Keeping It Fresh

Today we're heading towards the EDM and electronic side of music. I recently went to a show where Mat Zo was the headlining artists, and my goodness was I blown away. As an artist, Mat Zo has been known to dabble in genres that are kind of all over the place. Specifically though, he started out with trance music, and that is exactly the kind of show we got. Electronic music has taken on this interesting evolution, growing and shaping into different styles all the time. And there are definitely some things I love about the electronic music scene now, and there are definitely some things I am not a huge fan of as well. Now Mat Zo takes us back more old school. His set list was full of the progressive house and trance style we had around 2008. The pronounced beats, runway style sounds, and smooth synths to polish it off. I mean this show had everything! And I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed jamming out to the kind of electronic music which made me fall in love with the genre in...

As we make our way around the world, today's track is by a group which hails from Chengdu, China. For some people, that is an automatic clue as to which artist group is going to be featured today. In fact, this is a group that many people may recognize from reaction videos. Today is all about Higher Brothers. When I think of these guys, the first thing I do is chuckle. I have never heard a rap group master irony the way Higher Brothers do. The dark humor with which Higher Brothers writes and performs is so honest and quite insightful. The ambitious group is the face of Chinese hip hop and rap, especially trap rap. And what makes them incredibly special is that their is a hungry goal of bringing Chinese hip hop to a global stage. Western rap, Latin rap, and even Korean rap have made waves throughout the music world, and Higher Brothers aim to bring Chinese music to the game. There is so much that Higher Brothers does to make their flows and melodies such an ear worm. For starte...

As most of you know, I haven't been posting as frequently as I normally do. But I wanted to thank everyone who has stuck with this blog for as long as you have, and welcome all those who are new! I realized that we have made it to the close of five years, and have started the sixth year of this blog. It is crazy to imagine that five years ago I published my first post. And I am really proud of how far the blog has come along! I've even happier that I've been able to share so much music with so many of you readers, and am really grateful that you all have joined me on this ride! And now to the music at hand. I was recently introduced to an Austrian rapper by the name RAF Camora. I was immediately hooked to the song within the first few bars. The production of the track is phenomenal, and though I don't understand the lyrics, I do appreciate the lyrical style and rhythm. Stylistically, RAF Camora enters creates a soundscape that is starting to become popular within th...

Today I have a little bit of a shorter post, but I can promise you that it's a good one. Today I wanted to focus on ethnic music, particularly, Indian music. And I have music for you by an artist out of England by the name Zack Knight. Now this is a guy who has a really great thing going on in terms of musicality. In fact, this is something I have seen a lot more of, a nice resurgence of a style of music that definitely went underground for a few years before resurfacing. This hip-hop oriented music is a great style because it is a smooth fusion of Indian and Western music. I mean it is a straight flow between the two, switching between them and making sure the song gets some Hindi in there as well as English. Now this song, in particular, is definitely geared more towards English, with only a few verses done in Hindi and Punjabi, but I seriously haven't been able to get the song out of my head. I mean it has everything- a sick beat, a catchy chorus, and a really good vibe....

Today I have groovier music for you. These songs have a little bit more of a funky sound that you would think of regarding 80's music. This first song is a remix of a song by The 1975 by the incredible electronic artist, The Knocks. Not only is this originally a rather upbeat song by The 1975, but The Knocks really gives this a notch up. Now individually, The 1975 and The Knocks are very unique artists, bringing completely different sounds to their genre. But today, we are focusing on The Knocks, and in particular, how they made this song by The 1975 work with the electronic style The Knocks used in this song. Generally, The Knocks have a really wide spectrum of music that they cover, but this song is one of those more anomalous ones, the kind of song that isn't really part of their normal repertoire. But of course, they killed it! This remix is one that is so much fun to listen to. I really like this remix because it keeps with the original grooviness of t...

Today I have some interesting music for you, in the sense that you may find it a little bit quirky. Today's first song is by the ever incredible band by the name The White Stripes. Now The White Stripes is probably one of the most iconic bands of the late 90's and early 00's. This is a band that everyone seems to know, even if they have never heard a song by them. It is just one of those names that you know, regardless of what kind of music you listen to. What I like about this band is the blending of grunge rock and blues rock to create songs that have some really great bass guitar work in accompaniment with heavy drum work. The White Stripes tends to ditch the dependence on the electric guitar in favor of the lower tones and deep thrum of the bass guitar. This is a song that makes you automatically feel like a badass and a rebel. That is one of the things that The White Stripes can do to  you-make  you feel like the coolest and most suave person in the world. This song ju...

Today is day 3 of the ACL Festival line-up, and I've got some weird music for you. A music festival in Austin would be incomplete without the appearance of a popular artist who could also be the poster child for "Keep Austin Weird." Die Antwoord is a South African rap-rave group who takes the word "eclectic" very seriously. The creative outlet that Die Antwoord has is one that people either love or find to be a joke. Now I won't lie, my first experience with Die Antwoord left me pretty shocked and confused. I didn't know how I felt about the group, and even now I am still unsure. But what I can tell you, is that they have a huge cult following. Die Antwoord's style is described as "zef" which basically translate to modern-trashy. Which I actually really understand since watching them perform and listening to their music. The music itself isn't trashy, but the style makes it sound like a chaotic and raw kind of sound. Since I don't h...

Today I have some soulful chillstep for you. Weird I know, but something that I actually really really like. This song has a little bit of a Flume feel to it, but is a little less intense and a little more fun. But there are some stylistic elements that both Draper and Flume share. But what I like about Draper is that he still gives this song a little bit of a bubbly sound to it. This song is one that makes you feel both happy and chilled out all at once. But one thing that I am actually super happy about is the fact that Draper brings back the glitch hop kind of sound. Glitch music has taken a bit of a backseat, with people favoring standard EDM or trap styles. But this is so well done, and the glitches give the song this almost ethereal kind of feel to it. To be honest, I think this would make an awesome contemporary dance track. But I digress a bit. This song has this really smooth blend of glitch work and R&B, something that goes very well together. When you look at a lot of mu...

Today I have some hard hitting music from the electronic world, a sound that I haven't really posted about in a long time. There was a phase in music recently which put trap at the forefront of what was popular in a lot of spheres. However, a lot of times it wasn't necessarily the kind of trap music that a lot of heavy EDM listeners were familiar with. Much of what the world knows about trap right now, is based on a pop music skewed view on the musical genre. But there is a ton of music, this song included, out there that is more related to the actual definition of trap. This song is by Two Feet, a group that most people have never heard and probably won't ever hear of in most music venues and spaces. Two Feet is a smaller and underground artist who does a lot of work in the more chilled out sphere of trap. This song is a really smooth sailing song. There aren't any heavy hitting, earth shattering drops, and there aren't any weird robotic sounds programmed into the ...

Today I have a really cool and slightly weird song for you. Now this is actually a mashup of two songs by Fetty Wap. But, this is a punk and hardcore rock version of the mashup. Which is normally really strange to think about, but Zak Diesal pulls it off so well and honestly I am pretty much in shock at how good this cover is. There is something about that stereotypical punk voice, the kind that borders that metal voice. It is really deep and the vowels are more elongated and I just love the way it sounds, as if they could let out a little bit of a screamo type scream any moment. That could be the inner rocker in me, but man I have to say Zak Diesal has a hell of a voice. I know this is normally not the kind of thing that people listen to, and not the kind of voice most people know and appreciate. But I can definitely tell you that this is a really wicked sound, something that any serious rocker would kind of drool over. Now Zak Diesal does an absolutely incredible job of turning Fetty...

Today I have some good, solid electronic house music for you. In particular, I have some Dutch house for you, by the one and only Afrojack. What is Dutch house you ask? In a nutshell, Dirty Dutch is that electronic music style that incorporates a lot of Latin beats and rhythms, with less emphasis on the bass and high pitched synths. Actually when you listen to Dutch house, we don't really hear that high pitched and squeaky synth that we get from other genres. Which I am not complaining about because that gets to be way too much for me sometimes. But this song is actually the remix done by R3hab, another Dutch house artist, and Dyro. This remix is a fast paced, action packed song. I mean this is the kind of song that can keep you pumped up for hours, especially when on the workout grind. This is actually on my workout playlist because if is so full of energy and has that relentless thump that makes it nice and rhythmic. R3hab is an artist who has dabbled in different styles of music...

Today I have some wicked music for you by a multitude of artists. This song is mainly a collaboration between Yogi, Pusha T, and Skirllex, but the other artists featured in the song make this into something that is sick and absolutely hype. We all know Skrillex has the reputation of being quite a hype artist, a musician who can turn music into something that is more fluid and free form, into something robotic and crisp. This is not a bad thing, whatever people may think. For the genre and style of music that Skrillex produces, that crisp and sharp sound is a perfect compliment to the very electronic sound that he has. Skrillex does not try to dim the level of electronic usage in his music, which I definitely can appreciate. In this song we get to hear a lot more of a combination of styles with Skrillex's instrumental work. For a good portion of the song, Skrillex does not employ the use of his signature electronic scratch. In fact, most of this song is focused on heavy hitting beat...

Today I have some music for you because Google is finally back up and working. Now today I have music for you by an artist out of England by the name Zack Knight. Now this is a guy who has a really great thing going on in terms of musicality. In fact, this is something I have seen a lot more of, a nice resurgence of a style of music that definitely went underground for a few years before resurfacing. Now this is a great style of music because it is a smooth fusion of Indian and Western music. I mean it is a straight flow between the two, switching between them and making sure the song gets some Hindi in there as well as English. Now this song in particular is definitely geared more towards English, with only a few verses done in Hindi and Punjabi, but I seriously haven't been able to get the song out of my head. I mean it has everything- a sick beat, a catchy chorus, and a really good vibe. I definitely would consider this song to have a seductively thrilling kind of sound. Everyth...

Today I have some wickedly amazing electronic music for you. This first song is by an artist that I love so much for many reasons. Seven Lions is an electronic act that never disappoints both with album mixes and live mixing. Seven Lions has this very unique style of music that is very trance like and ambient, but is also something that you would definitely catch yourself dancing too. I know that I cannot help but sing and belt out the lyrics to his songs. Seven Lions never fails to have vocalists that are stunning. I mean pretty much every electronic act has incredible vocalists, but Seven Lions chooses vocalists that seem to be specifically for electronic music. These vocals fit like no other vocals could and it is just incredibly perfect. Tove Lo provides the vocals in this song and they are so powerful and transient. This is one of those songs where the voice is able to take you out of Earth and have you soar around in space, floating about the planets and their colorful rings. Thi...

Today I have some more sentimental music for you. I was going through my Facebook today, when I happened upon a post that The Script had made. And in this post, it talked about the five songs that changed their lives. For each member, what were the five songs that proved to be the most significant pieces of music in their lives? And that was a really hard question for me to answer. It is a question that I still do not have a definitive answer for because of how my musical journey was mapped out. But I found this question to be one of the most beautiful questions ever asked. Having to think about those five songs mean that they are worth remembering. It means that they are songs that mark moments in life that are so precious and are reminiscent of the moments that sculpted you as a person. Now this question is one that makes you think of the soundtrack to your life. Everyone has one, we all have those special songs for those special moments. These songs would be on the album of greatest...

Today I have some really cool music for you. Both of these songs have an ethnic and cultural feel to them, so that shakes things up a bit! This first song is an older song from the world of Bollywood. Now it isn't super old, as in from the 70's or 80's. But this song comes from the early years of my childhood and strangely enough, is one that I still remember listening to for the first time. This song comes from the movie Dhoom, a trilogy of movies centered around a cop and catching criminals. This is the main theme for the first of these movies. This is the first song to represent the series, and I love it! I have actually heard some sick remixes of this song, but haven't been able to find them on YouTube, which is a tragedy. But all three movies have had awesome theme songs. Each one has been different, depending on the plot of the movie. But all in all, definitely am happy with the way the songs turned out. So this one being the oldest, being the original, features a...

It has been quite a while since I have posted any kind of hip hop, and today I decided to explore the European style! Its quite incredible to hear some of the great talent and awesome beats that go on with artists like this. This first song is by the Swedish rapper known as Petter. I have absolutely no idea what he is saying, but I really like the beat and overall smooth feel of the song. Today's instrumental song is pretty sick and is a version of one of my favorite rap songs which happens to be by Trey Songz. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!

Today I have some music for you by one of my favorite rappers ever, Tinie Tempah. This song is such a boss song with so many things going on that makes it pretty damn sick. First, the song starts off with a hook that is absolutely contagious and is one that will not leave you standing still. From the get go I was on my feet dancing away to the beat. And then that initial beat segues into a heavy trap feel that really gets you dancing. There is something about this beat that induces extreme movement and causes you to want to get on the floor and show the world what you've got. The lyrics to this song are pretty crazy and I think it's kind of awesome how he references so many different artists from all genres in this song. I also like the fact that his English accent pops out sometimes and it somehow adds more of a bad ass feel to this song. Now  normally, I am not a huge fan of 2 Chainz, but his featured part is not bad. This time, he sounds like a legitimate rapper instead of a...

Today I have some music by the artist, Krewella! This song is pretty awesome! It can be a dancing song or something that you just chill to. Her voice is fabulous and the drop is so sick! Krewella got really popular within the last year, and despite the fact that one of the members dropped off, they are still making really great music. Krewella is an interesting mix between dubstep and house sounds, making them the kind of act that has the versatility to fluctuate between the two. This song is definitely dubstep based, which means there is a lot of the more robotic sounds in it. A lot of times dubstep can get a little too much for me because the DJs overkill the robotic/video game sounds. But Krewella thankfully does not do that and saves that intensity for the drops. The underlying bass is pretty heavy so it sounds incredible with the volume up! Today's instrumental is by DotEXE. This song has an awesomely chill but a pretty intense sound as well! This song is something you can rea...

Today I have some soulful chillstep for you. Weird I know, but something that I actually really really like. This song has a little bit of a Flume feel to it, but is a little less intense and a little more fun. But there are some stylistic elements that both Draper and Flume share. But what I like about Draper is that he still gives this song a little bit of a bubbly sound to it. This song is one that makes you feel both happy and chilled out all at once. But one thing that I am actually super happy about is the fact that Draper brings back the glitch hop kind of sound. Glitch music has taken a bit of a backseat, with people favoring standard EDM or trap styles. But this is so well done, and the glitches give the song this almost ethereal kind of feel to it. To be honest, I think this would make an awesome contemporary dance track. But I digress a bit. This song has this really smooth blend of glitch work and R&B, something that goes very well together. When you look at a lot of mu...