I know Monday’s can hurt, but Music always helps! My musical taste ebbs and flows like an irreverent tide – but lately I’ve been attracted to a deeper, darker side of ‘Deep House’; the kind of music you’d find at at DirtyBird BBQ, at an early morning yoga sesh at Lightning in a Bottle or in a dark warehouse at 3am with 300 of your newest, closest friends. Hailing from France, Shiba San is the latest in a slew of DirtyBird producers that just tickle my eardrums. His heavy bass infused deep house is perfect; from the dancefloor to the car stereo and more, he intricately layers Hip Hop, House and a little bit of soul into a whole lot of fun.
And then the Robot Heart Community, known for their epic NYC parties and Burning Man Sound Camps, released a historic set from Above & Beyond that I get incredible FOMO over; yes, the rumors are true – my favorite trance triumverate put together a deep house ‘yoga set’ for Elena Brewer and the result is pure magic.
In the tangible world, it’s only been two months since’s Autograf’s last remix; but to tried and true fans of the Chicago triumvirate those sixty some days can feel like a lifetime. Admittedly, he sultry Future Disco forerunners have been keeping themselves busy by taking their signature sound to clubs and parties on the East Coast and releasing exclusive mixes through Dancing Astronaut, Gotta Dance Dirty and most notably, THUMP and Too Future as of late. This morning, they returned to their downtempo, day party vibes with their take on the synth heavy, electro pop summertime anthem ‘Gust of Wind’ from Pharrell and the legendary Nu Disco duo Daft Punk.
Eliciting feelings of Pretty Lights, Griz and Late Night Radio, Autograf’s mix takes an equally eerie and seductive turn – reminiscent of their takes on classics like Marvin Gaye’s ‘Heard it Through The Grapevine’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’. The end result is a groove perfect for pool parties and cruising to at high volumes in your ride.
“With the hot sunny days upon us, we decided to start the Future Summer remix series. For every month this summer, we’ll be taking a song we’re really feeling at the moment and giving it our Future House, summer-inspired remix treatment…And we’ll be giving them all away for free as a thank you to our fans. As a new group, it can be hard to get noticed, so we really appreciate people taking the time to discover and share our music. For the first one in the series, we couldn’t have thought of a better song to remix than Pharrell’s collaboration with one of our all-time heroes, Daft Punk.”
If the caliber of their remixes is any indication of future success, make sure to keep your eyes and ears out for Autograf in 2014. Be sure to grab tickets to their upcoming shows and stay up to date with them through their socials.
Beyond the release of the two track EP ‘Hit Me’ this past April – 2014 has been awfully quiet for Dirtybird frontman Worthy; thank goodness that’s all about to change. Worthy’s highly anticipated, full length debut album ‘Disbehave’ hits Beatport and iTunes on 6/10. The experimental, 15 track LP comes dance floor approved thanks to BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac, complete with praise and parallels to fellow Dirtybird producer Justin Martin’s ‘Ghettos & Gardens’s’. In 2001, the two paired up with Martin’s brother Christian Martin and legendary Claude Vonstroke to form Dirtybird Records in San Francisco with a constant creative vision to break the mold of ‘mainstream’ house music. Between their ample shared success, busy touring schedules and almost cult like following – there’s simply been no looking back.
Whether it’s original singles or collaborations, over the course of the past decade, Worthy has made a definite imprint in the scene and has been instrumental in establishing the label’s signature booty shakin’, bass heavy underground tech house sound. In 2011, he linked up with beloved UK deep house producer Eats Everything on the grungy, underground tech house jam ‘Tric Trac’ which landed firmly in the Beatport Top 10 for Tech House.
The two year project comes out on WORTHY’s label Anabatic Records (formerly Katabatic Records), but the breadth of his genre defying LP – from soulful vocals layered between seductive bass lines to industrial, tech house breakbeats befitting of a warehouse party – is an homage to late nights, dark dance floors and the entire Dirtybird family.
Starting with the intro ‘All our Souls’, the listener embarks on an emotive journey into a dreamlike oblivion, melting into the sultry, bedroom house jam ‘The Words’ featuring the ethereal Audio Angel expertly layered over a grungy bass line. The haunting, often ominously booming ‘Dark Bridges’ and ‘Burned’, a moody track with gripping vocals, turn the album towards the mysterious. All of this leading to the title track ‘Disbehave’; an eerily rhythmic, often dissonant tech house adventure that borders on industrial drum & bass.
As the name implies, ‘On the Floor’ featuring Kevin Knapp (Off, Hot Creations) begs the listener to boogie down, deep into the heart of the dance floor. ‘Infected’ guarantee’s you’ll stay there and the garage-infused ‘Dusted Smoke’ atmospherically wobbles in an equally delicate yet spooky fashion. ‘I Get’ and ‘Damn Fine’ both throw seductive spins on booming, deep house bass lines. The LP forays back into the grungy, warehouse beats starting with the gritty tech house banger ‘Handle It’ and then again with ‘Stars Attack’ a jarring, ominous and often times musically deranged journey strung together by a music mastermind, perfect for afterhours. Equally dark, ‘Luna’ is a bass ridden and otherworldly, leading into the anthemic ‘Free From The Night, and back into an outro of ‘All Our Souls’, which embodies the same relaxing trancelike state the album began with.
“I want to push my new sound, which is leaning more toward a breakbeat old-school vibe, but still want to keep with the fact that I play house and techno. My focus is to stay innovative and authentic and to continually reinvent myself as an artist.” – Worthy
The official release party is this Friday, 6/6 at The Mighty in San Francisco; this is one Dirtybird affair you’d be crazy to miss out on. Following the show, Worthy will embark on a tour across North America.
–Upcoming Shows–
6/6: San Francisco @ Mighty (Get Tickets Here:DISBEHAVE RECORD RELEASE PARTY)
6/8: Beldon, CA @ Raindance
6/14: Weldon, CA @ Native Springs Oasis
6/28: Boston @ Prime
7/4: Driftpile, Cananda @ Astral Harvest
8/1: Brooklyn @ Verboteen
8/2 – LA @ HARD Summer
8/15 – Kasota Park, Idaho @ Heyburn
Keep tabs on the Dirtybird crew, the upcoming North American tour and all things Worthy through their websites and socials –
Looking back at my posts from the last year, one that stands out the most to be is my 2012 Year in Musical Review. Partially, because it’s catalyzed my writing career on multiple fronts – but mostly because music, especially kickass live music, is something I truly care about to my core. Music influences our moods, our personalities and even our daily interactions. Unless there’s something highly important and technical that I have a deadline for, I’m literally submersed in music 24/7 – from the time my alarm and I wake up, to my morning runs, to the drive to work, you get the picture: I more or less have provided myself with a soundtrack to my life. With my attention span as short as it is (…squirrel!…), I constantly refresh my collection of original jams, remixes and singles and try to take in as much live music as I can.
I’ve been leafing through the ticket stubs and reminiscing about the excellent year in music that I just had. From attempting to co-start a music forum site and to with The DJ List, my daily extra-curricular activities have always circled around new music, fresh artists and the latest and greatest they have to offer. Somehow, even though I’ve managed to be busier than I’ve ever been I’ve definitely managed to fit in some quality R&R (Rave & Relaxation) into the mix. So, without further ado – here are my musical musings for 2013; enjoy!
Truth be told, I’m sitting here trying my hardest to even place Cosmic Gate in second place because Above & Beyond’s sunset at Avila Beach was just so spectacular! It was a small crowd with unexpected surprises in store for everyone in my friend group – we each found someone at the event from out of town (LA, Riverside and SF) that we didn’t know was in attendance and were all simply wowed by the musical prowess the group possesses. But Cosmic Gate is not a team to be underestimated, during the live show they brought out my favorite pixie blonde vocalist, Emma Hewitt, and Jonathan Mendelson who gave a phenomenal first live vocal performance during Nic Chagall’s ‘This Moment’.
Best D&B show: Modestep at the Nokia Club, High Contrast w. Camo & Krooked at Dim Mak Studios
Best Deep / Tech House Show: Kaskade @ Focus OC’s 10 Year Anniversary
Best Progressive House Show:Eric Prydz / Pryda / Cirez D @ Create
Best Electro House Show: Gareth Emery @ XIV
Best Festival: Lightning in a Bottle
For the last six or seven years I’ve been a self-professed seasoned festival go-er and have a host of Insomniac, HARD and GoVentures events under my EDM belt (almost 40 if you want to get specific), but truth be told last year I only attended three festivals, one of them being Sea of Dreams on NYE. For as much as the lineup to HARD Summer thrilled my pants off, the event didn’t…however, Lightning in a Bottle and Sea of Dreams surely did. Each was musically right in their own right but on a more personal level, I truly felt bonded to the community that LIB and Burning Man cultivates and have actively been seeking out similar events ever since.
Best Festival Set:Keys n Krates, Dillon Francis, Alex Metric ((HARD Summer)) HeRObust, Pumpkin, Rusko, The Polish Ambassador, Odeza, Andreilien ((LIB)), LowRIDERz, A-Trak, Thievery Corporation ((Sea of Dreams))
Best Venue: Sea of Dreams @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium | NYE was one of the most amazing musical experiences I’ve ever had, everything about the night was golden and a lot of that is due to the venue and soundsystem that came with it; top notch.
Weird but Rad Venue: Lightning in a Bottle @ Lake Skinner, Temecula, CA | I was tempted to give LIB the gold star for ‘Best Venue’ but after the all of the shenanigans with the county and residents of Riverside, I’ll wait until next year to grant the festival that award. Basically, I want to see it shine in all of its glory; not just in my personal experiences but for the greater community in attendance as well.
Best Pool Party: Daylight
Best Party:Sea of Dreams
Best Up and Coming Venue:Sound in Hollywood
Favorite Reopened Venue: Create (previously, known as Vanguard)
Best Crowd: DoLab shows –Avalon | If you only remember one thing about the music scene in LA, let it be this: the Do Lab will always do you right. I always look forward to the art infused musical events they throw. Whether they’re at the Nokia Club, King King or out in the middle of nowhere Riverside – they make sure to cater to all of your senses and the people who show up are some of the nicest friends you hadn’t met you.
Douche-iest Crowd: XIV by Hyde, Greystone Manor, Sutra | I still hold by last year’s statement about Sutra, but now that I’ve finally attended events at Greystone and XIV I can easily bump those two to the top of the list. Maybe it goes hand-in-hand with my appetite for all things Do Lab and underground, but I can’t wrap my head around wearing 3″+ heals to a club and cozy-ing up to people just snag an extra drink (or five). I prefer the let-your-freak-flag-fly mentality of other events and prefer stomping around in flats to trying to maintain a proper demeanor in an outfit that’s definitely not meant for dancing.
Best Lasers:Create and Exchange have most definitely stepped their laser game up in the last year, far surpassing anything that Avalon has ever done (sorry guys – not knocking the place (it’s still rad!) but it’s true).
Ferry Corsten @ Exchange Hit us with those laser beams *pew pew pew*
Artists
Favorite Set/Act of 2013: Above & Beyond in Avila Beach
Best Surprise of 2013: Crywolf, Mitis, Kill Paris, Disclosure, Keys n Krates, Flume
So Glad I (Re-)Discovered: Bonobo, Emancipator, Shpongle, The Magician,
Remixes So Nicely: SubFocus, Flume
Best Remix-er: Boy Noize, Dillon Francis, Cazzette
Favorite Vocalists: Jonathan Mendelson, Alex Clare, Annabel Englund, MNEK, Chet Faker, Florence Welch, Emma Hewitt
Most Disappointing: Daft Punk everything; maybe because it was directly juxtaposed to Keys’n’Krates with their live instruments, but Duke Dumont was also pretty underwhelming live and looked like he was just pressing a button; last but not least, Cedric Gervais did absolutely nothing for me.
Vocalists Who Shouldn’t Perform Live with DJs: Danny Brown
People Who Should Be Reminded They’re Not DJs: Will.i.Am, Paris Hilton
Songs:
My Top 10 Songs of the Year
Depeche Mode – Soothe My Soul (Steve Angello + Jaques Lu Cont Remix)
Darkside – Papertrails
Oliver – Night is On My Mind (Dillon Francis Remix)
Disclosure – You & Me (Baauer Remix)
Seven Lions + Myon & Shane 54 – Strangers
Minnesota – Stardust Redux (Crywolf Remix)
Maya Jane Coles ft Karin Park – Everything
Thomas Jack – Booka Shake
Flume ft Freddie Gibbs – Holdin’ On (LKids Remix)
Lane 8 – Be Mine
Mat Zo – Lucid Dreams – (M Machine Remix) [runner up]
It’s not often that I’m moved enough to share a favorite artist with the world, but when credit’s due – credit is due; I’ve been digging around through the deepest of house music for the past year and I feel like I’ve finally found my niche in it. Just a little bit of bass, some soulful lyrics, a killer bridge and a dance-able beat – I’ve found it before so I know that it’s possible. It’s the music Kaskade was giving us back in 2004 with his artist album ‘In the Moment’ and again with his last US tour, which he dubbed the ‘It’s You, it’s Me Redux. The Deep House that is doled out nowadays can have a generic beat and at times, it can be hard to tell where a song begins and ends….and doubly so during a deep house set. I can’t tell you how many times my friends and I have turned to each other and asked ‘Is this still the same song?’ So, when I discovered this latest artist I was beyond stoked. I’ve been listening to my fair share of Finnebassen, Cyril Hanh and the guys on Crosstown Rebels but the one thing I’ve been craving is original work from a deep house artist. Both Cyril Hahn and Finnebassen are more more than adept at remixing (or as I love to say, mixing down) oldies and goodies alike, including but not limited to: James Blake’s Retrograde and Jessie Ware’s Sweet Talk.
Over the last few months ‘Perfect Form’ and the B Side have come out – giving Cyril his first singles which were amazing; A+! In the meantime, I’ve had a golden opportunity to discover two amazing new (at least to me) artists in the scene. Russ Chimes and Lane 8 have been giving me chills for a few months now – between their adept remixes and ellquently catchy singles, I’m surprised these two haven’t blown up more than they already have! They’ve been dishing out hit after hit recently and it would take a real asshole to not enjoy their sound. Perfect for a BBQ with friends, weekend getaway or poolside – catchy lyrics, dance-y beats, non-repetitive structures; totally my thing! Nothing like having a diamond in the rough, but I’m the type that loves seeing that lesser known artists start popping up in mixes, live sets and finally into festival lineups in my area. There’s no sense in talking someone up who can speak for themselves, so without further ado – here’s a few mixes and original singles from Russ Chimes and Lane 8. I guarantee you’ll be sailing smoothly into your weekend in no time!
“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” ― Oscar Wilde
Though I’m sure my parents would readily disagree with this statement – I don’t consider myself much of a whiner or a complainer; the fact of the matter is that I’m an only child – and twice over at that with divorced parents. But that’s totally a story for another day – bottom line: the only type of wine I like comes in a glass and is paired with cheese. That said – BLAAARG: <y Aunt has been at Mass-Gen with some rare, tropical illness that no one’s ever heard of or knows how to treat and – this isn’t me exaggerating to get my point across, or get your sympathy – she would’ve died last week if it weren’t for the quick thinking and overwhelming concern from a family friend. When ten of the best specialists in the world are running around like chickens with their heads cut off asking for “Dr.House” you know you’re in for a hell of a ride; thankfully, my family is rock solid and we’re sending all of our energy to get her better. To boot, I’ve had a whale of a time dealing with a misanthropic apartment “manager” on various different issues and it literally makes my head want to explode and implode simultaneously. So this is me; trying to be calm, content and in the present. This is me being constructive and moving forward. And this is me, understanding that I can only control what is in my power; the universe has it’s own plan for all of us.
So, that being said – I’ve been in search of an escape. Most people view escapism as something external: somewhere you go or a new place to rest your existence. But, why limit yourself? To escape is to literally break free of confinement, control and convention – did you ever stop and think that all those mechanisms exist in your mind? This weekend ended up being about an internal escape, a sort of manifest-destiny of the mind of you will. I had great company, good food, roamed the streets in the sunshine and had at least 8 hours of sleep each night; suffice it to say, I forgot how amazing detoxing can be! But now that we’re here – at Monday – again, I need something to pick me up. I was diagnosed with a fainting disorder a few years ago so with no caffeine in my diet, I leave it up to music to soothe my soul – here are some of my go-to, feel-good jams that make you just want to dance, love and break things (in the best of ways, of course!). Enjoy, and I hope your Monday is just as manic as you need it to be.
Playlist:
Depeche Mode – Soothe My Soul (Steve Angello & Jaques Lu Cont Remix)
Empire of the Sun – Alive (Zedd Remix)
SubFocus ft Alex Clare – Endorphins (Tommy Trash Remix)
Above & Beyond – Walter White
Disclosure ft Eliza Doolittle – You & Me (Baauer Remix)
The Partysquad – Lighterman (Krafty Kuts Skank Remix)
MitiS ft Collin McLoughlin – Born
J Majik & Wickaman – Life Me Up
Duke Dumont – Lean N Bounce
Armin van Buuren ft Trevor Guthrie – This Is What It Feels Like (W&W Remix)
Maison & Dragen – Wet Dreams
Hard Rock Sofa & Dirty Shade – Collapsar
Submatik – Stories Can Wait
Will Sparks – Ah Yeah (TJR Edit)
Wallpaper. – Good 4 It (Laidback Luke Goes Melbourne Vocal Mix)
For what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend, in true Amanda fashion – never a dull moment. Not like I need one – nor am I complaining – just saying, I’m exhausted and need some tunage to match my mood! Thank goodness I’ve been collective some stellar deep house tracks over the last few weeks to keep me in a state of trance; hope y’all dig them as much as I do!
Tracklist
Maya Jane Coles ft Karin Park – Everything
Mark Knight – Your Love
Hot Natured ft Anabel Englund – Reverse Skydiving
Disclosure ft Eliza Doolittle – You & Me
Hot Natured & Ali Love – Benediction
Ali Love ft Kali – Emperor
Steed Lord – Remember Me (Russ Chimes Remix)
Duke Dumont – Need You 100% (SKREAMix)
Pete Tong ft S.Y.F. – Dawn (Blond:ish Remix)
MANIK ft Jeremy Glenn – Parasol (Climbers Remix)
Russ Chimes – Back 2 You
Storm Queen – Look Right Through (MK Dub III)
HAIM – Don’t Save Me (Cyril Hahn Remix)
Nate Dogg – Gangster Walk (SION’s Hipster Lean Remix)
Disclosure vs MNEK – White Noise (Full Crate & FS Green Remix)
AlunaGeorge – You Know You Like It (Bondax Remix)
FKJ – So Much To Me
Solange – Losing You (Cyril Hahn Remix)
Hot Since 82 – Like You
Lee Foss & MK Ft Anabel Englund – Electricity
Russ Chimes – Turn Me Out
Betoko vs Mario Basanov vs Vidis – Control The Suspend
I know Monday’s can hurt, but Music always helps! My musical taste ebbs and flows like an irreverent tide – but lately I’ve been attracted to a deeper, darker side of ‘Deep House’; the kind of music you’d find at at DirtyBird BBQ, at an early morning yoga sesh at Lightning in a Bottle or in a dark warehouse at 3am with 300 of your newest, closest friends. Hailing from France, Shiba San is the latest in a slew of DirtyBird producers that just tickle my eardrums. His heavy bass infused deep house is perfect; from the dancefloor to the car stereo and more, he intricately layers Hip Hop, House and a little bit of soul into a whole lot of fun.![Pharrell - Gust Of Wind (ft. Daft Punk) (Autograf Remix) [Future Summer. Issue 1]](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000081523077-iwbr77-t500x500.jpg?30a2558)
The Bouncy Kitty 
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