Despite all the poking I do at electro-house, this release really caught my ear and I had to share. I’ve posted up stuff before from Loops of Fury and both these tracks are huge club bangers. U&A Recordings continue to amaze me with their quality releases. Hot peak-hour cuts — don’t miss out!
I’d really dug the trailers for this one but missed it’s theater showing… And I’d forgotten about it completely until The Girl brought it over. But I’m glad she reminded me…
Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland (think “Mad Max“, or for you gamers, “Fallout 3“), you’ll notice right away the saturation and drab colors and desolation… And this works in creating a successful ambiance.
The players: Denzel Washington shines in the leading role and is a perfect cast for the part. Gary Oldman is a great contrast and works his evil mojo. And spank-material Mila Kunis is the annoying tag-along (like she is in almost everything else).
The story is pretty predicable with a few minor twists, but it was good to see an underlying religious message presented in a fresh way. Usually we’re just beat over the head with the Ideas; this time the story actually comes first. And makes one think.
The camerawork is great, locations are good, and the ambiance is well-delivered. The action is well-choreographed and the scenes are well polished. Not sure what more I can say; it’s a pretty simple premise but it delivers nonetheless.
Netflix surprised me this weekend with Pierre Morel’s “From Paris with Love“. I somehow missed hearing anything about this; was it even in theaters? The movie isn’t meant to be taken seriously — I hope — and that makes all the difference in viewer perception. It’s an over-the-top action/twisted thriller (emphasis on ‘over-the-top’) and “corny but entertaining” is probably the most accurate way to describe it. Nobody will win any awards for this one, but still…
It’s a formula that’s been done before: Straight-laced rookie (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is partnered up with the “no rules, just results” jaded professional (John Travolta). Book-smarts meets Street-smarts.
Travolta’s eccentric character is what makes this movie. He’s got all the good one-liners and is the center of all the good action scenes. And although it took some getting used to, his bald-head really fit his personality, it didn’t look too bad either.
Suspend belief, don’t expect too much, and strap yourself in for 90 minutes of well-choreographed violence. It’s a Guy Movie all the way, with plenty of guns, explosions, and fantastical mayhem. Fans of the genre will want to pick this up; a rental will be enough for the rest of us.
In recent years the mediocrity of pop music has thrust its tentacles underground and taken root in the once proud-to-be-different nightlife scene. The new generation of clubflies swarm to pop hooks and auto-tuned vocals on cookie-cutter tracks and are willing — eager, even — to give up melody for those heavy beats. Has the clubbing experience truly become all about popped collars and fist-pumping superficiality? Gone are the days of intelligent music, when the DJ made a connection with the fans on a deeper level and there was more to the jock/dancefloor relationship than a dirty sawtooth and a return-toast of PBR. Remember when music meant more than immediate gratification? When it was more than a simple wham-bam-thank-you-mam in the middle of the club?
Used to be the DJ would tease and create and take the crowd on a journey.
But it’s hard to find that in the contemporary synth-heavy, dumbed-down nightlife scene.
There is hope, however. A few stalwarts are holding true to the old style, when DJs weren’t afraid to play a track longer than 4 minutes and could actually work a set with highs and lows, ups and downs. And standing at the head of the class is none other than Argentina’s Hernan Cattaneo.
His new double-disc album “Parallel” (Renaissance) is the latest offering from the prog-house superstar. Mix 1 is an opus of opiated house music; you’d even be safe casting it as a downtempo vibe. Mix 2 ratchets the BPM back up and hits the mark as more of a club set. The quality is everything we’ve come to expect from the Masters collection — superb mixing, full and warm with amazing production. And then there is the music itself — so rich and fresh. This is Hernan’s sixth Renaissance compilation (his fourth for the Masters Series) and it’s his most creative offering yet.
“Day” opens with Hernan’s own collab (one of many on the album) with Soundexile — “Indian Son/Slacker” — “See The World” (Hernan’s Dawn Reboot) and the hopeful vibe hints at the idea of both unity and diversity. “I wanna meet new people,” it says without shame and succinctly sets the tone for this journey. Music is, after all, the universal language, erasing nations and bringing cultures together.
But this mix is a bit different. “I felt it was time we took a fresh direction,” says Hernan, “I wasn’t sure just what this direction should be. So, I locked myself away and started going through loads of music for inspiration. It wasn’t till I pitched a Henry Saiz track down (and it sounded brilliant) that I hit upon the idea of dropping everything back 15-20 BPMs on the first disc.” And “brilliant” is an understatement. The “Day” mix puts a new spin on chilled progressive house. After all, rules were made to be broken.
Has it been done before? Sure. But not quite like this. The set has a unique sound and tantric vibe with that distinct Cattaneo style, and the playlist is a collection of some of the biggest and best progressive cuts.
The sun goes down. The dancefloor heats up. And “Night” follows “Day” with the tried-and-true formula, taking a more aggressive peak-hour approach and sweeping the floor out with tracks from heavy hitters like Way Out West, Quivver, and Henry Saiz (and of course even more exclusive material and remixes from the Catt man himself). Along with seamless mixing, a natural flow, and intuitive programming, this is the total package.
There is nothing so refreshing as finding a golden thread in the haystack of mass-produced, half-hearted music. Follow that thread back far enough and you’ll find Hernan Cattaneo, truly the Master of his craft. And “Parallel” weaves that thread of gold into a musical tapestry for the ages. Another treasure to add to the already impressive Renaissance vault of Masters mixes.
Check out the Press Release and Tracklist here ~
Renaissance Masters: Parallel Promo – Day mix by hernancattaneo
Renaissance Masters: Parallel Promo – Night mix by hernancattaneo
I had an epic review written for this movie, but thanks to an untimely computer crash (hooray, Vista!), everything is gone. I’ve managed to cobble together some of my thoughts on the picture but I’m not going to try a re-write of the entire thing.
I wasn’t able to catch this on opening weekend but was lucky enough to find some time and a lovely lady to spend the afternoon with at the theater.
Having never cracked the comic, I went into the movie blind, not knowing much about this film other than what I’d seen in the previews. I haven’t heard from many fans yet about how faithful the Silver Screen is to the Original, but I’m assuming the silence is good. After all, it’s only when the Die-Hards complain that those of us on the Outside ever hear about it.
James Zabiela’s newest project “Life” (Renaissance) is a follow-up to last years “Masters” experiment (if you’re looking for something similar to his early works like “ALiVE” or “Utilities” this ain’t it)… JaZ has always been one to push his music in new directions, giving fans a surprising and unique perspective on electronica. Too many jocks nowadays just play it safe, keeping their sound within spitting distance of tech-pop; Only a few seem to be heading back underground or bother to try anything new. But James has never been one to play by the rules…
“Life” is an eclectic collection of sounds, moods, music, and well, Life. Electronic, downtempo, broken beats, and some left-field vibes are crafted together along with a bit of underground techy and housey cuts. Both discs flow together as an epic set of sorts (as opposed the yin and yang of previous releases) and it’s a fairly enlightening ride the entire trip. I won’t give you the play-by-play here; this is something you’ll have to experience for yourself. I’ve given it several spins over the past few weeks, sometimes with the “trainspotter” ears and sometimes just to step back, relax, and enjoy. And no matter how you slice it, the album is amazing. Incredible, even.
But the album doesn’t stop with music. It’s ‘Green’ so if you buy into that whole climate-change hoax you can feel a little less guilty about your carbon footprint (or you could have just downloaded a digital copy, duh)… But the thing I like most about it is that James is giving away the album for FREE at his shows to everyone who purchased a ticket… I’ve been an advocate of the “new music industry” and support the ‘Connect With Fans = Reason To Buy‘ strategy.
Check out this Beatportal Interview with Zab and get some insights into his new album
Also as a bonus you can pick up a 40 minute promo mix HERE ~
A Life Less Ordinary Preview Promotion Mix
Tracklisting:
01.) Nosaj Thing – Fog
02.) Pedestrians
03.) James Zabiela – Burnt Bridges
04.) Street Sounds – Life Is Best Seen As A Gift
05.) R3volve – Bootpacker Alpha
06.) Mondkopf – Libera Me
07.) Change Machine – Everything Slows Down
08.) Asc – Porcelain
09.) Reason Or Romanza – Radiance Trigger (Recue Remix)
Afterlife Preview Promotion Mix
Tracklisting:
01.) Intro – Busker
02.) Sally Shapiro – Swimming Through The Blue Lagoon
03.) Whatever Can Be Imagined Can Be Realised
04.) Vince Watson – Long Way From Home
05.) Harmony, Simple And Beautiful
06.) Siopis – Really Love Ya [James Zabiela Re-Arrange]
07.) D-Pulse – New Poetry (Unreleased Version)
Disappointment, thy name is Agoria.
Well, maybe that’s a bit harsh. Maybe I’m out of the loop on this one.
After all, I haven’t been impressed with the recent readers polls at the leading DJ websites and nightlife mags, and I wasn’t on board with the “best” songs, albums, mixes, and more songs of the past decade as decided by said publications. So maybe I am missing something.
But then again, maybe most people are like me. They’d rather enjoy the music for the music and not have to deconstruct it to find some meaning buried within.
And that’s exactly what I felt like when I was listening to Balance 016 by Agoria, the newest addition in this normally great mix compilation series.
Agoria’s double-disc mix of electronic music hits the map in a bunch of different places: minimal, techno, ambient, even some deep and proggy sounds. And with so many landmarks, it’s hard to decide on which direction to go. Disc 1 – Aller Retour (round-trip) – has an almost noir vibe, dark, mysterious, and melancholy. Some of the individual tracks are decent but the flow just can’t get enough traction to go anywhere. It’s constantly interrupted by left-field breaks and is too full of airy atmosphere to have much substance. Disc 2 – Rising Sine – is a bit more consistent with the beats, less ‘experimental’ and more ‘dancefloor’. But for my Yankee ears, it still falls short of what makes a good club experience. Again, some decent cuts but the total package is lacking. The mix is technically solid; it just doesn’t have the inspiration — that magic — the stuff that makes music special.
Balance seems to be pushing the envelope with each new release… Voorn, Saul, and now Agoria. But although I’ve enjoyed the previous albums, it seems to me that the envelope was pushed just a bit out of arms reach this time. I’m glad there are still labels willing to try new things, because the same ol’ same old — although tried and true — gets stale after awhile. Trying new things means taking chances, and bucking the status quo…. A Hit or a Miss….
And unfortunately, this album is the latter.
Will Saul: Balance 015 (EQ Recordings)
Will Saul is an oxymoron of sorts; he is GQ meets IT; fashion meets functionality. Starving Artist meets white collar suburbanite. DJ. Producer. Music Label Owner. Studio Junkie. Likewise, his newest album Balance 015 (EQ Recordings) is a multi-faced but no less impressive project. It’s techy yet melodic. Straight-beats and broken. Pumpin’ energy and atmospheric ambiance. It’s a potpourri of genres and subgenres. Hot singles, new and old; custom edits; original works. Balance has built a name on the promise of fresh talent, superb music, and innovative dance-mix compilations. Artists that are ahead of the curve; those that set the trends, not follow them.
Little Mountain
“Don’t vote for me,” tweets Sander Kleinenburg to legions of followers in cyberspace. He’s hitting the campaign trail with a unique approach to the latest DJ poll. “It will make me arrogant and you will have to pay more to see me!” Well, my vote is already cast, my friend, and if you keep putting out albums as satisfying as the two-disc This is Sander Kleinenberg 2 (Ultra Records), you’re going to have my support whether you ask or not. Besides, how are you going to pay for your new jet?*
Courtesy of Renaissance
Christian Smith’s newest mark on the music world is the double-disc Platform (Renaissance), and this is one album that will not only please fans but score points with new ears as well. It’s not the stereotypical bangin’ Berlin smut you’d expect to hear from a world-renowned techno king; rather it’s a smart collection of melodic tech jams twisted with minimal and progressive influences.
Platform manages to shed new light on a genre which is normally buried deep in the underground, making it accessible and enjoyable for more mainstream listeners. The playlist is an all-star cast of the world’s finest producers, including Nic Fanciulli, Guy J, and Cirez D; these hot tracks are seamlessly blended with a handful of Christian’s own originals and remixes.
