American DJ and producer Wes James, otherwise better known as Le Youth, first came to fame last summer with his debut track C O O L, a groovy R&B/House track heavily sampling Cassie’s song Me & U. The single received enormous attention on his SoundCloud played and was a huge hit in the UK and Denmark. Since his first single he has only come out with one additional track, a techno dance track named Dance With Me sampling TLC’s No Scrubs (which has been a very popular track for DJs to sample recently) and featuring the young, popular rapper Dominique Young Unique. Dance With Me is just as brilliant as his debut single and has received ample attention from listeners and DJs/producers around the globe.
Alright, spring break is long gone, St. Patty’s Day has past, and Rites is a whole four weeks away, not to mention that the weather in Nashville has been the biggest tease ever, giving us 70 degree weather one day and then cold rainy weather the next. What is there to look forward to anymore??? Well don’t worry, I’ve collected some fresh new remixes for you all to listen to when you’re writing that essay or studying for that quiz. These tunes will get your spirits up and remind you that the weekend is never that far away.
Spring Break is nearly here for the students! With less than two weeks until the unofficial halfway point of the semester and the weather warming up from the 30’s to the 60’s, the latter half of February is looking pretty good! I don’t know about the rest of y’all but I’ve been having a hard time finding some new dance tunes to pump me up for the break (if you have any send them my way!). But luckily for you all, I’m about to introduce a new artist by the name of Kiesza and her breakout tune Hideaway.
The month of February is inevitably linked to Valentines Day, a holiday most college students (or at least the ones at Vandy) love to hate on. Nobody likes to see unnecessary PDA or patiently listen to how their roommate received the cutest yet cheesiest gift from their significant other. So to help us all get through these next few weeks, here are my top 5 electronic songs that feature the word “love” in the track title. Who says you can’t spend Valentine’s Day swooning over some good tunes and indulging in chocolates?
27 year old Hudson Mohawke (HudMo), real name Ross Birchard, has become quite the DJ and producer over the last several years. Most people probably know his name because he makes up one half of the duo TNGHT, or because he helped produced Kanye West’s most recent album, Yeezus (him and Lunice, the other half of TNGHT, had the most influence over Kanye’s track Blood on the Leaves which is my favorite track!). Over winter break I was most fortunate and spent nearly a month in Glasgow, Scotland, where HudMo is from, and (almost!!) ran into him several times in the small but vibrant city. Call me ignorant but I hadn’t heard his name before winter break although I knew and listened to TNGHT’s music, and as he’s a “local celebrity” in Glasgow, I had to catch up on all the gossip and news going around town concerning HudMo.
Before the official release of Bugg’s sophomore album Shangri La, he released two singles from the album What Doesn’t Kill You and Slumville Sunrise, which featured a significant development in Bugg’s music from his first debut album Jake Bugg. The two singles were much heavier, rockier, and fast moving; that’s definitely not a bad thing by any means, but I fell in love with Jake Bugg’s music because it felt real, genuine, and I liked the folky acoustic sound in all of his songs. So while I was excited to listen to Shangri La, I was worried it would disappoint my expectations for Bugg. But, it’s amazing and everyone should listen to it.
London born electronic producer Gold Panda’s sophomore album Half of Where You Live, released this past June, showcases his experiences jetsetting throughout the world for the past three years, and boy is it a treat for the ears. The album stays fresh yet minimal by sampling different vibes from South American, Asian, and European countries in tracks named like An English House, Brazil, My Father in Hong Kong 1961, and Enoshima.
With his album Shangri La coming out November 18, Jake Bugg has released the second official single titled Slumville Sunrise. His new album will feature artists such as Jason Lader, Pete Thomas, and Pete Thomas.
Now let me say singer-songwriter Jake Bugg is hands down my all time favourite artist in the whole world, so when he released his newest single around two weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised by the harsher, tougher, sound of What Doesn’t Kill You, marking a huge shift from the indie folk/rock sound of his debut album Jake Bugg. For his fans who prefer the tracks with just Bugg’s voice and his acoustic guitar (Simple as This, Country Song, Note to Self, Someone Told Me), it may take some time for the new single to grow on them, but Bugg’s charismatic voice and intimately personal lyrics only get better with each listen.
You’ve heard him on Rudimental’s track Feel the Love (and if you haven’t here’s a link), but John Newman is making it big. Call it soul, r&b, funk, whatever you want, but Newman’s music is unbelievably catchy and charismatic, and although he’s only released a handful of singles (his debut album is set to release October 14!), his climb to fame is attracting attention throughout the UK and seeping its way into America.
Malcolm Middleton, a musician from Falkirk, Scotland, was once part of the duo Arab Strap before embarking on a solo career and releasing five albums in the span of seven years. However, seeking yet another creative outlet, Middleton decided to take on the pseudonym of Human Don’t Be Angry, a translation of the German board game “Mensch ärgere Dich nicht”, releasing his first self-titled album in 2012. This new solo project is a completely new departure from his previous heartachey lyrics and mellow indie rock sounds; Human Don’t Be Angry is a largely electronic instrumental album.