Posted by: Matt

Back in the middle of 2010, Derek dropped a tip on this blog about a little Drum n Bass band called Pendulum in which he took time to emphasize the fact that they actually perform live as a real band - drums, guitars, synths, vocals, bass (guitar), and so on. I actually had a chance to check them out at their stop at the Fillmore in San Francisco last week, and though I didn’t know much more than that going in, I was definitely not disappointed.

Having tried it once or twice myself, I know how hard it can be to play “live” electronic music while both retaining the feel of the studio tracks AND keeping it interesting for the performers. What do you think? Did they pull it off? (tip: the answer is fuck yes).

(*I may have been the only person at the show who didn’t know this at the time, but they are playing live their own remix of Voodoo People by The Prodigy. Meta, no?)

Since I’ve really been enjoying their latest album Immersion, here are two taster tracks to whet your appetite:

Crush

Watercolour

If you like ‘em, go get the whole thing from iTunes or Amazon.

Posted by: Jay

With the ease of access these days to all types of electronic music production equipment, particularly software (Garage Band, Abelton Live, Cue Base, etc.), we’ve been seeing a steady blurring of the line between indi-rock and house music.  And this, as I see it, is a very good thing.  You get your dance beat AND your live instrumentation;  your synths AND your edgy vocals; your raver pants AND your fixed geared bikes.

This week on the Friday Five I’ve collected some of my favorite indi-dance tracks for you to rock out to.  Though be warned, listening to this might actually make your jeans tighter and your hat two sizes too small.  But hey, at least you’ll be cool. Enjoy!

DJ Jay - “IndiTronic” (right click and “save as…” to download)

Tracklist:
Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by: Jay

Friday five podcast featuring the best of the indi-rock/electronic dance music crossover. Enjoy!

Posted by: Jay

David Lynch: electronic dance music producer?  Yup, it’s true.  And he brought his friends.

The celebrated film director surprised just about everyone last month when he announced he had a new 12-inch in the works—a dance 12-inch, no less. The cheery, synth-pop inspired Good Day Today shows a very different side of Lynch, who built his fame on deeply weird and often disturbing films like Blue Velvet and Eraserhead, not to mention the classic cult series Twin Peaks (which, to be fair, had a pretty amazing soundtrack).

The first version of Good Day Today hit stores late last month. At the end of January, Sunday Best will release a deluxe edition of the record, featuring remixes of both tracks by Boys Noize, Sasha and Underworld. On a more underground tip, Norway’s diskJokke contributes a remix as well, along with ambient artist and film score composer Jon Hopkins.

Here are some of my favorite tracks of said record.  I already featured the diskJokke remix of “Good Day Today” on my last pocast “Love Lost”, so let’s get into some of the others.  First the Original tracks:

David Lynch - “Good Day Today”

David Lynch - “I Know”

And the remixes:

David Lynch - “Good Day Today” - Underworld Classic Remix

The name of this remix really says it all.  If the track info didn’t say 2011 I would swear it was straight out of the mid 90’s; some long lost Underworld B-side.

David Lynch - “I Know” - Sasha Remix

Did you really think that someone like David Lynch could drop a dark, broody single and Sasha NOT jump on board to do a remix?  A better question: exactly how long did it take Sasha to say yes?  1.3 seconds?  Ohh, and of course the track is top notch.  Its Sasha.

David Lynch - “I Know” - Jon Hopkins Remix

Hopkins takes different approach than Sasha on his “I Know” remix.  Instead of speeding the track up to traditional EDM speeds (~126 BPM) he keeps the slow pace of the original and goes for a more dark, electronica sound, a la Portishead.  I <3 the key change and power chords @ 3:05.

Should David Lynch keep his day job or does he have a future in electronic dance music?  Any remix in particular jump out at you?

Buy the single
David Lynch’s new website
Sunday Best

Posted by: Derek

I’ve been on a bit of a kick recently listening to classic tunes - the kind that actually stand the test of time and don’t sound super dated.

One of these, Chicane’s Saltwater, was an epic piece of work and a massive hit. Everything is in it’s right place, including Celtic vocals from Enya’s sister Máire Brenna. I hadn’t heard it in years but found it online recently, and it still sounds awesome.

I have no idea what surfing and clubbing have in common, but I’ll suspend disbelief as long as we have that siren song in the air…

Anyways, this song is pure melodic heaven. Sure, it’s a bit new agey in its way, but I bet if I dropped it today it’d have just as much impact…