Speak English Please

The above photo is irrelevant, yet amusing.
For the last two weeks everybody has been talking about the Spank Records Remix competition for the ridiculously succesful single by Aussie lads Yolanda Be Cool and Dcup, 'We No Speak Americano'. Regardless of how you feel about the original or the remixes that came out of all of this, the response from bedroom producers all over the country for the competition has successfully welcomed another swarm of budding professionals onto the market. I for one think this is a good thing as it creates exposure for people who are doing good things who might of otherwise gone unnoticed.

A lot has been made also of the top 3 remixes as named by the judges. Opinion seems to be divided as to which track should have taken top honours, although given the opposing styles of all the winners it's difficult to truly put a case together without over analysing the production techniques used. Despite this, I really liked the winning remix, by a cat called Josh Mc who turned Americano into a dark, techno roller coaster of a tune that lurks in the shadows and calls on you to dance dirty in 16 bar increments. For good measure you can have a listen here, to the winners as well as the ten runners up.

For most, Josh Mc came completely out of the blue. I'm lucky enough to know the chap so I thought I'd take a minute to ask him a few questions to help you get to know him a little better.

For good measure, why not peep a few of his other tracks. A crafty original, as well as a hip hop remix of an old school classic.



Simularis by Josh Mc



Survival of the fittest - Mobb Deep (Josh Mc remix) by Josh Mc

GrooveCity: Tell us about yourself: What’s your name? where you from? What’s your quickest time over the hundred metres
My names Josh McMahon I’m from Sydney and I live on the north shore. I’d have to say I’d run the hundred at around 128bpm

GC:A lot had changed for you in the last fortnight right? Is it your hair? I think the people would like to hear the words from the man himself. What’s the big news!

I won the “We Speak No Americano” remix competition for Spank Records and Sweat It Out. Biggest shock I’ve had in awhile getting the phone call regarding win. Right in the middle of exams as well….can’t wait to see how I went.

GC:At what point did you think that you might’ve made something special?

I guess when I think about it the way lead vocal bass turned out while I was taking on the remix; it set the tone for the whole song. It let me change the entire mood of the song and darken it up a bit. I thought it might have been a little too different from the original, but after a bit of positive feed back it sat a little better.

GC:Tell us about your musical journey? How’d you get to where you are today?

I’ve always been around music; I’ve played musical instruments all my life but never really liked them. I started playing round with things like virtual DJ making little mixes to play in my car. After getting shown the ropes on how to DJ from my mate Dan Baartz, who I frequently DJ with, I found my way into producing and haven’t really looked back. In away it’s taken over mixing completely still love it and do it when ever I can though

GC:Grocery list of the things in your studio for the interested kids out there:

I’m pretty bare at the moment. All I got is desktop running ableton 8, Massive and Albino as my main synths as well as a range of other Vst synths n effects. But all of that changed the other day when I won the remix competition. Now I’m the proud owner of Komplete 6, Novation LaunchPad and Traktor pro. Would love to by a keyboard midi controller as well but don’t have the $’s at the moment

GC:Has your recent success changed your life at all? Have you been inspired to pursue another direction? And when will your remix be available to drop in da clubz?

Winning the competition was the biggest confidence builder in relation to music production. It made me want to push my self further and see what’s possible. Been doing a couple interviews like this one which is a bit of a change but I’m liking the attention…haha. It’s all given me a lot more motivation to produce more music because it’s shown me I might actually know what I’m doing behind a computer and a keyboard. This whole thing has inspired me to try and get my name out there a bit more and hopefully get known for what I’m doing. The tracks going to be released in the next couple weeks, sent it out to get mastered today actually so hopefully shouldn’t be too long. Pretty excited to see my track on beatport…

GC:What do you do away from music? What’s a typical weekend for you and when does it start? Tuesday?

Apart from music I’m at university. I’m in my 3rd year of a bachelor of science at Sydney university, there everyday of the week so I’ve learnt to deal with the worst when it comes to post-party morning education….so I try to start my weekend as early as possible, although I do work weekends at a bar in Surry Hills so that kinda cancels it out. But when I am out on the town you can usually find me in some of Sydney’s finer (filthier) establishments

GC:Have you ever thought about going on to masterchef?

I tried but my milkshake just didn’t bring enough boys to the yard

GC:The world is about to end, you can grab three things to bring with you to safety on one of those big boats from 2012. What three things can’t you live without?

Firstly I’d have to go out and buy a brand new Mac book pro, because my computer just doesn’t cut it and music production and music in general has become such an integral and therapeutic part of my life. Secondly I’d probably bring my decks and thirdly maybe a camera so I could catch a few snaps of me and the end of the world.

GC:What’s in the pipeline in terms of your musical career from now on? More work in the studio? A national victory lap tour?

I’ve got a lot in the pipeline now especially with all the software/equipment i now have. Finished a new track the other day, which you can check out on my soundcloud, also I’ve got 2 or 3 more in the working now. Depending how things go they could be done in the next week. Would love to see a few gigs coming out of this will have to stick my head out a bit to catch them tho. But on holidays now so got nothing really holding me back.

GC:Can you DJ and where are we likely to catch you playing (if anywhere)?

Yeah I can Dj and I love it, haven’t been playing out recently apart from a few things here and there with mates. Going to have to start putting in the hours tho

GC:Who is your dream girl?

Scarlett Johansson…she’s just so milky haha

GC:Finally can you speak Americano?

I’m fluent after that competition

GC:Thanks for entertaining us!

Josh Mc on SoundCloud.

LightsoverLA Interview

As you are aware, we've been intrigued by LightsoverLA for some time now. We really like them, and what we like more is how exciting it is hearing new tracks and trying to guess what kind of track it's going to be. We wanted to know more about the person behind the name, so today I was lucky enough to have some interesting questions answered by Storm, the front (and now only) man of this West Coast project.

Read the interview below, and while you're perusing, check out the two latest remixes from the group. The first, is an after hours melodic dub-pop track. This is one you have to hear to believe.

Dead Hearts (LightsoverLA Remix) - Stars

Foxtrot ft. Kendahl Gold (LightsoverLA Remix) - Betatraxx

GROOVECITY:Firstly thanks heaps for taking the time to answer a few questions, I get the feeling that as more and more people begin to learn your name they’d like to try and learn more about the people behind the name.

• Who is LOLA and what’s in a name? You’re from Phoenix so what’s the deal with the geographical confusion? And I’ve also seen this spelt and punctuated in a number of different ways.. can you finally help us settle the argument?

LOLA: LightsoverLA is me Stormy Logan..I was driving down the 202 and Lights Over Phoenix came into mind ( a few years back we had some UFO thing over Phoenix) I didn't wanna sound all conspiracy theory with my name so I just went with one of my favorite cities, Los Angeles. And actually I am currently living between Phoenix and LA so the name is KINDA making sense. The spelling/Puncuation thing was kinda funny at first cause I just left it up to interpretation but OFFICIALLY its LightsoverLA all one word...why? I dunno just to be different I guess and Lights Over LA just looks kinda lame in my opinion :)

• LightsoverLA seemingly came out of nowhere earlier this year with a swag full of remixes and edits but this wasn’t really a case of bedroom producers finally getting some material out therw.. can you tell us about your musical background and how you finally came about creating this dance super group?

LOLA: My background is metal/hardcore straight up. I had been touring/working for metal bands since I got out of high school. Basically I got tired of trying to find 4 other dudes on the same page and be in a touring metal band so I said fuck it and downloaded Ableton and learned all I could learn. I had always liked dance music but it was just kinda a joke with friends to throw on some lame trance record and make fun of it.

• What has the transition been like from band to electronic duo? What are the major differences?

LOLA: The biggest reason I stopped wanting to be in bands was because I cant stand relying on other people. Since the beginning of LightsoverLA I have had different people involved in different ways, but from here on out its gonna be me. Nothing against anyone that has been involved but this project is my baby and I am pretty protective over it.

• There’s been rumour floating around of an extravagant live show in the works… is there any truth to this and if so what’s involved? Have you had the opportunity to bring it out during and performances so far?

LOLA: Coming from a live band background I want to do this as legit/live as I can do it with electronic music. Yes it’s all based off a computer but I want to bring a show to people. So far any performances I have done have been mainly DJ based but I use Ableton live so I wouldn't/wont really consider myself a DJ. But I also realize that I am gonna be booked in those kinda club settings so I want to be very versatile and be able to play anywhere in any setting.

• A lot of talk around the blogosphere has been about your inability to stick within a genre with your remixes… do you take much consideration from what is said out their on the internet?

LOLA: I was hoping you would ask me this one haha...Ok the first blog to ever "call" me out about my lack of a genre was you guys..It was probably 5 in the morning and I don't think I have ever let a review bother me so much before haha. So as far as consideration on what is said yes...I let it bother me to the point of losing sleep BUT at the same time I love so many different genres of electronic music I just feel like this day in age it shouldn't matter TO much..Your not gonna see me releasing a trance/grindcore/minimal album but I feel like to stand out you have to be doing something different. I don't expect EVERYONE to love everything I do but if the same person who hates my indie dance track loves my dubstep track then I will have accomplished what I want. And I love you Aussies now so its all good :)

• So far we’ve seen LOLA tackle indie anthems, bangor mashups, dubstep and all areas in between… how do you go about determining what direction your remixes will take? And is there an overall mission statement for the group? What are LOLA’s goals?

LOLA: Honestly I just drop a track into Ableton and whatever comes out in the first ten minutes is usually where I am gonna go with the track. I like to keep the original vibe of the track unless the track sucks, and after a few commissioned remixes that sucked I won’t remix anything I don’t like anymore. Honestly my goals are to make a track BETTER then it was before or at least danceable. But mainly my goal is to make Murray post dubstep tracks :)

• For the kids out there can you give us a quick grocery list of the items in your studio?

LOLA: A slowly dying macbook pro, Axiom 25 Midi Controller (best investment ever), JBL monitors, APC40 (for live performances) and probably 20k dollars worth of downloaded softsynths/samples which I fully plan on buying when I start making money doing this whole thing!

• What’s in the near future for LOLA? Official remixes? Record labels? Originals? Tours (coming down under for an extravagant live show?)

LOLA: I am starting a label with one of my best friends Travis who is also a producer and we have huge plans for the label. I have worked in the music business long enough to know that its not that hard to do this stuff all yourself and in the long run its the smart decision. We just got distribution through Juno, Beatport, iTunes etc so we will be releasing an upcoming LightsoverLA EP hopefully in the next few months. I am gonna continue to do bootleg remixes cause I love doing it and I don't get to many official remix request yet and the ones I have got are kinda meh. As far as touring I actually just joined up with a company out of San Francisco called GreenElectronic (http://www.greeneproductions.net/) and on the roster they have some awesome up and coming DJ/Producers and as a collective we have some awesome ideas. And I am doing EVERYTHING I can to get myself down under its one of my dreams to go there so any promoters out there hit me up!!

• Living in America, you’re lucky enough to be treated to fantastic everyday products that are less common in Australia, such as (mother fuckin’) ranch dressing and Dr. Pepper. Can you send me some over please?

LOLA: When I come down there I will bring you a box of each I promise!

• You’re on a plane flying over to Glastonbury and your plane crashes leaving you washed up on an exotic yet uninhabited island. Fortunately you were travelling well over weight restrictions and consequently have a lot of your favourite everyday items to choose from. What are three possessions you couldn’t live without?

LOLA: Macbook, Wireless Internet Card, In N Out Burger :)

• Justin Bieber lives next door to you. Are you a) jumping the fence to give him a piece of your mind (and what would this be?) b) bringing him baked goods in exchange for some studio time with him (and what would you bake him?) or c) get him to sign everything you own and spend the rest of your days crying with happiness ..

LOLA: I am gonna choose B. I would bring him baked weed brownies just to see that kid stoned.

Well there you have it. Thanks very much for taking the time to bring a bit more knowledge to the readers of Groove City. You guys were one of the first new live international groups we blogged about and it’s been great to be able to stay in touch with you as you’ve gone from strength to strength. Really look forward to the tour whenever that may

Become a fan on Facebook.

Flying Solo

So I'm sure you all heard by now that Aeroplane have split up. News broke last week via there facebook page. Seeking irreconcilable differences Stephen and Vito have gone their seperate ways with Vito remaining on to operate under the same name while he assures us Stephen will pursue his own sure fire hit projects.

Rumours exist about why they've split, decision was mutual but there's always underlying reasons which apparently I'm not allowed to speculate about.

This parting gift came out this morning. After not being able to complete a remix of Crave You by Flight Facilites, Aeroplane instead made a mash up. Perhaps the greatest mash up of 2010? Only time will tell.

But seriously this one was in their 500th essential mixtape and created quite a storm. Now it is free for you all to overplay and shower with. Good good.

I Crave Paris by Aeroplane (Official)

Of course the first single off of their new album came out the other day. Check it on beatport. This probably means the whole album will be out soon. Cannot wait!

Aren't mash ups great?!

Michael & Me

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since the passing of Michael Jackson. This previously unreleased track from Louis La Roche is quite incredible. I don't think I can do it justice so I'll just share the press release that accompanied it.

This friday will mark one year since the world lost one its greatest entertainers, the King Of Pop that is, Mr Michael Jackson.

In the months after his death last year, so many people were doing remixes, sampling him or dropping his name in a track. It almost became a 'cool thing' to be associated with him, it turned tributes into being a trend. It didn't seem right for me to do something then, i did my Thriller remix in 2008 and to do something again last year would make it seem like i was just jumping on the bandwagon, like i was doing it with no meaning.

So i've been sitting on this track for a long time now. Wondering whether i should share it or not. Now seems like the only fitting time, so it's now your never. This is my tribute to the man that made me want to start doing what i do in the first place. It's called 'Michael & Me', enjoy it.

Louis x

Michael & Me - Louis La Roche

Follow him on facebook.

The Rules of Vuvuzela

It seems 2 weeks ago nobody knew what a Vuvuzela was. The incessant drone of b flat that's raped television coverage around the world has received mixed reviews from players, coaches and spectators but regardless of how you feel about it, FIFA has made it clear they're hear to stay.

Producers have jumped at the idea of a universally recognised noise maker, experimenting with samples and iPhone apps and even just track titles in an attempt to try capture the magic that is a plastic horn, and here is an absolutely amazing example of just how good they can be from our favourite Melbournian Swick. Hopefully this guy will be right to come up to Sydney soon (finally). After all the hype I'm guaranteeing a huge amount of people can't wait to see Danny in action.

Rules of Vuvuzela - Swick (Mediafire link)

The Rules of Vuvuzela - Swick by swickswick

Check his SoundCloud and his Facebook for more details.

Wine and Cheese

Wes Cadwell is a man with many iron's in the fire. The 24 out of Santa Monica, California is the face behind a number of production styles, all differing, all interesting, and all based around classic house music. His main project which you may be familiar with is Westorius, where he mashes up boogie and funk with hip hop lyrics. Interesting combination but it works a treat. Check it out on Myspace if you'd like to preview a few tracks.

Recently he shared one of his tracks from his latest project, Wine & Cheese, aptly named as he's a classy fellow, which is straight up ol' school disco refunked in a groovy way you can sip cognac too. You can also preview his latest below.

Handle It - Wine & Cheese

The Chase by Wine & Cheese

More tracks on his Myspace.
SoundCloud.

Weather Report 002

Regular segment round 2: SoundCloud music ravage has resulted in new tracks from some of my favourite groups. Word.

Firstly, Go Go Bizkitt returns to the fold once more, this time with one of his best remixes to-date in my opinion. He's taken one of the house anthems of the year and turned it into a fresh-summer jam worthy of any big room. Tensnake's Coma Cat was/is huge, in my opinion it's not his best original, but it's still amazing. Click below to hear the Bizkitt's interpretation. Huge. Check his SoundCloud to see some of his other amazing remixes, most of which are free to download.

Tensnake-Coma Cat! (Go Go Bizkitt Remix) by Go Go Bizkitt!

Another group that I've subtly enjoyed so far in 2010 are LBCK out of California. LBCK stands for Long Beach City Kids, no doubt the name of the gang the roll with. Kinda hope it's a mo-ped gang. That'd be bad ass. They make music which is quite banging but with strong influences of disco and french touch. Big room tunes that you'll enjoy. There's a heap more information on these blokes on their SoundCloud. For now I've got two of their originals to share with you. Preview below and you'll see what they're about.

Disco Thrills by LBCK

Start by LBCK

LightsoverLA x Casio Kids

LightsoverLA are crazy talented. They're also scarily diverse. One of the best things about getting on of their tracks is trying to decipher what kind of song it's going to be. Your best guide is usually the artist that they remix. Storm and Hector have a knack from taking the original artists style, drinking it in and spewing it out similar but better. To Two Door Cinema Club they made an indie anthem. To Deadmau5 they made my favourite dubstep track of the year.

Considering the Norwegian group 'Casio Kids' background in vintage synths and bubblegum pop it's not surprising that LightsoverLA have turned this into a deep indie/disco jam with swelling bass, that doesn't sound unlike some of Grum's work. This kind of reminds me of what Sigur Ros would sound like in da club. You'll really like it.

finn bikkjen! (LightsoverLA Remix) - Casio Kids

Stay tuned at LightsoverLA are working on some official remixes as well as a ton of originals which are going to blow your mind. Will someone please tour these guys?

Become a fan on Facebook.
Follow them on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/lightsoverla

What Nepotism?

One of the guidelines for a music blog to be incorporated on Hype Machine and its search engines is to 'not use the blog to promote the word of the blogger'... or something to that effect...

Ey! Max Smart and 3Hundreds jumped at the most recent Sweat It Out remix competition. This year it was the joyful, albeit run into the ground, We No Speak Americano. Here is the end result. Bit raw with simple edits and samples but very bouncy. I like it because it is not the original. FYI, Max recently got his hands on a MicroKorg and someone who knows how to use one. Remixes a plenty.

We No Speak Americano (3Hundreds & Max Smart 'Bit Dirty' Edit) - Yolanda Be Cool and DCup

Max's Facebook.

Peace and Love

Voltage

Photo: Hobogestapo
Voltage is the union of house wizard Joel Dickson (Nile Delta, Riot in Belgium) and Cut Copy’s own Dan Whitford. They've gotten together on what is shaping up to be a pretty special project. According to the Cutters' Blog this is one of those project that has been around for a while, but is only now just beginning to see the light of day.

VOLTAGE 'ALL NIGHT' TRAILER from Cutters Records on Vimeo.

'All Night' is the pair's debut release. You can buy it off of Beatport with remixes from Munk, Azari & III, as well as In Flagranti to name a few, and you should because it's really quite good. It's driving cosmic house disco music with some sweet lyrics and even sweeter synths that I've got a feeling is going to be played a lot round the festival circuit this year. Not by Guetta, but by Aeroplane. I was going to preview the original in poor quality buuuut I managed to track down the radio edit on Too Many Sebastians. Enjoy. Then purchase.

All Night (Radio Edit) - Voltage

Buy it on Beatport.

Giirrl!

The much anticipated release of Moonchild's 'Girl' is finally upon us. This track has been around for a while now but is only just now available for download. Expect to hear this out and about a lot more from now on. It's french touch done Sydney style.

Girl (Original Mix) - Moonchild

Check his SoundCloud if you're not familiar with his other work.
Become a fan on Facebook.
Follow him on Twitter.

Bxentric x Louie Austen

Louie Austen is a 63 year old jazz singer from Vienna in Austria. Some of you might remember him from the Flight Facilities remix of Turbo Love by the Bag Raiders, where he crooned, like a boss. It turns out that he has become quite a player within the electronic music world and August will see the release of a remix album for his latest single 'Make Your Move'.

Bxentric on the other hand is a one-man DJ and two-person production group from London. You may remember him from his remix of the Flight Facilities tune Crave You which was one of the first unofficial remixes to show up and was received well around the blogosphere. In his hometown, Bxentric is know as one of the hardest working DJs around town, with his ingenious mixing grabbing the attention of Andy George and Jaymo who asked him to be a resident at their infamous Moda parties.

Bxentrix has just remixed Louie Austen. This won't be available til around August, how ever it's worth knowing about.

Go here and listen to it:
http://soundcloud.com/bxentric/louie-austen-make-your-move-bxentric-rmx

Also check out Louie Austen on Facebook. Dude is interesting.

Priors x Knightlife

Knightlife is a name I always get excited about. Knightlife is Mike Gamwell from Melbourne, a prodcuer and DJ who rolls with the Cutters crew.

I think I recall from an old interview that the guy started producing dance music after a uni assignment in which he made a short soundtrack that was really well received by his peers. Since then he's gone on to release two EPs as well as some amazing remixes, most recently of 'The Swiss' with their acclaimed track Bubble Bath. It seems that Mike had also been busy recently on another project to no avail unfortunately, as I have for you today his rejected remix of the Priors track 'What You Need'.

This track missed the cut on the remix release from January this year which was highlighted by artists such as Grum, Hey Champ and Dcup, but it's a slow jam with a slight tribal influence.

What You Need (Knightlife Rejected Mix) - Priors

Props to Waves At Night for posting the exclusive.

Follow Knightlife on Facebook.

Weather Report

Moon Biscuits
Imma be honest. SoundCloud is amazing. It's what MySpace could've been like if they'd focussed more on the music pages. There's nothing better than a good SoundCloud ravage, and as a consequence I've got some gems for you today that perhaps you haven't yet gotten on.

By now you should've heard of Go Go Bizkitt! if you read this blog. 2010 is quickly becoming the year of the Bizkitt as he smashes out remix after remix as well as some incredible originals with his unique funk swing on french touch. Check hsi latest original which samples De la Soul. Very catchy.
WOW!! (De-La-Go!) by Go Go Bizkitt!

The other track I've got for you is a little old, but has only just been released for download by Sydney artist Moonchild. He is another fresh face on the filter house seem who is quickly forming a catchy signature sound.
Long Distance Call (Moonchild's '25 Hours a Day' Edit) by Moonchild

Become a fan of Go Go Bizkitt on Facebook.
Become a fan of Moonchild on Facebook.

Just Shake ya Hips!

He's back! Apologies for the hideous... *insert excuses you care not for here*. Isn't Max just awesome?



Music! All credit goes to my mate Andrew for recommending to me this dynamic disco duo from Boston. They are Tony Saputo and Frank Demaria. And I know what you're thinking... yes they do sound like they belong in the Godfather, or perhaps at least dabble in some underworld dealings of some sort. This is not true... they make Disco House instead under the guise of Swivel Hips. And it fucking rocks. My music taste has undergone reconstructive surgery lately and I've struggled to find some beats to fill the void, but no more.

They like their filters and off-beat vocal samples. They also appear to enjoy simple melodic hooks. Which is nothing new I guess, but the complete package is executed brilliantly. I would define disco house as Swivel Hips. 'Nuff said.

Here is one original released last year and a stellar remix of Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. In case you are wondering, they have an EP due out in the next month or two, and they are signed to Dazed Recordings.

Carry Out (Swivel Hips Vocal Mix) - Timbaland

Casual Encounters (Original Mix) - Swivel Hips

Check out their facebook for all the happenings, and more importantly, their SoundCloud for beats that will make you shake. I highly recommend you check out Mista Chicago which is available on Beatport.

Peace and Love.

The Wait Is Over .. Kinda

For a minute now you've heard the murmur that has been me telling you how much I like Cadillac. Today, an even larger piece of the pie has fallen in my lap, and I've two more excellent tracks to share with you from the sun-drenched lads from south the border.

From their agent:
"Consider these as teasers, the first of a bunch these guys have in the trunk, a yummy entree to whet the appetite. This is the soup to the later steak, the curtain raiser to the headliner, the undressing to the sex, the yawn to the nap, if you will".

This music is really good. 'Make You Feel' is drenched in sweet sampling, smooth keys and head-nod worthy guitar solos. It's simple enough to enjoy with the windows down on a car drive, and excellent enough to make the driver next to you fender-bend you just so he can ask about your excellent taste in music. 'Believe' show cases more of their up-beat style, which is reminiscent of Moullinex. Absolutely top draw.

It's a matter of time before these guys become the darlings of the scene as is their destiny. Just remember where you heard the murmur first.

Make You Feel - Cadillac

Believe (Cadillac Remix) - Poka

Become fans on Facebook.
Check their MySpace. It's fresh.
For them on Twitter as well .. www.twitter.com/CadillacDisco

Baby I'm Yours...

Have been waiting for this video clip for months. View and enjoy.



Also buy the Aeroplane remix on Beatport.

Dirty Little Secret

Lot a lot of mystery around this producer. Had this gem dropped into my rarely checked SoundCloud box here on Groove City. Think I better be swifter at checking that from now on.

To quote who ever Dirty Little Secret is, this is "a funky disco electrohousy sexy dirty bootleg" of Sebastian Tellier's 'Look'. It's an early candidate for remix of the month.

Sebastien Tellier - Look (Dirty Little Secret Remix) by dirtylittlesecret

This One's For Cody

This One's For Cody come from Newport Beach in California. They make a style which can only be refereed to as "party electro". It's combination dirty electro used to make bootlegs of some of the most popular pop songs going around. TOFC know what it takes to make kids flock to the dance-floor and although outside of Cali they're new to a lot of us, the boys have already made a name for themselves opening for the likes of Super Mash Bros, placing first in votes in a T-Pain Remix contest, becoming residents for popular electro event Get Bent! and DJ'ing for its sister project Risque Nights. As they assure me though, this is only the beginning.

I'd love to see a party off between them and Brain Matters.

Give it up feat. Pharrell (TOFC Remix) - Twista

Baby I got Your Money (TOFC Remix) - Ol' Dirty Bastard

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (TOFC Remix) - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince


More tunes on their SoundCloud.

Visitor

I first heard about Visitor when Murray posted the Monsieur Adi remix of Los Feeling right back in the beginning of Groove City. As it turns out, Los Feeling will be having it's official release on June 21 on Vulture. Expect a remix from Alan Braxe. Also expect an excellent B-side, called Love.

It's a blend of new wave electronica with driving pop hooks that entice and hypnotoad. Very Fred Falke.

Love (Club Edit) - Visitor

Shook Shook Shook

Not long ago we featured the talents of Dutch producer Shook. He had just remixed Penguin Prison and his original track 'Something About You' really had me feeling his style. Currently we're still waiting on the release of his EP (rumour is that it' imminent) but to tide you over I've found a few more of his remixes bouncing around SoundCloud and I thought I'd share to further whet your appetite.

If you can't recall his style is a grinding disco, not unlike other Dutchies Keljet, and Japanese maestro Shinichi Osawa. Definately worth checking out.

Hiroshima (Shook Remix) - Darlings of the Splitscreen

Replay (Shook Remix) - Electric Youth

CHiP (Shook Remix) - Jupiter

Stay glued to his SoundCloud for more remixes and to hear when the release is going to happen.

Porklife

Unless you've been on a Tuesday bender unable to listen to the radio or check facebook all day, I'm sure you're all aware of the Parklife line-up announced today. The festival, which in my opinion is Sydney's best, will be returning to Kippax Lake on Sunday October the 3rd for it's 10th time, the line-up very much a reflection of the times.

The artists are as follows:

ac slater, bag raiders, brodinski, busy p, chiddy bang, classixx, cut copy, dan black, darwin deez, delorean, groove armada, grum, holy ghost!, jack beats, jesse rose, kele, mehdi, memory tapes, midnight juggernauts, missy elliott, mixmaster mike, new young pony club, ou est le swimming pool, soulwax, the dandy warhols, the glitch mob, the swiss, the wombats, uffie, washington, wolf gang

Last year, the highlight for me was the earth stage which featured a number of more music-inspired music, meaning MSTRKRFT and Busy P were no where to be seen. I'm hoping the likes of Classixx and Holy Ghost, Grum and Groove Armada as well as Memory Tapes and The Swiss will be here, under the big top in a more personal setting away from the gurn of the main stage.

Cut Copy will be appearing in there first Australian show in 2 years as well which is really good news. I've been playing Bright Like Neon Love again recently, it's an album that has truly stood the test of time.

Here's some tunes to get you in the mood.

That Was Just a Dream - Cut Copy

Paper Romance (Classixx Remix) - Groove Armada

Tickets go on sale on July 1st, pre-sale July 23rd.
More info at www.parklife.com.au

Breton

Breton began life in a warehouse somewhere in South East London. Born from the creative force of musicians and filmmakers Roman Rappak and Adam Ainger and expanded recently into a multi-instrumental and visual collective with the inclusion of Ian Patterson, Daniel McIlvenny and Alex Wadey.

Under the guise BretonLABS, Breton run a slick operation of audio/visual experimentation. Remixes have been created for the likes of Is Tropical, Hatcham Social and Penguin Prison. Their short films have screened at both the London Short Film Festival and the East London Film Festival, with Breton performing a live soundtrack. Their celebrated music videos - Penguin Prison, NewIsland, 80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster – are instant cult classics.

The second E.P. in the trilogy, entitled Sharing Notes, follows on Monday 5th July. The physical copy of this E.P. will come mounted on a hand-made circuit board with a list of components and directions which, when followed, creates a fully working synth. Just think about how boss that is for a minute.

The Well is combination grime, hip hop and church organs. Think 'White Town' in high tops.

The Well - Breton

Check out their visual work as well. This is the actual video of them making the synths to house their EP. Amazing.

BRETON 15X from BretonLABS on Vimeo.

SoundCloud.
http://www.myspace.com/bretonbretonbreton
http://bretonbretonbreton.blogspot.com

Chilly Gonzales

Never Stop (Original Rap Version) - Chilly Gonzales

Gonzales is such a boss. Just read his wikipedia and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Not only is he the world record holder for the longest piano solo ever (more then 27 hours), but as a Canadian Jew living in Germany he also has built a solid career around his rap. A friend played me this song a while ago but after seeing the clip I felt inclined to share. Check him and A-trak on the live collab below.

AEONS

Last week we were super stoked to share with you the debut release of the very talented and sexually explicit Frames. On the back of this, the gang he remixed, AEONS got in touch with us with their side of the story.

After years apart honing their skills impersonating their punk rock heroes they got a feeling that perhaps the music game had more to it. After buying a heap of expensive equipment it has only taken one short year for them to figure out how to plug it in, turn it on and make a 5 track EP, which they've called 'Beyond the Satellites'.

The lads, Lance Gurisik and Josh Matysek, were particularly stoked to get the wizards touch of Diamond Cut on to produce the EP, the loveable rogue behind Cassette Kids, Visitor, Matt Van Schie, Delta Goodrem and every memorable remix of '09. The result is slick, informed, stargazing electro-pop from the universe next door.

The track they've sent over is called 'Where the sky meets the sea', and it's a real electronic tour de force. It's strange to consider, but the track actually has completely equal parts electro and pop. This is somewhat how I imagine groups such as Kisschasy and After the Fall would sound like in a truly 21st century setting filled with arpeggiated synths and drum machines. I really really like it. I know you will too.

Where the sky meets the sea - AEONS

For good measure, here's the vox mix of Frames' excellent remix of the title track, 'Beyond the Satellites'.

Beyond the satellites (Frames Vox Mix) - AEONS

The entire EP will be available for HQ streaming and download from June 18 via their website http://aeons.bandcamp.com/. For the meantime you can also peep some of their other remix and cover work on there as well.

This is a group you can't help but like.
Be stalkers.
www.mypsace.com/aeonssounds
www.twitter.com/aeonssounds
www.facebook.com/aeonssounds
www.aeons.bandcamp.com
http://soundcloud.com/aeons

Frames.

Music Sounds better with Cadillac

I present to you, the 1000 remix of perhaps one of the top 3 most defining songs of our generation. The difference? This time Cadillac have dusted off the guitar amp, rolled back the snuggie and blown some summer breezes at it, not enough to disturb your cocktail umbrella however, just enough to stir it gently making that ice to vanilla liquor ratio just perfect.

Since we posted up some Cadillac jams a couple months back, they've been the name on everybody's lips. Who are they? Where can get my dosage? I wonder if they'd turn for me? How can I get my hair like Jac's?

The answers to all these questions will come in time they assure me. At the moment, the pair are anchored deep in the studio with the thermo-stat fastened to 28 and the flirtini's flowing (it's a basic champagne cocktail if you didn't know).

If you enjoy one remix of Stardust this year, make it this one.

Music Sounds Better With You (Cadillac Remix) - Stardust

Friend them on Facebook.
MySpace.
Even follow them on Twitter.

Marina in the sky with diamonds

A little while ago on Groove City we featured the latest tracks from Clock Opera, namely their remix of Marina and the Diamonds. On the back of this we were recently sent a hip hop track from a 21 year old rapper out of long island named Hoodie Allen.

In the words of the man himself, "the reason I think Hoodie Allen is a great fit for your blog is that you have been very receptive to Marina remixes in the past but you have never had one like mine! I have juxtaposed new school indie pop sampling with the punchy lyricism of a hip hop track. In doing so, I think I have something deceptively catchy that you might find yourself enjoying a lot".

Gotta give my man Hoodie props on this. His sampling is tight and the dude can spit a good line. This is definitely a track you've gotta peep.

You Are Not A Robot (feat. Marina & The Diamonds) by HoodieAllen

Check out his SoundCloud.
MySpace.

Turn up the ambience..

Dig a bit of ambience. Think I got hooked somewhere between Sigur Ros and the filler tracks on "Bright Like Neon Payphones". Bad Panda records sent us over the latest track from NQ out of Germany, a man whose been making cut up collages out of the everyday for the past 10 years on his laptop. I got to warn you, don't listen to this alone in a dark room.

A writer, journalist and artist living in Cologne, Nils Quak resides between ambient, electronic post-digital cut-up collages and contemporary electronica, his pieces combining sonic landscapes, deconstructed rhythms and distant field-recordings into a dense blend being both highly abstract yet still emotional.

Within Reach - NQ

Learnn more about this extraordinary man here.

On a maiden Voyage..

Photo: Hobogestapo
There's something about music from artists who don't send you much information that is both frustrating and intriguing. I much prefer my research done for me, and after very little effort, these tracks will be accompanied by little to no information, based upon the lack of detail from the artist who sent them to me.

Voyager18 is a time traveler self made man from Venus, looking for the past and present of the hazy analogic memories.

It's the side project of Kartell.

Both songs are quite good. Reminds me a lot of the stuff that comes out of binary which is a positive. Check it out if yo feelin' brave!

Both Human and Machine - Voyager18

Stellar Concerto - Voyager18

Check this website for more tunes.

Daze

A French producer by the name of Daze emailed me a while ago with some tracks from his SoundCloud which, at first listen I was unsure of. However after a closer look at his body of work I figured this is someone that I think you should know about.

His style is a combination of the amiga 500's demoscene, chip tunes, vintage synths and electro funk. Think the kind of music that used to run out of trashbags in it's prime. When he was young, he loved trying to make music with a soft synth called noisetracker, which is the reason why his music sounds a bit like Kavinsky, Danger amongst others, as they've certainly have the same influences.

While the sound doesn't exactly appear original, there's enough freshness skill behind it to make it intriguing. It's like Kavinsky but a lot more proactive. At the moment, he is working on his first EP called "The Awakening". You can preview the title track below, and if that's anything to go by, it's an album that you'll be interested in purchasing.

Daze - The Awakening by Daze

For good measure I've chucked in his remix of Australia's answer to bangers, Redial.
Redial "Deadrising" - Daze remix by Daze

You can view more of his music on his MySpace of SoundCloud.

Dance Club feat. Nadastrom

One of the most exciting things about Sydney last year was the emergence of a massive cohort of local up-start producers. These days everyone is familiar with the likes of Dcup, Cassian, Flight Facilities, Light Year amongst others who were able to dominate the beatport charts, but there is also a huge amount of people who produced top quality tunes as an after-thought to the rest of there assumed duties as merchants of the nightlife.

One of the groups who did this and did this well were the boys from Three Fingers. As far as I was aware they appeared out of no where with a whole bunch of stellar remixes for artists such as Calvin Harris, David Guetta and MSTRKRFT to name but a few. On top of this they were holding down some pretty impressive residencies all around Sydney and have since gone on to create one of the freshest nights to hit our city in a while with Dance Club.

Straight off the back of a massive launch in April where we saw OAF transformed into an indoor jungle, Dance Club returns to Oxford Art Factory on Saturday the 19th of June. The inaugural Dance Club was best remembered for decking out OAF like a forbidden forest which was the perfect setting for Brazil's Edu K to unleash his tropical brand of goodness on us all. This time around they're set to unveil an all-American Rave Theme on us, with Groove City favourites Nadastrom stopping in for the Sydney leg of their tour. Supports on the night will come from Kato, Awkward Boys, Mattrad, Roof, Dentum not to mention the Three Fingers boys who, from experience, are an act not to be missed.

For details check out the event on Facebook.

To get you in the mood for the evening, the lads were kind enough to share with us their latest bootleg. As you might've expected, it's a homage to the group of the minute, being Nadastrom. It's a mashup of Tittsworth – WTF (Nadastrom on Drugs Remix) and Nadastrom – Save Us (An original straight off the American duo’s new ep ‘The Saved’). It's the business. You can preview it in the video below which features footage from the last Dance Club just to get y'all in the mood.

Save Us vs. WTF (Three Fingers Bootleg) - Nadastrom

Dance Club Trailer ft. Nadastrom from Dance Club on Vimeo.

Be sure to check out the Dance Club website for more details about the evening and toehr on-goings of the lads.
Nadastrom on Facebook.
Three Fingers on Facebook.

A-Trak

For those of you who haven't heard yet, A-Trak released a mixed CD last week. Preview the intro track here and follow the links to download the whole thing.

Rule of thumb. If A-Trak has touched it then it's gold. Fool's Gold. Peep the vid below to see what a freak he is.

Who is Frames?

Don't you love a good mystery? Growing up amongst a generation of Goosebump readers (R.L Stine!) has given me a real passion for the unexplained. Today I got a mysterious email from the lovely people at Falcona who were the same people who brought you the intrigue around Universe, this time introducing me to the delights of Frames.

Frames is quite different to most producers you're common with, but not unlike Boy 8-bit in his ability to fuse sounds of opposing genres together in a way to make you wiggle. He is the self-described inventor and foremost advocate of "quirk house", and while I don't know what that means I sure enjoy how it sounds. For you today, we have his latest remix of ambient electro-rockers AEONS who recently lent their own remix touch to Australia's own Lisa Mitchell (which was surprisingly fantastic), and while this may be the first you've heard of these two acts, be assured it will not be the last. Not by a long shot.

As a super surprise bonus I managed to track down another remix that Frames has looked over (the pun is in the fact the Frames can mean glasses) for Groove City favourite Cassian's huge track Friday Night. This is a mesh of tech and disco and house in a style that just makes you wanna shake rump. Check it out direct from his SoundCloud.

Beyond the Satellites (Frames Dub Mix) - AEONS

Friday Night (Frames Remix) by Frames
Sneaky Sneaky.

Frames will be huge. Follow him on Facebook.
Aeons on Facebook.