Monday 26 September 2011

Zoo keeping

Been busy with everything that's related to going to college, and this is the first time i can catch up on received promos. And the very first email, i get this:







All brilliant tracks, give them a good listen and then download them, because they are free. Enjoy! Proper post soon-ish, Alex.

Monday 19 September 2011

Gimme Gimme

Hey Finally ! Louis is back with a music video for Gimme Gimme ! Let's keep it funky with some brand new Jean Tonique. Jean Tonique - TS 411 by Jean Tonique Oh and Controls is about to release an EP so here it is. Controls - Forever Techno EP ( Out on VAMP Music Soon ) by Controls Very quick post, I'm very busy at the moment, but those were worth sharing ! Enjoy! -Here

Friday 16 September 2011

A Very Daft Update

Hey guys, it's Nite here with a quick update. I know for many of us hip-hop/house fans out there it has been a horrid week with Mehdi's Death and whatnot (trust me it hit me extremely hard),but don't despair, there is some good news! Daft Punk's new/old track from 1994,"Drive", has been revealed today, just less than an hour ago. Featuring on the Soma 20 year compilation album, which will be released on the 19th of September, The Rave-Ready track provides us with heavy synths and crunchy basslines that sounds like it should have been on Alive 1997.(EDIT):Here's a full length vid for the track. Enjoy it while it lasts!



Also,it seems Daft Punk is back in action, getting ready to (hopefully) make an album,the first(non-orchestrated)one in six years since Human After All. It also has been confirmed that they are currently collaborating with Paul Williams...Yes,that's right,THE creator of the Rainbow Connection Paul Williams. I could explain more in a nerdy squeal but you can read it more here Enjoy, Nite

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Look Who I Got to Talk To... [Revival]

In memory of DJ Mehdi, who sadly passed away today, aged 34.


Sheesh, some people are so hard to get a hold of. I mean, really, who does this guy think he is? Oh, he's DJ Mehdi? Acceptable. Wait...DJ FUCKING MEHDI?!

Yep. And here's a 4.7MB image which is totally going to raise my hosting prices and clog up my bandwidth, but I don't care. It's a new image of a music god.


Look at him. Just... just look at him. (Click for full size)


First, let me say it is an honor to even be speaking to you right now.
I've been a fan of yours for years and your music - along with other
tracks from Ed Banger Records - truly got me listening to dance music
(other than Daft Punk) and consequently led to the start of my blog. So
thank you.
Well, pleasure is mine, thank you too.

Cuteness aside, let's start with some background info. Tell us about
yourself, including the origin of that name.
My name is Mehdi Faveris-Essadi. I'm a DJ and producer from Paris,
France. I've been working on various Hip-Hop and Electronic Music
projects since 1995. A while ago, when I was a fresh and new
beat-maker for french Rap bands, friend of mine wrote 'Produced by DJ
Mehdi' in the credits of a song I did, and it just sticked. I am also
one of the original artists from the Ed Banger Records label for which
I released one LP (Lucky Boy 2006), three EP's (I am Somebody 06,
Lucky Girl/Signatune 07 and Pocket Piano 08), and a remix compilation
called 'Red Black and Blue' (2009). I love art, food and sex.

What got you involved in that electro/dance music scene? Who are your
inspirations?
Meeting people got me into this. Glib'R from Versatile was the first
DJ to play some Chicago and Detroit classic tunes for me, around
1993/1994. He was running programs at this radio station named NOVA
here in Paris, and they were playing Hip-Hop, Electro and World Music
all the time, all mixed, which was quite unusual at the time.
Pioneering. Then I met the guys from La Funk Mob and Motorbass in
1996, on the production of MC Solaar's third album. Those guys opened
a whole new world for me with their instrumental EP's. Later, they
became very popular as CASSIUS. Last but not least, I met Busy P and
the Daft Punk crew in 97, right after the release of 'Homework'. P and
I became good friends, and when he left Daft to set up his management
company called HEADBANGERS in 2001, I immediately jumped-in. All these
people were, and still are, my main inspirations when it comes to
evolving and growing in the music field without losing my
particularities and background culture.

What was your first track? And under what name did you create that track?
I can't remember the first thing I ever composed. I used to experiment
a lot with my parents stereo equipment as a kid and I 've been
composing or sampling music since 1990 (I was 13 years old). The first
thing I 'recorded' was a rap demo with my cousins. I used to rap, too.
In 1994, my band IDEAL J participated in the soundtrack music to a
french movie called "RAI". The movie was a flop, but they still
released a CD of the music. That was the first music I ever got
published.

As a solo artist, I used to print instrumental EP's on my own label
called ESPIONNAGE, in 1998, under the names CAMBRIDGE CIRCUS, ESPION
or ESPIONNAGE SOUND SYSTEM. That was before Ed Banger, but Busy P and
Feadz were already in the team.

If you could sum up your music in 4 words or less, what would you say?
If Kraftwerk were African.

How is life working with the Ed Rec crew? Is this the life you expected as
a child?
Life is good, thanks. It's all about making music and having fun.
Exactly what I hoped it to be as a teenager.

What are some other talents you have? And when/how did you discover these?
I'm an amazing jamaican Dancehall dancer, along with Gaspard from
Justice. We practice all the time. We won contests and stuff. I also
cook. If I could open a place where you could eat a Mehdi dish, and
dagger to the latest dub-plate, now that would be my ultimate goal.

What equipment do you use?
Bongos, mainly. And a cowbell, sometimes.

What is your favorite aspect of being a musician?
I really like that Platinum frequent flyer miles card that I got from
Air France. It gives me that 'upper-class' feeling that I always
strived for. I still get the 'arab-looking-suspicious' search at
security though, but I also kinda like it. I keep it real, if you may.

What is your favorite song right now?
Right now, 'Man Of The Year' by DRAKE.

From the fans...
Hey guys, to quote Mariah Carey: "I love my fans".

What is your next big project with Ed Banger?
Working on a new haircut right now. Trust me, it ain't easy.

Where do you think electro is headed?
To the East brother, to the East.

Favorite VST Plugin?
Spankwire, hands down. Note: That's porn. lol. --Prez

Thanks so much DJ Mehdi, I look forward to hearing back from you soon,
Prez
Thank you Prez, my pleasure---
Mehdi.

Rock your blogging DJ's
http://djmehdi.coolcats.fr/

I've never laughed so hard. Touche Mehdi... touche. Well, we couldn't milk any secrets out of him, but hey, I made en effort! It was an honor, it really was, to just talk to him. Makes me feel so accomplished. *tear*

Alright, now some party favors. Here's DJ Mehdi's spin on Busy P's To Protect and Entertain. It's good, it's some of the best Hip Hop I've ever heard, actually. I frequently blast this stuff (along with the rest of Pedrophilia - EP when I'm driving.

Busy P ft Murs - To Protect and Entertain (DJ Mehdi 99Rap Mix) [iTunes]








And... a nice mp3 players chock full of Mehdi's new "Red Black & Blue," courtesy of his manager.

(Update: Player wasn't working anymore, so in it's place is the video for Signatune.)



Enjoy, I know I did.
Prez

PS - Can I let out a scream of excitement now? Yes? AAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!


RIP DJ Mehdi

Monday 5 September 2011

Warped Leftovers One

Looking back, there's been more than a few releases I was going to put into the Warped History posts, but then I remembered they weren't on Warp at the time of release. And that's why I'm here, because this stuff is too quality to leave un-posted.



AFX's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 was released on Belgian label R&S Records, and it's an amazing album considering when it was recorded (1985-1992, hence the title) and the fuzzy mix of analogue equipment, old school drum machines and swooping synths still sounds fresh today, and it was absolutely revolutionary at the time. Take for example Xtal. I love this track so much, the sampled voice flows smoothly throughout and those synths coming in at 1:50 kill me every time.



I've posted this next track before, it's a great example of the album's elements, being upbeat while remaining fairly chilled. and I dare you to not like that opening melody :).



I wouldn't say I have an overall favourite, but Ageispolis comes damn close. there's not much to say about it than what I've already said. Heavenly synths, low bass and so on, enjoy.



Moving into quasi-dancefloor territory is this track, the intro is something else, slowly leading you on until the drop happens. And it's bloody fantastic.



another great showcase of tech this one (listen, try and guess all the equipment!), it's what we've come to expect so far, only with a layer of acid drizzled on top. Gorgeous.



My final pick is a real testament to AFX's skills, managing to keep probably the most simple melody/bass/beats combo of the album fresh for about 7 and a half minutes. you'll have listend to it all before you know it.



And that's all from me, I know I haven't written alot about the tracks like I normally do but, as cliché as it sounds, I felt I didn't need to. It's a fantastic album (that and the tracks are hard to describe anyways :P). Also bear in mind this was recorded between 1985 and 1992, meaning the oldest tracks on here (only one I remember from '85 is Ageispolis) are TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD and he was only 14 at the time to boot. Like it or not, you gotta admit that's pretty amazing.

Beep Boop,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Saturday 3 September 2011

Audio Video Disco

Hey.



First thing first : I think I'll leave it here, what's your opinion ? I'm still not conviced, not bad but it really does not have the "justice" touch tracks from Cross had.



Alright now, tracks I really enjoy.

Massive tune by Dada Life, those banana and champagne lovers still got it.



A collab between ETC!ETC! and Kid Cedek, sampling this old gem. Could listen to this for hours.





My favorite track from The Magician's magic tape 14. Gigamesh's finished demo he posted about a year ago.



Oh and this one, the Majesty diserves his name !





Let's wrap things up with two fresh remixes from Ghosts Of Venice, shall we ?



[Update: Apple music is the only place I could find this track to replace now that Flash is broked - had to embed the entire EP and you only get a 30 sec preview so apologies in advance. -CVF]

Enjoy! -Here

Thursday 1 September 2011

Untitled

Hey there, missed me?



Got some tracks for you, if you don't mind. Vanguard put this one on a freebie. It's quite good.



Some of you may call this one old, but I like the old Valerie movement.



Here's our mate Earl Da Grey's track that I posted some pages back - This is how you do a bassline.

Earl Da Grey - War Dogs

Not really a fan of Toro Y Moi's original stuff, but this remix's a cracker.



Anoraak once again with the sound that made him.



Finally, SymbolOne prove that they need to release stuff more often, with an amazing synth line.



Enjoy!

I've ran out of things to say here,
Alex.

I Don't Know What To Do

Oh hi. I know that I'm not the only one who enjoys The Magician, so here are some goodies.

A new track that will be released October 3rd on Kitsuné, featuring what he does best... SYNTHS. Love that guy...



This remix I totally forgot to post when it came out. Sorry :x



And his fourteenth Magic Tape



Tracklist in the comments ! Enjoy! -Here