Round Up 2009 : Top 5 EPs

A list of the top 5 EPs that really stood out for me. These EPs are, in my opinion, incredible and wonderfully consistent, sort of like a really good yogurt or ice cream. Damn I'm hungry. Here's to yogurt and ice cream (and good music) in 2010!

5. Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Waves/Death Suite
A joint effort by the two biggest Turkish producers in the world. Enough said.

Erol Alkan & Boys Noize - Waves

4. Siriusmo - The Uninvited Guest
Siriusmo is one talented boy. Listening to his EP just tells you about the wide knowledge he has of music in general. Sure, anyone can make random synths, sounds and glitches, but it takes a lot of skill to make it addictive to listen to.

Siriusmo - High Together

3. Mustard Pimp - Cherry & Kiwi
Mustard Pimp! If you go through Rarche, you'll find Mustard Pimp is one of the most blogged about artists, as well as being one of the most highly praised. This EP is a prime example of their music : loud, abrasive, and in your face. Just how I like it.

Mustard Pimp - Cherry (Mustard Pimp Dark Remix)

2. Boys Noize - Starter
Remember what I said about needing a huge amount of skill to pull off glitch/Turkish producers? The first time I heard the glitchiness of Jeffer, I had it on constant repeat. That normally doesn't happen to me. Then a few months later, after having initially ignored Starter, I started listening to it a lot. Moral of the story is, this EP is good stuff.

Boys Noize - Jeffer

1. Fake Blood - Fix Your Accent
Blew my mind when I heard this. When I got my hands on this, I was expecting something similar to Mars. The Chicago House sound hit me hard, knocked me down, and made me completely forget about the type of song I was originally expecting from Fake Blood, which could be found in The Dozens if need arose. Say, that kid thinks of everything.

Fake Blood - Fix Your Accent

Round Up 2009 : Mixed Bag

The term 'Mixed Bag' can be represented by a bag of lollies. Inside the bag of lollies are chocolate, jersey caramels, and fruit chews, but with them lie liquorice, industrial strength popping candy, as well as the occasional sweet proudly claiming that it has 'no poison'. All in all, the good and the bad are in the same bag.

Fred Falke : In a time where peaceful, dream-like synths are gaining in popularity, you would think that one of the behemoths of the genre would stick to it. Apparently not. Even though I applaud him for having, what we Australians call, the balls to change, I'm not too sure about his new sound. But Mr. Falke is wise enough to keep enough of his sunshine synth in his productions to keep people hooked, and by changing his sound he's opening himself up to new fans and horizons, so I guess you can say Mr. Falke is one smart cookie.
2010? : As long as he retains enough of his signature sunshine, 2010 should be a healthy year for Mr. Falke.

Burns - First Move (Fred Falke Remix)

The Twelves : I don't know if it's just me, but a lot of the stuff from The Twelves just sounds stale and unappealing to me now. On the other hand, sometimes it's absolutely brilliant, oozing funk and glitter. Even so, I shouldn't have to force myself to listen to the majority of their remixes.
2010? : Should be a stellar year for The Twelves, considering the amount of blog love they get. Although they haven't been churning out as many remixes lately, but this probably means an album is in the works.

Terry Poison - Comme Ci Comme Ca (The Twelves Remix)

The Bloody Beetroots : The Bloody Beetroots have had a very successful year. Warp was an incredibly popular track, as was their album (it was advertised here in Australia on posters, which is uncommon). Problem is, a lot of Romborama is crud, as are the remixes that were aimed at capturing a wider audience. However, The Bloody Beetroots still manage to occasionally put out gems that hit us hard or make us cry (not really), and remind us just why we fell in love with them in the first place.
2010? : Although it probably won't be as successful as 2009, 2010 should treat The Bloody Beetroots quite well, especially if they can afford to set Pioneer CDJ1000s on fire.

Proxy - Who Are You? (The Bloody Beetroots Remix)

Boys Noize : I have to be honest - I didn't like Power. Everything else that Boys Noize released this year was right on the ball, but Power just didn't do it for me. I found the whole album incredibly repetitive, and not catchy at all, which is a shame, as an album based on the Starter EP would have met all my expectations and more.
2010? : Seeing as he released an EP and an album this year, I think it's safe to say we can expect a rest from Boys Noize, or at least some more of his spiffy remixes and edits.

Chromeo - Night By Night (Siriusmo Remix) (Boys Noize Edit)

2010 will be a great year. I can feel it. Can you?

Compression : VI

Hmm, another DMCA complaint. Asked around on Erol Alkan forum (of which lately I've become a junkie), and I've been advised it might be better to change my blogging ways, that is, get every track straight from the artists themselves. Obviously, it's going to take a while to build up a relationship with all these artists, but, I'll try to do it eventually. Anyway, you're probably thinking "Quitcherbitchin', where's the music?", so here it is.

So, you kids are probably overeager to here some new tracks, so I'll deliver, with some, err, Robbie Williams. Coolest kid out. But err, seriously, his new track Bodies might not be exceptional or cutting edge, but the remixers... well, are Fred Falke and Aeroplane adequate? Thought so.

Robbie Williams - Bodies (Fred Falke Club Mix)
Robbie Williams - Bodies (Aeroplane Remix)

Mars? No. Don't touch that, it's a classic. That won't stop Jack Beats from trying, and, well, he kinda pulls it off. Escalating, womping fun. Good on him.

Fake Blood - Mars (Jack Beats Remix)
Patrick Wolf - Hard Times (Jack Beats Remix)

Danger, where art thou? Apparently Danger is prowling around an Amazonian jungle, warping time to uncover more about the Code of The Pyramid. Or he's working on an album. Still haven't decided which reason I like more. Many have tried to fill in Danger's shoes, replicating his cinematic/computer game sound. But alas, none have reached his prowess. Until now. Meet Mille, a Swedish producer who may just be the new Danger (probably not, but he's pretty damn good). Check out Ghost Dancer and the Mowgli's Road remix. Wow.

Mille - Ghost Dancer
Mille - Crysteena
Marina & The Diamonds - Mowgli's Road (Mille Remix)

There has been a plethora of Night By Night remixes going around, so I'm just going to post a few. Smooth, '80s vocals, mixed with '80s synths. Sounds like it's straight from the '80s. '80s.

Chromeo - Night By Night (Redial Remix)
Chromeo - Night By Night (Siriusmo Remix)
Chromeo - Night By Night (Digikid84 Remix)

Michael Jackson is still a hot topic, mainly because of the new film about his swan song tour, This Is it. Anyway, I have a little gem here for you kids. It's an edit of Hot Street, a track that was meant to feature on the Thriller album. Apparently, Michael Jackson was quite fond of this track, but his producers/marketers thought the song just didn't quite make the cut. I think I'd have to side with MJ here, this track is brilliantly catchy.

Michael Jackson - Hot Street (U-Tern Edit)

And, here's some Screamo-Electro. What?

All Leather & The Bloody Beetroots - Mystery Meat
Bring Me The Horizon - Death Breath (The Toxic Avenger Remix)

Or some not-so-Bloody Beetroots:

Groove Armada - I Won't Kneel (The Bloody Beetroots Remix)

Rarche Out!

Disappointment

I expected better from these two. Any Fake Blood track should not go for one minute. And the Siriusmo remix of 'Shooting Stars' is criminally underdone. Not much is changed from the original, and what is changed, really isn't that spectacular.

Jay Z - Run This Town Ft. Rihanna (Fake Blood 1 Minute Mash)
Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars (Siriusmo Remix)

Some better efforts from Siriusmo, although Testliebe cuts out just before it gets exciting:

Siriusmo - Testliebe
Digitalism - Echoes (Siriusmo Remix)

Oh well. Fake Blood and Siriusmo are still brilliant.

The Uninvited Guest

Siriusmo is releasing his new EP, 'The Uninvited Guest'. How spiffy is the artwork? Big props to whoever made it, I kinda have a love of the colour red. Also love how it plays on the story of the 3 little pigs.

Okay, short story time. One of the tracks on this new EP goes by the name of 'The Door'. If you guys have been keeping up with my remix history, you would remember me making an ANNOYING remix, say, 6 months ago? It was this song. I made a remix of the song, 6 months before the song even came out! Pretty avant-garde, right kids?

Here's one of the new tracks. Nice, relaxing synths, with a title to match. It's not something that would instantly appeal to me, you have to give it time.

Siriusmo - Nights Off (Removed By Request)

One of his older ones. Short and sweet, this is a glitchy affair that one might aliken to Mr Oizo.

Siriusmo - Too Simple