The fight for diverse and conscious voices

Because a meeting got cancelled. No promises on when I hit 'post' though. My mood has continued to be utterly in the shitter, so several of these are going to be the sort of chair-dancing upbeat things I like to use to counter that sort of mood. There will soon be another post consisting of long-form listening but for now let's hit some quick tracks...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TRxT3l2GE0
I'm continuing to listen to Ummet Ozcan's set mixes and sometimes I come across his original creations. This one I really like in part because it feels like an EDM homage to European heavy metal. From the symphonic opener to the solo guitar wail at about 0:40 to the choral refrains you get the sense that this is someone who grew up loving a similar sort of unabashedly pretentious prog and metal I did. Then about 1:30 when I'm already grinning the track drops into familiar electro-dance territory. "Megatron" indeed.

https://soundcloud.com/derpforce/nitro-fun-dragonfly
Frichte's "Nitro Fun - Dragonfly" compilation is kind of a made-up track picking bits and pieces of Nitro Fun's game-themed music. As such, it's very electro, kind of glitchy, and a little dubstep. I don't play enough modern electronic games to recognize most of the samples, but it's still a fun chair-dance track.

https://soundcloud.com/chvrches/bury-it-featuring-hayley
New CHVRCHES that sounds (to me) remarkably poppy. Their previous things I've noted have been generally listener-friendly but not out-and-out pop. I'm continuing to be sad I missed my chance at tickets to their local show this time around. Maybe I'd have a better sense for their sound - next time for sure.

https://soundcloud.com/featurepr/torren-foot-ryan-collins-bounce-feature026
Bounce, from MSTKRFT, is often called "All I do is party" after its repeated line. Here, that lyric bit is repeatedly sampled and played by Torren Foot & Ryan Collins over a heavy electro-bass rhythm. It's nohow the most sophisticated mix, but it's definite chair-dance material.

https://soundcloud.com/120dbrecords/settle-my-heart-premeson-remix
But don't stop there, if bouncy house is your thing. Premeson has a sweet energetic remix of JustLuke's "Settle My Heart". The original is heavily produced male-vocal pop that feels like it's aimed at teens (bubblegum much?). Then along comes Premeson with the 'move aside, kid, let me show you how the adults do it' effects and amps it all up. The vocals still work, but I vastly prefer the remix to the original.

https://soundcloud.com/vicetone/bonnie-mckee-i-want-it-all-vicetone-remix
Vicetone are continuing to find the core honey in tracks and then building interesting dance bits around those cores. This time it's Bonnie McKee's "I Want it All" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj_La4gaVIQ). The original has a very heavy autotuned sound and it's nice to see that stripped down and cleaned up for the remix. Once again I think it helps to have a second

Did actually intend to get this written last week but it didn't happen for a variety of reasons. I also didn't manage to write more serious entries so there's that. I'm hoping this entry will get done soon and give me some kind of impulse to write the other stuff, which is much harder to formulate.

So we've reached that time of year - the end - when mashup DJs put together their "best of..." mashes. I probably won't review most of them, but two names put out entries I have to cover, so we'll start with those. Next up (probably next week) we'll have some long-form pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggn9fZimc4A
DJs from Mars, 40 songs in 3:30. What else do you want to know? It doesn't have exactly the classic DJfM stompy feel, but it's definitely framed as a dance banger, though the ending slides a bit. I think it's positioned as the sort of thing you'd play for a set finale - at least, that's how I would use it.

https://soundcloud.com/united-state-of-pop-2015/mashup2015-12-1-15-2
DJ Earworm's "United State of Pop 2015" uses 50 tracks in a 5:15-long mash that is much less intense than the DJfM's entry but still gives a good sampling of what's been pop this year. Earworm's take is still danceable but not a house banger by any means. As with so many of these year-end things I feel like there hasn't been a ton of great new things to carry the mix. Most of what I'm liking in mashes these days mixes new pop with older classics, which these best-of obviously can't do.

https://soundcloud.com/tritonpromotions/quintino-milestone
In case you are somehow unfamiliar with the basic form of the house dance banger let me link you one. I don't link most of these because they're all pretty similar. Triton here turns in a perfectly serviceable entry, with minimal vocals and maximal house beats. I can't put my finger on precisely why I like this one and not other standard bangers, but this one sticks well with me.

https://soundcloud.com/electro-house-repost-site/faithless-insomnia-sash_s-remixclub-mix
Remember a couple months back when I claimed Avicii had giant brass balls for (daring to) remix/update "Insomnia"? Well stand down, Avicii because here comes the unknown Sash, doing their remix/club mix and it's really damned good. It's got the same basic feel, vocals, and builds as the original but with more BPM and some up-to-date electronica. Clocking in around 6 minutes feels better, too.

https://soundcloud.com/vicetone/colorsremix
"Colors" is nowhere near the classic level of "Insomnia" but it's a well-loved club anthem and seeing it get a touch of new life is nice. Vicetone's version is sweet - nearly love-song levels - and I like the lush sounds.

https://soundcloud.com/vijayandsofia/patrick-baker-gone-vijay-sofia-zlatko-remixmaster
Speaking of sweet, Patrick Baker's "Gone" was a gently breathy summer night track from a few months back. Now comes Vijay and Sofia remixing it. I still think the autotuned strings bit is a little saccharine but I like the basic rhythm of the track and Baker's voice is pleasant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs962Vqq9mA
Chasing some old links I came across this and thought "How could I have missed a DJs from Mars doing Deep Purple mash?" Turns out I did spot it back in July but that link is now dead so I'm going to give you this, the updated version that they did for the Bootzilla compilation. I hope this one survives because it's got so much of what I love about the DJs' work. Good stompin' beats, and a nice mix of the modern vocals with the classic backing guitars. Like all DJs from Mars tracks the key question is "Are you chair-dancing now?" Um, yes.

Yes, it's time to unload the backlog again.

https://soundcloud.com/djschmolli/dj-schmolli-pirate-nation
First, an 11-track mash of awesome and love. DJ Schmolli's fourth "Pirate Nation" collection has ten full tracks and one demo preview that range from the very modern and electronic way back to classic rock and roll and metal. I've only had time to listen to it once so far but I think the standout for me is going to be the Ellie Goulding/Martin Solveig mash at the core of "I Like The Lights Out".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZGydDAe02M
Panic Girl's latest is a nice mix of light and almost trancey vocal-pop but with a breathy dark underside. I've seen her music described as beautiful, dark, and fragile and all seem apt in varying degrees here. She's definitely at her best when it's stripped down and just her singing with the piano.

https://soundcloud.com/nickraymondg/disco-fries-murika-free
Thissongissick has been posting a ton to Soundcloud and this electro-house banger called "Murika" by Disco Fries (https://www.myspace.com/discofriesmusic#!) is one of my favorites of the past week. It's a song with a varied profile, not the typical steady-thump of house, almost a sampler of different styles. And yes, it's got a wub middle but I find myself liking it and bopping along despite the wub. The transition at about 3 minutes in is a genius move.

http://www.mashup-industries.org/mashups/scream-shout-on-the-floor-ay-rabiosa/
I had to blog this, if only because it amused the hell out of me for its use of Dan Balan, about whom I blogged in 2010. It's a nice five-way mash from Marc Johnce, with a fun Latin dance feel. But, really, can you resist going back and re-watching "Chica Bomb" after that? I couldn't.

http://audioporncentral.com/2013/04/fab-mayday-later-1982.html
The Italians really are rolling in the nu-disco this year. This is "Later 1982" by Fab Mayday (https://soundcloud.com/fabmayday) an Italian DJ and art director for several clubs - or so says his profile. This track mixes in a fair amount of retro europop sound which gives it a bit more edge than other nu disco tracks I've heard lately. This one sounds like a club opener - the kind of thing you'd play as people are filing in - it's extensive but not intrusive, and energetic without being too high BPM.

https://soundcloud.com/nickraymondg/vicetone-vs-nico-vega-beast
Another Thissongissick premiere, this one is tonally more relaxed than the previous banger, but still pretty driven. It's labeled "progressive house" and you can definitely hear the electronic influences, but it also rolls in some very heavy drums and male vocals that sound straight out of a 1970s-era rock ensemble. It's an interesting blend of styles that comes from the artists: Vicetone are a Dutch house duo who are working here with Nico Vega (http://nicovega.com/), an LA-area hard rock indie quartet. They got some minor fame recently as their song "Beast" was used in a BioShock Infinite game trailer and apparently also in a trailer for the movie Reacher, or so says Wikipedia.