Posted by: Derek

So, I’ve had a melody in my head forever. It’s super simple, but by virtue of that it’s been stuck with me for months now without me having any clue what it was. Now that’s got some hookiness.

The melody, it turns out, is from a song by the venerable 4 Strings (known for “Take Me Away”), and it’s the one in the video up top. Thanks to local DJ and friend Ryan Russell for helping me locate it!

I love the sound of this tune - it’s super effective, emotional, and hooky, yet not cheesy. And once again, simple. Good lord. Way to go 4 Strings for doing it again.

Bonus:

Above&Beyond played a special super secret mashup of this tune with Morgan Page’s “The Longest Road” at Trance Around The World 350 in LA . Apparently you can’t find it anywhere, but thanks to the magic of the internets, you can enjoy it on the tube:

Posted by: Flicker

For lack of a better theme for a post, here’s a few guilty pleasure dance covers that I like.   But I only admit to this thanks to the cover of internet anonymity.

Toxic by Brittany Spears ~ remixed by Society Suckers

China Girl by David Bowie ~ remixed by Moogue

Another Dimension by The Beastie Boys ~ reimagined by Timmy Vegas & Bad Lay-Dee

Plug In Baby by Muse ~ remixed by Rackit

Play All

What are YOURS! Don’t pretend like you don’t have any - you’re better than that.  Well, some of you anyway.

Posted by: Cor

So You Think You Can Remix started as a sub-feature of our annual year-end EDM producer showdown, but I think it’s about time we add it to the regular rotation. No matter the season, it’s always fun to hear an electronic artist twist a song from another genre into a dance-friendly production.

First up, we have the 2009 single Crystalised by British indie quartet “The XX.” The sparse production of the original makes it an easy remix target, and a number of artists from Gorillaz to Neon Lights have already had their way with the track. However it’s a remix from Finger Lickin’ breakbeat duo Slyde that takes the prize. They transform the single into a genre-bending dubstep/house crossover that balances the slow, haunting vocals of the original with a double-time house groove to keep the dancefloor moving. It’s quite a feat. Have a listen to XX’s original and Slyde’s remix and drop us a comment to let us know what you think.

The XX - Crystalised (Original)

The XX - Crystalised (Slyde Remix)

Back to back

Posted by: Derek

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve probably heard of Brian Transeau, aka BT. He’s been legendary in the scene, and his effects on electronic music of all genres is undeniable.

Recently, he’s been having a remix contest, and a friend of mine has put forth a damn good entry into this that I’d like to share with you.

Swapneel Ukulkhar, better known in the music scene as SNR, put alot of energy into taking BT’s single “The Emergency” to the next level with some serious stabby progressive work, agressive bass bits, glitches, and atmospheres to die for. The results are fantastic, and the vibe is undeniable.

The contest is driven by user voting, so if you dig this like I do, give SNR your vote!

Check out his remix in the widget below by clicking on the “Play My Entry” button — I think you’ll like ^_^!

For more on SNR, check out his website…

Eat local b33ts!

update - for your convenience, here’s the tune on YouTube as well:

Posted by: Derek

Heya there fine Beatery folks!
I’m going nuts prepping for Miami, so this is gonna be a quick one, but I wanted to get this out there…

Above & Beyond are certainly a household name to anyone into dance music, especially in the Trance genre tho they have been known to do the odd prog house number as well. This trio from the UK has truly been one of the driving forces behind the evolution of the trance scene with their Anjunabeats label.

In addition, they’ve done some sick production together, and their tunes seem always destined to become iconic from the first beat onwards.

Paavo, Jono and Tony are back again with another single off their forthcoming album, and it’s massive.
Though I heard this for the first time on their radio show, the next time was in Ruby Skye, and it blew everyone away - something about the percussive snappy groove and the huuuuuge waves of the melodic synth (produced with some reverb tricks and LOTS of compression) make this a very powerful tune live.

Honestly I could take or leave the actual vocal of the track, but the production behind it is tops.

Check out Above & Beyond, Sun & Moon:

Wow, that’s some massive, ne?

There are also some great remixes of this track - my fave is Dennis Sheperd’s interpretation (check it when the bassline comes in at like 1:07):

Wow. Zzzzzzap! Boom!

If you dig these - snap em up on iTunes!