Damn, it’s been pretty cold in Tokyo this February. Had a couple of days last week with real snow, even.
Because it’s Tokyo, it doesn’t really pile up, but it sure looks cool in the air.
My reseller’s office that I work out of here is in Aoyama (next to Shibuya), on the 11th floor, so I got a great view of the flowing white crystals all day long. Even though Japanese offices usually work long hours, I made sure to stay sane as the picture above shows ^_^.
Another thing that makes me sane is good progressive trance, and we’ve got some epic progressive cuts this month that straddle the line between house and trance but keep it super atmospheric. Got some fresh Japanese prog in there with a totally weird cut from Akugawa-sensei, and some Bay Area love with local favorite SNR.
Along with counting all of my other blessings this year (including the gifts of good health, a loving family and a poverty free life) I wanted to once again take the time to be grateful for all the wonderful, diverse sounds of electronic dance music we’ve been treated to in 2011.
I’m thankful that Electron Dance Music has been liberated from 125-140 beats per minute.
Here are two of my favorite “mid-tempo” tracks this year. Of course one of them features Dillon Frnacis, my new EDM crush. I <3 him so much!
I’m thankful EDM super stars are blurring the lines between genres
With the resurgence of guys like Fedde Le Grand, peak of their prime guys like Afrojack, Deadmau5 and Steve Aoki, and the continued excellence of old-school guys like Tiesto we are in EDM talent boom the likes of which we’ve never experienced. And my favorite part? They are collectively pushing EDM beyond previously established genre boundaries.
House, trance, electro, progressive? No longer relevant on their own. I mean I GUESS you could call these tracks “big room progressive house” but that wouldn’t be doing them justice. Progressive Electro Trance? Probably a more accurate description, but the label isn’t what’s important.
What IS important is that the greatest talent in the game is willing to evolve their sound to such a degree that they are forging typical genera limitations. This takes all of EDM to a better place, and for this I am grateful.
On behalf of all The Beatery writers, DJs and editors I’d like to give all of you thanks for reading, comenting and most of all: listening! We love this music so much it’s our pleasure sharing it with you.
Have a wonderful thanksgiving, there’s so much to be grateful for!!
DJing on the radio is a weird experience. You’re in this foreign place so it doesn’t have the same feel as playing at home, but you’re also completely by yourself so it’s not at all like spinning at club, disco, lounge, basement or block party. Us DJs feed of he energy of the crowd, so having them out of the equation was certainly a bit odd.
That being said, I had the BEST time on the “The Big Love Show”! This was certainly aided by the massive, ohhh so sweet sounding speakers speakers in Stanford’s KZSU studio, the professionalism of host Jonathan Barns, and all the people who called into the station, texted me and posted to facebook saying that they were digging the music! Thanks so much everyone!
The DJ before me was playing some really techy stuff so I took my time in the beginning working up through progressive house and into some more bouncy Carnival House. The second and third tracks are actually two of my fav prog house releases to come out in recent years so it was great to finally get them on a recording and I know we ALL love the Carnival House. There’s a great blend of classics and brand new tracks on here, be sure to check out the new Yolanda Be Cool (the team that brought you the the 2010 smash hit “We Speak No Americano”) and Bass Kleph joints that I literally got the night before!
So without further adieu here’s part one of my three hour Halloween KZSU “Big Love Show” session!
Right along the 246 highway that connects half of western Tokyo together, there’s a little area called Mishuku. It’s a super cute residential neighborhood that’s at once quiet and easily liveable, and also retains some spunk with some killer restaurants and bars.
Though in Mishuku, almost none of the bars are ground level - you either go upstairs, even for music venues, or down into the depths under the street — which feels more natural for vampires like us.
So in tribute to the place I’ve been living for most of my recent sojourns to Japan - here’s some prog flow that’s both comfortably rockin, but got some tech bite and edginess around the sides.
Not to be outdone by Cor and Flicker’s recent Electro Swing posts, I’d like to bring my own bouncy house sub-genre to this party: Carnival House!
Like many EDM sub-genres it’s a bit hard to describe what makes a House track Carnival, but you definitely know it when you hear it. Does it call up images of carnival rides whirling around, lights blazing against the darkened sky? Probably Carnival House. Does it make you think of clowns on acid dancing?? Definitely Carnival House.
In reality a lot of the tracks have Balkan, Latin, and Swing influences, rely heavily on the up beat and often feature horns of some kind… but I just like to think of them as cotton candy and Ferris Wheel influenced. Check it:
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