Albums

In true Swedish House Mafia style this mix jumps right in there with a fist pumping, bouncy track of M83. The track ‘Midnight City’ is the sound track to Made in Chelsea and has sure to of been one of those tunes for the chic kids of 2012, with latching onto major festivals and gigs all over the world. SHM stage the Eric Prydz Remix and is a fantastic start to get those booties moving.

A classic of Kamisshake ‘Dark Beat’ Dirty Fucker on the remix comes in with vocals taking centre stage and the background slowly coming into making an eagerly anticipated appearance, then is pelted full force with the vivacious, entertaining beats.

Robbie Rivera’s ‘One Eye Shut’ comes out to play with the home boys; Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso on the remix with a true reminder of dancing and prancing in loved nightclubs some years ago. This is a true classic that won’t go away and yes, may even become better each time this it is remixed.

A much loved tune of Sander Van Dorn’s ‘Reach Out’ slowly creeps in, building up and bursting in with the bass and every so quickly exploding, showing off it’s true potentional of technicalities, completely slowing down and bursting into Tocadisco ‘Da Fuckin Noize,’ again with the multi talented Steve Angello remixing the track.

Nadia Ali, Alex Kenji & Starkillers ‘Pressure’ is a favourite from summer 2011 and has the ever so gifted Alesso on the remix, taking its time loading, after a heavy ‘Punk’ track by Ferry Corsten (Arty Rock-N-Rolla Mix). The track has immense vocals and is definitely one for the ladies to get your groove into in the clubs. Although an amazing track, it quickly burns out and fizzles out too quickly some may say.

Tim Berg (otherwise known as the storm that is Avicci) finishes off this star studded affair with the sensation of ‘Bromance.’ It’s an mind-blowing track to end with and sure will get you in the mood for wanting more from Swedish House Mafia, consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. We’re just sad to say a final farewell to them but if this mix is anything to go by, then individually their projects will be far from mundane.

Other artists showcased on the mix are Michael Woods, Robokids, Marco V, Deniz Koyu, John Dalhback and Dirty South, most of which with specially remixed tracks and has the true Swede stamp all over them. If you are a EDM enthusiast then this is perfect offering for you.

You’ll hear a lot of music fans berating an artist they once idolised, labelling them ‘sell outs’ because that artist has jumped ship to another genre or aimed it’s music towards the mass market. I’m not one of those. But Tiesto has been a victim of that label after being much-loved by trance fans for so long. But we all love different music, even DJs, and I respect him completely for doing what he wants to do whether it was because he wanted to explore another side of his musical spectrum or was just after the big bucks and fame – we’d all love more money (and maybe fame).

The one thing Tiesto always had that set him apart from his peers was his ability to make a song unique and full of feeling, whether it was his original production or a remix, and this was reflected in his In Search of Sunrise albums. He picked songs that harboured lush melodies, vocals that were eerie or dreamy, it was like he’d spent all year listening to every part of every song that no-one had yet heard, to judge whether it was good enough to associate himself with it.

The thing that disappoints me with Tiesto is showcased here in Clublife Volume 2: Miami. I know his productions these days aren’t meant to touch us at the depths of our inner-being like his trance ones did, rather he just wants to engulf all his listeners into a frantic party atmosphere, but I still want to hear good fucking music, songs that make me run to my computer and Google the lyrics, or the setlist to see what track was played, songs that actually stick in my head because they were different, the melodies were catchy and the dynamics made me punch the air a little bit harder. Instead, we’ve been fed the same generic house for a good couple of years, and here Tiesto, the man who brought so much uniqueness to electronic music, who I thought would pull something special out the bag, largely carries on the trend with thankfully a few exceptions.

Credit where it’s due, ‘Chasing Summers’ is actually melodic and he mixes it up a little in there with a dark, feisty interlude reminiscent of his trance days, then jumps straight into his collab with Wolfgang Gartner destined to be one of the summer’s biggest global dance tunes, although I think Wolfgang has the biggest influence on this track and if it wasn’t for him, the album may have sounded more repetitive than it already does. Tiesto’s “What Can We Do” (Third Party Remix) follows, but it’s a very typical house track that stays in tune with the repetitive nature of the majority of the album, which is however saved a little with “If A Lie Was Love” by Baggi Begovic which features some lovely vocals and some angry punchy sounds.

Following are probably 2 of the most disappointing remixes I’ve heard in a long time. Remixing Gotye and Coldplay, they both sound like an amateur bedroom producer has cut 8 bars out of a Swedish House Mafia track and stuck the vocals on top. but it wasn’t an amateur bedroom producer, it was one of the World’s best electronic music producers.

Sultan & Ned Shepard give a typically catchy uplifting contribution courtesy of “Walls” in addition with them warm vocals as they always seem to get spot on. Tiesto and Hardwell’s remix of The Naked & Famous’ ‘Young Blood’ next up is a favourite of mine with some progressive organ-like sounds with plenty of hats to give it some pace and a beautiful breakdown, although slightly ruined with them all too familiar unneeded big, sharp synths, which is prevalent in the rest of the album as they go on to be carbon copies of ‘What Can We Do’ and a lot of other house tracks that have been around for a few years, like an annoying stray dog that was cute at first but now you just want it to fuck off, although the Axwell remix, and Tiesto’s touch on “Can’t Stop Me” are a little more bearable.

Overall, this isn’t the worst album in the World. It’s something you could play at a party, get ready to before hitting your local town or simply cruising to in your Nissan Sunny, but then you can do that with any current house album, podcast, etc. It does little to try to stand out and be amazing. And that’s where the disappointment lies. Tiesto’s Club Life series should be his new take on ISOS because you can still convey that level of imagination and creativity through uplifting house music, but the fact is, although he’s still got a knack for picking songs with great vocals (you’d be surprised at how rare an attribute this is), this isn’t the making of what you’d expect from one of the world’s best, someone who’s always been so full of ingenuity. It has some credibility but I feel that’s to do with others saving it for him. He said the he wanted to capture what people in Miami were listening to at the moment, but he should be the one to tell them what they want to hear. Tiesto was always a shepherd, yet now he seems happy to plod along being a sheep.

 
Tiësto – Miami (Original Mix)
Tiësto – Chasing Summers (Original Mix)
Tiësto & Wolfgang Gartner – We Own The Night ft. Luciana (Original Mix)
Tiësto – What Can We Do (A Deeper Love) (Third Party Remix)
Baggi Begovic ft. Josie Cotton – If A Lie Was Love (Baggi Begovic KNAL mix)
Gotye ft. Kimbra – Somebody I Used To Know (Tiësto Remix)
Coldplay – Paradise (Tiësto Remix)
Sultan + Ned Shepard ft. Quilla – Walls (Original Mix)
The Naked & Famous – Young Blood (Tiësto & Hardwell Remix)
John Dahlbäck – Life (Original Mix)
John De Sohn ft. Andreas Moe – Long Time (Original Mix)
Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl ft. Georgi Kay – In My Mind (Axwell Mix)
Avesta – Arena (Original Mix)
Afrojack & Shermanology – Can’t Stop Me (Tiësto Remix)

A Little Louder

Nothing can prepare you for the full on music that’s about to hit the airwaves. What’s surprising about Kid Massive is that he doesn’t restrict himself to one music genre. This is what makes the album exciting. Expect a wide spectrum of dance music, from Techno to House and expect this album to play on repeat all night.

The Album Corkers

“A Little Louder” is a funky party track on the album that emits a euphoric energy and creates warmth. Although the vocals in the mix sound a little artificial, people will be still belting out the tune at 4am, and successfully turning the dance floor in to full on round of karaoke. The bassline is catchy and pumpy and the combination of instruments are tasteful.

“Don’t cry” is formed by an eclectic combination of digital synths and sexy edgy male vocals to match beautifully. The lyrics to the track are soulful and infectious.

” Yawn” is an action packed track that has a catchy bassline, punchy snares, MCing and singing. This track is guaranteed to filter itself in to the charts. Although MCing and Vocals have been added to a monster of a backing track, it’s no where near as cheesy as dance music purists expect. Kid Massive is the artist to look out for this year.

[xrr rating=4/5 imageset=shiny_yellow_star]

This is the producer who co wrote 9 tracks on Lady Gaga’s album,”Born This Way” and has made popular music more exciting. American born, White Shadow creates an E.P. as dark as a Black Hole. The best tracks on the E.P kicks off with a very aggressive “I’m Killing me”. Expect a punchy low end kick drum combined with resonating basslines and trigger happy artificial sounding organ and strings. “Born In Detroit” (Detroit known for as the birth place of Techno), contains a grimy blend of its trademark loud rhythm, sliding distorted organ. If Lady Gaga happens to be your guilty pleasure, then White Shadow is the main reason why. It’s rare to encounter a versatile dance music producer that can create pop music whilst using original Detroit styles for filthy techno. Watch out for White Shadow this summer.

Visit www.djwhiteshadow.com

A classical and quirky touch to the music is brought to you by French tunrtablist quartet Pulpalicious. The EP begins with the in-your-face and electric “Bodytalk” that will have you throwing shapes anywhere, at any time.  Bodytalk gives an edgy, youthful and a fun vibe. “L.A Walkaway” is mellow comapared to the crazy electro, though it could still work dancefloors. This is the turning point for the E.P where the synths sound smoother, the rhythm is minimal, but the classical elements never digress. The edginess returns for “Smell My Fingers”. From nasal sounding basslines, analog sounding bleeps, it’s as though Pulpalicious have heavily used older model syntheiszers. Or perhaps it was emulated. There are chages to the rhythm as this track has a touch of breakbeat. Fabulous remixes of Bodytalk and Smell My Fingers are added to the E.P. Pulpalicious are definately the ones to watch out for.

Bodytalk E.P is now available to download via i-Tunes and other digital platforms.