Below is a live DJ set from Beatery favorite Zodiac Cartel, shamelessly reposted from his Soundcloud page. It’s full of the techy, funky, sloppy-clap goodness we’ve all come to expect from the man. If you’re a regular Beatery listener, you’ll surly recognize more than a few of the jams in this epic two-hour tech-funk throwdown. Enjoy.
It seems like it’s been a long while since I’ve posted any proper electronic dance music, so today I’d like remedy that by to introducing you an unsung favorite. Meet Sam Hell. He’s quickly becoming my go-to producer for ass-shaking funky electro, now that the Plump DJs have gone all rave-wobble on me. And while he doesn’t seem to have as many different tricks up his sleeve as the aforementioned duo, he consistently delivers bouncy beats that get a reluctant dance floor moving. Let me give you a taste of Hell…
Cosimo
An older breaks number, this is the song that made me sit up and take notice of Mr. Hell. It reminds me of the Plumps of yore… especially when it gets around to that funky melodic hook near the end of the track.
Algebra
This is his latest single. Not much more than a syncopated bassline and some techy stuff on top, but sometimes that’s all you need in a club track.
Mothership
And rounding out the sampler we have this rolling progressive house cut. I love the breakdown in this one. That dramatic piano and synth combination almost has a Muse vibe to it.
PLAY ALL
For those of us with shit to do.
If you like what Sam Hell’s got going in these tracks, you can pursue more of his work on Beatport and even Amazon.
First, Adam Freeland was after your soul. Then Benny Benassi needed satisfaction. In 2010, England’s Cakeboy steps up to fill the chantable, disaffected robot vocal gap with Swamp Thing.
Surprisingly often the A-side of many singles end up in the shadow of any of many remixes that may follow (or were deliberately solicited to maximize commercial viability). In this case though I think the original version holds ground quite firmly as a sunny electro-breaks jam that doesn’t break any new ground but hits all the right notes and sweet spots you would want/expect from this well-flogged territory. The JFB remix turns the lights down a bit and staggers into Dubstep territory, but don’t let that scare you away. The crunch is all still there along with a few new melodic phrases that add a nice darkness to the track that is missing in the original (hey, it’s about a monster after all!).
This week our podcast is a LIVE performance by Future Universal’s DJ KidHack from California Academy of Science’s Nightlife event (at which I had the great fortune to play again the other week) and it is a whopper of Tropical Bass delight.
What is “Tropical Bass” you ask? Why, how fortunate it is for the uninitiated that we have such an excellent example RIGHT HERE. Nocturnal, misty, and tribal, be warned that it’ll probably give your spirit panther boners.
If you dig the sweaty vibes and don’t mind the mosquitos, check out KidHack’s home on these here internets for tons more music.
Hey party nerds, it’s time once again for theFuture Universal crew to host Nightlife at the California Academy of Science! The Beatery’s own Matt Haegen (aka myself) will be downstairs in the beautiful blue aquarium, and so for fun I have three tracks about water for today. A mix of old, classic, and classic-ish, I think they help set the mood nicely.
Full event details are HERE. Hope to see some of you locals there! For our out-of-state readers, if you are ever in the glorious SF Bay Area, this party is not to be missed.
