29 Mar 2013

Violent Silence - Beatrice Eli


Whilst on paper just another female singer to emerge from Scandinavia, in fact, Beatrice Eli produces distinctive, hip-hop infused pop. Her voice is reminiscent of Amy Winehouse, but the ethereal synths and mesmerising beats ensures the result is both modern and experimental.


28 Mar 2013

Bringing You Down - Jonas Rathsman


Swede Jonas Rathsman caused a stir with huge track 'Tobago' back in 2011, the first record to be released under his own name. Since then he has produced a multitude of some of my favourite feel good tunes such as 'Feeling You' and 'Since I Don't Have You' but he's totally smashed it with eclectic and fresh 'Bringing You Down'.

27 Mar 2013

So Submissive - Citizen


Fervent house enthusiast Citizen aka London based Laurence Matthew Blake hits Kerri Chandler's MadTech Records with this absolutely rip-roaring, floor-filling, ecstasy-inducing stonker of a record. His sound harks back to that soulful 80s Chicago sound where all things house began. The Adam and Eve of house, if you will, yet still retaining a modern twist with a garage beat. The very meaning of timeless. Thank you Citizen.

26 Mar 2013

Fixed (Maribou State Remix) - George Maple




I heard the original of this only last week, and really liked both the vocals and the gradual build up. This remix by the Maribou State boys is transformative; even more relaxing, ethereal and beautiful than the original.

Bo Peep (Do U Right) - Shlohmo feat. Jeremih


Shlohmo and Jeremih? The collaboration of dreams. Vocals and production go pretty much perfectly together. The only thing that could potentially top this would be a Shlohmo collab with Drake...



The PL (Behling and Simpson Remix) - Typesun

Typesun are playing alongside Maceo Plex at Motion in Bristol over Easter weekend, and I'm gutted to be away from the city. This is the remix of Typesun's new single 'PL' brought to you by two other Bristol boys, Behling and Simpson. Their years of experience shine through, producing a increased tempo, house mix of this slow R&B track.


Rudimental - Waiting All Night (Kidnap Kid Remix)


Such a refreshing take on a song which has become my treadmill/exercise song of the moment. Kidnap Kid takes snippets of the vocal from this Rudimental track, replaying them on a loop. Incredibly clean and tight production as ever.




22 Mar 2013

HIDEOUT HYSTERIA



IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING, THE GALDEM HAVE FINALLY MANAGED TO PULL THEMSELVES TOGETHER AND NAB OURSELVES TICKETS TO HIDEOUT IN CROATIA THIS SUMMER. Needless to say you can probably deduce from the incessant use of capital letters that I am outrageously excited. I never thought I'd see the day where this many of our group (11 to be exact) would be sufficiently organised in actually following through on long standing plans to book something together for the summer. I've never been so glad to be proven wrong.

I had actually got myself a ticket last year and was planning on going with a couple of close friends but was mortified on realising that I had work experience starting the Monday after the festival and that obviously it would run late into Sunday night and the chances of me making it into London on time for work in the morning were average to slim. But that's all in the past now and I can only help but believe that God is giving me a second chance.

The feedback I've had of Hideout over the past two years has been overwhelmingly positive mostly thanks to the painstakingly careful construction of such tremendous line ups, this year including UK Bass heavy weights Chase & Status, Skream & Benga, Rudimental, SBTRKT, Julio Bashmore and other such big names. The beauty of Pag Island itself has got to be one of the other main factors of Hideout's magnetic attraction, placing over 100 acts in and around the stunning Zrcé Beach in it's many open air clubs and of course on the notorious Hideout Boat Parties.

The notably different atmosphere to that of other Croatian dance festivals was something that came up often when talking to last year's Hideout attendees with most highlighting it's difference from the other whopping and successful Croatian festival Outlook. Although Outlook is no doubt the boss of beach festivals the emphasis was that Hideout offered a more chilled vibe, a huge factor probably being the more heavy dub and drum&bass orientated nature of the Outlook line ups, where as Hideout leans more towards the house side of things. Hideout is also decidedly more glamorous than Outlook as the majority of Hideout's festival goers opt for staying in apartments in nearby Novalja.

One of the things I am most looking forward to is being far out at sea, watching the sun go down, and busting some serious moves whilst listening to the dulcet tones of Redlight, Bondax and Gorgon City. Yep, that's right, I've got We Own Boat Party tickets AAAHHH YEEAAHHH. Unfortunately our group had to split down the middle so the other half will be heading to the likes of Joy O and Jackmaster on the Numbers Boat Party which I am absolutely gutted to be missing but as I haven't seen Redlight or the Bondax boys since back in November (too long for my liking) I had to go for the We Own Boat Party. Seeing Skream & Benga tear it up on a boat would've been a very special moment, especially as I'm loving Skream's foray into disco ventures at the mo, but alas these sold out at the speed of light.

It's hard to pinpoint a few names out of the mass of talent that Hideout has got in store for me but West Coast producers Eats Everything and Justin Martin (UK and US west coasts respectively) are up there with the acts I'm most eager to see along with the likes of Tensnake, Baauer, Ben Pearce and Kidnap Kid.

So I leave you with Hideout's 2012 highlights to give you some idea of what glorious madness awaits me and be sure to expect rave reviews the minute I'm back.


19 Mar 2013

Rudimental - Waiting All Night ft. Ella Eyre (Clean Bandit Remix)

Drum & Bass quartet Rudimental have caused quite a stir with their club banger 'Waiting All Night' and although there's already a range of remixes circulating, my favourite has got to be Clean Bandit's more chilled and soulful take, supplementing it with their eccentric and original instrumental vibe, most notably the addition of strings. Can't wait to hear more of Clean Bandit's unique, creative and seamless electronic-pop. Can Black Butter do no wrong?


17 Mar 2013

J.Wiltshire

Apart from finding out that J.Wiltshire is a plasterer in Havant (probably not the same person) I've also managed to find out that the house DJ J.Wiltshire is yet another ridiculously young and able producer hailing from Winchester. It's crazy to think that the kid is barely 18 but is making house tracks with such a nuanced, mature and refined quality, particularly as he only started making music on a laptop a year and a half ago with a little help from his friend Bareskin. They're both recently signed to Hypercolour which boasts an impressive roster of the finest House and Techno talent which obviously bodes well. All three of these tracks have a melodious, intimate and almost dream-like quality which has got me absolutely hooked. Can't wait to see what's in store for this guy. 

15 Mar 2013

Addicted (Polkadot Remix) - DrDr



Brighton trio DrDr are currently making waves with the soulful R&B inspired vocals of Donna Curson and the UK bass/garage/future garage and/or bass (what do we even call it anymore) inspired beats of producers Chris Campbell and Joe Woods. Polkadot gives it a more bouncy house twist in this remix.

3 Mar 2013

Treat Me Like Fire (Star Slinger Bootleg Mix) - Lion Babe

Star Slinger is a real life wizard. His remix of New York duo Lion Babe's 'Treat Me Like Fire' is even more upbeat and feisty than the original by putting the infectious vocals on a loop and upping the tempo. Tight as ever.