Wednesday, March 31, 2010

*ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL!*



On the grind,

So over this past weekend in Miami, FL, took place the most epic two day rave ever that is considered the modern day mecca of electronic music. Tiesto, The Crystal Method, Deadmau5, Carl Cox, Rusko, Groover Armada, Disco Bicuits, Caspa, Diplo, Armin Van Buren, Bassnectar, Glitch Mob, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, Crookers, Infected Mushroom, Dirty South, etc, etc, etc. The list is endless and that is the most stacked line up of the most prestigious DJs out right now. Pretty much every major electronic artist out right now minus Justice and Jack Beats.

Not only that this was the first year in Ultra Music Festival's history that the event was sold out. That is just one testament to the recent growing popularity of electronic music. Not only that, it had already been announced that next year it's going to be three day festival. I don't know about y'all, but I was already super bummed that I missed out and I have already have Ultra in my calendar for next May. This event is the equivalent to Woodstock for psychedelic rock-n-roll, Ultra is literally the mecca of electronic music. No other music festival that takes place in America is exclusively electronic and for Ultra to sell out the event is hard evidence to prove that the electronic music genre is getting more noticed.

While thinking about Ultra, festivals, raves, etc. I pondered what exactly makes them so successful? And after thinking about it for a little bit I realized just how smart concert promoters for raves are. The cost to put on these large scale events are little to nothing, the area must be booked and the stages and speakers set up, but the stage performances and lights are completely left up to artists to handle. Not too mention, electronic artists and DJs earn a lot less money than typical artists because they only play 1-2 hour DJ sets.

But besides being just economically favorable, these events and the popular attendance of these events have made me look to societal reasons as to why these festivals are becoming seemingly more popular and made to be bigger and bigger every year. I think it's our generations attitudes and beliefs that are really the driving factors as to why we attend these festivals, raves, etc. Music festivals in themselves represent several ideals in my opinion; peace, community, and overall enjoying oneself amongst others having a good time as well. Maybe festivals are meant for hippies but I truly believe that our generation continues to go these events in full force and even increased participation because we believe in the fact of the pursuit of happiness and overall peace that should be enforced by all of us as members of our society.

Let's be honest, few people would turn down the chance to go and rage for three days in an outdoor area with some of the best musicians assembled to entertain you. It really boils down to people just wanting to release from the everyday pressures and struggles and escape for a few days to a place where only music, love and peace seem important--and that's exactly what the attraction is of these festivals and events.

Peace,
20thetruth

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Sunday Squelch.



Let's get crazy (sound remedy),

So I stopped the dubstep posting for a while but I could only hold out for so long. So back in the building with already blogged about Flux Pavilion, and new additions, Datsik from BC, Canada and Trolley Snatcha, is yet another London dub don. Datsik's Nuke 'Em samples the classic arcade game Wolfenstein and hits you with the heaviest bass you'll ever hear that'll make you bend over back like you got the McDonald's arches from thizzin', and Trolley Snatcha's We Rock The Forest blasts the hardest, crunchiest, and fastest paced dub in your face. The Prodigy's Take Me To The Hospital remixed by Rusko is one of my favorite songs, period... womp womp womp, wobbley goodness (take that A-stack). Listen, download, check 'em out, yee.

Datsik - Nuke 'Em
Datsik & Flux Pavilion - Crunch
The Prodigy - Take Me To The Hospital (Rusko Remix)
Trolley Snatcha - We Rock The Forest

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Who Loves Random Remixes? Everyone. Duh. (5)



Hey yaaaaaw,

The Kills is an amazing American alternative rock band and Fake Blood takes their original song and thrusts some mesmerizing and bouncy synths on top of some 808s and a driving bassline to transform the original into dance mania.

The Kills - Cheap & Cheerful (Fake Blood Remix)

I don't know a lot about either the artist, Baxter, or the remixer, Lifelike, but boy am I sure glad they met up and made this song. This is pure disco shit, the playful and ambient synths over Baxter's wailings makes this song into electro-trance awesomeness.

Baxter - Proof (Lifelike Remix)

You already know that da mau5 is da man, and his song Ghosts 'N Stuff was HUGE. Dirty Disco Youth takes the original, speeds it up, chops it up, false breakdowns-climatic buildups-huge drops galore. Take that all in, they just make the original that much more dancy and energetic.

Deadmau5 - Ghosts 'N Stuff (Dirty Disco Youth Remix)

I've already blogged about these bodacious Aussies, The Temper Trap, and I guess the dubbers are in love with them too. Little known Herve puts some nasty squelch over some buzzy synths and a little bit extra wobble to keep the dub steppin'.

The Temper Trap - The Science of Fear (Herve Dub Remix)

Barletta is an electronic DJ that was remixed more times than Snooki got ham-sauced at da shore in 2009. John Roman the Canadian teen prodigy takes this song and makes it his bitch, putting his aggressive dark brooding and cranking synths over this calm original. Checkity checkity check it.

Barletta - Panther (John Roman Remix)

Snoop D-o-double-G and his nephew Cudders made a tight song, and The Filth makes this remix into filthy electro bliss, The Filth definitely captures a mixture of Deadmau5 and the Beetroots and I can't stop listening to this remix.

Snoop Dogg - That Tree ft. Kid Cudi (The Filth Remix)

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Brand New!!!



Sailing to nowhere (Broken Bells),

We got that knock that'll make you rock, so today brand new shit from Frisco's electro-dubstep-wobble master Bassnectar and the electro-glitch-hop DJ wrecking crew Glitch Mob come and drop some new nastiness for y'all to enjoy. Bassnectar's drop Magical World featuring Nelly Furtado is some serious squelch and WILL blow your speaks out. Glitch Mob's new drop captures their famous glitch-hop sound and makes some serious cruising music. Check it out, listen, download, yaaaaw.

Bassnectar - Magical World ft. Nelly Furtado
The Glitch Mob - Drive It Like You Stole It

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

City's tight with PRETTY LIGHTS.



Another week another dollar,

This is one of the posts where I get real condescending and tell you to immediately listen to Pretty Lights and call you a loser who lives under a rock if you haven't heard. Pretty Lights is the creation of Derek Vincent Smith and drummer Cory Eberhard, and these guys womp out every show they go to. I first heard them from my homie Bluntmann who's from Colorado, and lo and behold so is Pretty Lights. It's hard to really describe their sound... they cover so many bases, but I guess if I had to verbalize their music it would be glitchy-electro-hip-hop with wompy synths that sprinkle in vintage/soul samples. (Elaborate I know, and my constant usage of the words womp and wobble don't help). Either way, these guys are A-MA-ZiiiNG and you MUST check them out. If you don't, kill yourself.

Pretty Lights - Hot Like Sauce
Pretty Lights - More Important Than Michael Jordan
Pretty Lights - Can't Stop Me Now

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

PS: Pretty Lights is one of the rare artists who has fully embraced the internet and file sharing revolution and has all of his songs up for download off his site, prettylightsmusic.com.

Peace,
20thetruth

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Erol Alkan & Boys Noize.



Call on me,

I know, I know... whatsup with these long ass hiatuses? Well let me say spring break x took a little too much out of me and Lake Havasu, AZ, is the shiznit. But back to the blog, boy genius Erol Alkan and German electro-master Boys Noize has teamed up before but they just recently put out the Lemonade EP, and oh boy there are some fiya ass tracks. Take a listen to the first two and tell me what you think.

Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Lemonade
Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Avalanche

BONUS BLAP: Here's an older track from this dynamic duo that's sure to keep those heads nodding and fists pumping.

Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Waves

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Friday, March 12, 2010

HARD XIII.



Y'all know the name... (Jokers of the Scene),

So yeah living in LA we are blessed with so many tight ass raves that are put on locally, and this weekend is no exception. I'm not personally going but I know a lot of people who are and lemme tell you, JACK BEATS are going to smash their set because their are sickygnar. Destructo is HARD's resident DJ and genius promoter, not to mention, Fake Blood and Boy 8-Bit are no slouches either... Hard XII is definitely going to be super hard and I'm envious of those are going. Here are some tracks from these DJs, check em out, listen, download, whateva.

JACK BEATS
Kidda - Feel Too Good (Jack Beats Remix)
La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix)

FAKE BLOOD
Armand Van Helden - I Want Your Soul (Fake Blood Remix)
Hot Chip - Touch Too Much (Fake Blood Remix)

BOY 8-BIT
Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song (Boy 8-Bit Remix)

DESTRUCTO
Major Lazer - Bruk Out (Destructo Remix)

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Who Loves Random Remixes? Everyone. Duh. (4)



Love your enemy (Birdy Nam Nam),

It's Thursday, and yes it's also Spring Break; time to get debaucherous. I'm going to be gettin' my drank on in Lake Havasu, AZ, hope y'all have a great break too. And today we have yet another installment of everyone's favorite post, Who Loves Random Remixes? This week we got some awesome artists and even better remixes.

Kaskade & Deadmau5 released several songs together and each one was just pure electro-house bliss. Their song Move for Me remixed by Santiago & Bushido morphs the original ambient bliss of it into some fast paced dancing mania. Awesome drop beeteedubs.

Kaskade & Deadmau5 - Move for Me (Santiago & Bushido Remix)

Miike Snow is a huge breakout band of 2009 and these Swedes get down. Awesome alternative band that flawlessly blends electroctronic dance aspects into their music. Definitely recommend all of you to check out their self titled debut album. Redial is a DJ who has pumping out some massive remixes, and this one of Silvia (my favorite song of their album) just enhances an already great song.

Miike Snow - Silvia (Redial Remix)

I don't personally listen to a lot of Massive Attack but I do love Zeds Dead... these guys are just simply massive. Every song and remix they seem to put out just have an even bigger and heavier sound than the last one and this remix sure doesn't disappoint with some serious squelch.

Massive Attack - Paradice Circus (Zeds Dead Remix)

Oh, Crookers, I love you guys so much but I really think your album sucks... no hard feelings though, I'll keep listening to your pure electro shit. This song is why I love them, remixing Secret Handshake's Summer of 98, Crookers put their signature hard electro fidget house sound on it to make this song into an absolute banger.

Secret Handshake - Summer of 98 (Crookers Remix)

Thee Bloody Beetroots are probably right behind Deadmau5 for my favorite DJ spot. When I first heard these guys I instantly fell in love with their aggressive synth heavy sound. These guys get the party started and keep it goin' all day and all night. WARP was argueably 2009's biggest electronic song and it was remixed by everyone and their momma... but R3SET's remix is just too good of a chune to not check out. So peep it.

The Bloody Beetroots - Warp (R3SET Remix)

The XX
is one my favorite bands out right now and their self titled debut album is amazing. And I'm a maniac about dubstep so when I heard this remix I was in electro bliss. MartyParty sprinkles in a dash of dubstep that transforms the XX's Infinity into some hard steppin' grime.

The XX - Infinity (MartyParty Remix)

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Ok Nerdz... Let's go to COMPUTER CLUB.



I said ayyyyyyy yo,

Whatsup folks. So today we got this chubby guy with the Rusko mohawk, and at first glance he isn't the most attractive guy but goddamnit does he make some blaps. So if you didn't know, now you know, Computer Club, is a one man wrecking crew; producing, DJing, composing.His sound is agressive, loud, in-your-face hard house splashed with some electro funk. Losing Streak is an amazing song and the hook is catchy as shet, betch, and I got hooked from my first listen. Wired All Wrong is an electronic rock group from Cali, haven't heard much from them, but this remix is supersonic. Listen, download, whatever, just keep fighting the good fight.

Computer Club ft. Frankmusik - Losing Streak
Wired All Wrong - Elevatin' (Computer Club Remix)

BONUS BLAP OF THE DAY: (this is due to my infrequent posting... sorry I had 3 midterms this week, but now they're all over it's time for SPRING BREAK 2010 a.k.a. Lake fuckin' Havasu, AZ; time to binge drink, be irresposible, and make a few mistakes I'll regret later.)

Oh Em Gee. Da mau5 is the shit and this song is just another reason why, this is an oldie but sweet, and this is definitely one of the best songs Deadmau5 has made in my humble opinion (my homie A-Stack would argue Arguru is the dopest shit ever), but then again what song hasn't he made that is just ridiculously good?... that's right couldn't name one. Just thee most outstanding electro house ever. Bold statement, I know, but I'm gonna stick with it. So if you haven't heard already, get on your electro-grind and get these tracks.

Deadmau5 - Arguru (Original Mix)

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Temper Trap + Wobble = Schweet.



Giving up the gun (Vampire Weekend),

Short post. Awesome song. The Temper Trap is this bodacious band from da down unda and these guys really rift. Hypnotic melodies and fantastic falsetto makes this band a must listen too. And I've already posted about Doorly... this UK dubstep don keeps crankin' out dubstep remixes to some great songs, and this one doesn't disappoint. The intro flawlessly combines Deadmau5's The Reward is Cheese with The Temper Trap's Sweet Disposition (one of my favorite songs out) and then just drops with some computer funky mega wobble -- it's definitely on some other shit but I love it. Check it out, download, listen, you know the drill.

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (Doorly Remix)

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Monday, March 8, 2010

*Arrrrgggghhhh.*



Howdy Ho,

So let's hear it for Apple for fixing my computer free of charge because honestly the guy said that I dropped it (and there was indisputable physical evidence) but he would still fix it for me... for $free.99, which was awesome. Now I'm back and blogging and lovin' it. So let's get to some much needed social commentary, eh?

Today I want to talk about the issues of music piracy and exactly what's going on. Well let me preface this by saying that piracy will continue to be an controversial issue for a while beacuse technology advances faster than the legal system can make corresponding laws that address the issues of piracy. And thinking about the issues of piracy made me think of one image... the Hydra from Hercules. You know, the multi-headed dragon monster that once you cut one head off two more sprang out of that recently decapitated neck area, that's exactly how piracy should be envisioned.

Where to start... well first off we can back track a little bit and look back to when piracy all started. And for me that was Napster, the first P2P network that hosted loads of illegally uploaded mp3s that could be downloaded by you, at home, in a matter of minutes... that was like in 3rd grade. Needless to say technology has advanced a lot from those times, and because of these advances, it's hard to really pinpoint who to go after concerning pirating music. The RIAA's crusade to crucify individual downloaders and sue them for every penny their worth failed completely. Instead of trying to discover and prosecute the individuals who were inventing and creating these P2P networks that enable the every day Joe Smoe to download literally hundreds of songs a day. For a while P2P networks were the it thing, out came Kazaa, Bearshare, and Limewire, all trying to build off the success of Napster. What I want to know is how come they completely eff Napster in the A but they allow Limewire to exist and continually provide illegal mp3s to the internet? So P2P networks are enemy #1.

Now let's look at torrents and full album leaks... this is what really cost artists when their full length feature album that they have sweat and toiled over for months, maybe even years, get's leaked out before it's official release and it up for free download all over the internet. This is really an internal issue because in order for these exclusive songs and albums to be uploaded to the internet, somebody must have a physical copy of the songs themselves and have to upload them. So people close to artist, people involved with the record label, radio stations that get advances, promoters that get advances -- all these people are given the album before the release and it only takes one person to upload it to the internet and cost the artist and their record label tons of money. That's enemy #2.

Besides physically uploading them I want to know how torrents still exist -- enemy #3. Everyone knows about them, it's not secret, why hasn't the legal system done anything about that if they already destroyed Napster. But like the Hydra analogy, with the death of Napster came the birth of other P2P networks such as Kazaa, Bearshare and Limewire that still exist today. Maybe it's simply because the legal system is a whole lot slower at making laws than the technology is advancing, that must be the only logical answer... or is it?

But to really analyze the entire situation of piracy, one has to look at it realistically. Nerds will write new programs and invent new downloading clients and strip DRMs off mp3s and eventually design computers smart enough to rule the world... but seriously, the legal process is just too darn slow to deal with constant influx of new technologies. That's why I personally believe it is in the best interest of these artists and their record labels to embrace the music sharing community online and try and capitalize off it. They should release artists single for free for download and allow only previews to be shown on blog sites, and other music related sites, and give the people what they want (good music) and if they really like they can go buy the albums themselves. I don't think piracy will ever stop and you can't truly stop it, so if you can't kill your enemy, join your enemy. All those involved in the music industry should really check their perspective about piracy and really try to think of innovating ways to use piracy to their advantage. That's what I think... but I'd love to know what you think, so hit me up what you think about piracy, what can be done, or who do you thinks to blame?

Dropping knowledge like clumsy scientists,
20thetruth

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Wobble Mania has Officially Arrived.



[In a] Sweet Disposition (The Temper Trap),

Back in the blog and lovin' it, so I know all you know that I am OBSESSED with dubstep, and today I got some massive chunes for your speakers to blow out to with some heavy dubstep coming from Doctor P, Giant, & Flux Pavillion. These guys make thEE most extreme wobble out... it's almost alien music, but I dig it, and I can't get enough of those massive basslines and wobbley breakdowns.

Doctor P - Sweet Shop
Giant - Drumstick
Flux Pavillion - Got 2 Know
Flux Pavillion & Doctor P - Air Raid

[Just right-click the song titles and click "Save Link As" to directly download the mp3s]

Peace,
20thetruth

Saturday, March 6, 2010

OMFG.



Dear World,

I want to give my sincerest apologies for not providing all y'all with that electro-crack for almost three weeks now.... BUT, the computer's fixed and there's plenty of new ish that hasn't been blogged about yet that you NEED to listen to. So glad to be back and you'll be seeing some new posts back on the site in less than 24 hours. Schweeeeet.

Peace,
20thetruth