For anyone that has read my past work on this site, it should come as no surprise that I get pretty excited when Korg releases a new product, let alone TWO! To be fair, plenty of this has to do with the fact that they are generally the only brand that makes analog gear which I can afford, but with the release of the Monotron Duo and Monotron Delay, they have managed to once again keep analog fun. ... »
Released today on SMOG records was an EP titled “Light It Up”, which was produced by up-and-coming American dubstepper “Flinch” (aka Adam Glassco). The 4 track EP comes with an impressing array of melodic styles and vocal cameos, with my favorite track being the second on the EP, titled “When I’m Gone (ft. Dominique Porter)”. Forgetting the fact that SMOG ... »
I have to admit, when I was originally looking around for a release to focus on this week I skipped over the “Subtext EP” by Trolley Snatcha, and it wasn’t until I had sense enough to use a real set of speakers that I found THAT BASS! Please, don’t force this thing through computer speakers or crappy headphones… I spent a week not realizing what I’d missed and n... »
In case Skrillex wasn’t having a good enough week winning 3 Grammys, long-time OWSLA star Nick Thayer released the “Like Boom EP” on February 7 (2012), and its honestly as fun and musically diverse an album as we can expect to get all year! With the majority of the tracks clocking in at a around 110bpm, this isn’t going to sound like the majority of the dance music being pu... »
The last time I was this excited for a synthesizer to be released was the Dave Smith Instruments Mopho Keyboard. This little 25 key wonder costs an unbelievable $499, is cased in a sturdy metal housing, and has a veritable smorgasbord of features like aftertouch and a 100% analog signal path. The full list of features can be found at the bottom of this article, but suffusive to say that they make ... »
Following last week’s artist-album release of “Mpire” (Moguai), Mau5trap records is already back at it with an EP from one of the labels oldest (and foremost) artists, Feed Me. “Escape from Electric Mountain” is 6 tracks, and is a very noticeable departure from Feed Me’s past work (see previous review of “Feed Me’s Big Adventure”). Similar to l... »
Its fair to say that most of the party-going world has heard the name Deadmau5, and as his fame has grown so too has the reputation of his label, Mau5trap. Thus, when a FULL ARTIST ALBUM is released on said label, it would be wise for dance music fans to take serious note. This week’s record or interest belongs to one of the original Mau5trappers, German-born Moguai (who’s been with Ma... »
Canadian producer Excision (aka Jeff Abel) has been rocking the American dubstep scene for an impressively long time now, but this first full-length album proves to be well worth the wait. Straight off the bat this album is almost too heavy to believe. With features from the usuals like Datsik and Downlink, as well as a few others, the production is unsurprisingly high and every track sounds balan... »
The following are a list of methods I use when my brain starts to get tired after a long day of staring at a computer screen. Creative instinct is key in making any type of music, and attempting to pull an 8-hour power-session with only a snack or bathroom break is dooming your project to fail before it ever gets off the ground. Don’t stress the small stuff! One of the quickest ways ... »
Native Instruments’ impressive line of hardware-software hybrids has grown again, this time adding a smaller, more affordable version of the successful Maschine groove production studio. This new device, named with that same fun spelling you’ve come to love from Native Instruments, is being called the Maschine Mikro and appears to be a fully capable little sibling to the original. Imme... »