,” meanwhile gives the track a bit of a Nickelback-in-Ibiza vibe that is certainly off-putting only aided by the cheesy lyrics, although he redeems himself on the soulful, breezy “The Unbreakable” later on.
Still, BT’s true talents continue to lie in his house work, and on hard-hitting club mixes like “The Rose of Jericho” or the gritty synths and transcendent melodies of the bipolar “Every Other Way,” Transeau continues to prove he can progressive, fresh house with the best of them. While it’s entertaining to see such a talent spread his wings beyond his most successful works, the uneven nature of These Hopeful Machines speaks to a scattered genius, one who is suitably proficient in everything from soft rock ‘n roll to fist-pumping anthems to hypnotic mood pieces, but one who still struggles to fit them all into a clear, consistent aural portrait.
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