Hello, Fred here! Iz me again! Been a while eh? Well, I was busy eating zeh cheese, drinking zeh wine and, considering the French don’t think “Québécois” is French, I guess I was also spending time learning zeh “French”… Oh, and also this (that isn’t me, it’s my friend):

In the past few weeks I’ve been finding pretty great tracks on the web. The first one I want to share with you is another track from Disclosure, which we already talked about here and here. The British (and surprisingly young) bro-duo has been gaining a lot of popularity lately and their debut album “Settle” is being released in a few days (June 4th), so make sure to grab it if you like this next track. I must admit that it is less unique than their other record “Latch”, described by Justin as a track “featuring the best bassline I’ve heard a long while and a vocalist who seems to change gender mid-song”, which is pretty damn accurate, but there’s just something about this track that keeps me from un-ticking that repeat button. Check it out:

I actually found this next track after listening to a new release that I received by email. Ferdinand Weber has been poking me a few times in the last months with his new stuff and I think he’s a very promising artist, but for some reason the track I ended up liking the most on his Soundcloud was an edit he did with Daniele Di Martino of a track by Dillon (not Francis god damn it). If you enjoy this next track at all, you should definitely check his Soundcloud page here, as you’ll most likely love his other releases too. Cute voice, cute beat, cute edit.

Some of you may have noticed that Major Lazer/Diplo is on fiiiire right now. Seems like even after releasing his newest album almost two months ago, this superhuman DJ has been dropping bomb after bomb after bomb in the EDM scene. This next track is in the album and is one of my favourites. I forgot Shaggy existed to be honest.

Still Major Lazer material, but this time it’s some beat best played live that makes me really want to see Major Lazer at a show asap. Raise your lighter in the air and get ready to go fucking crazy (and to burn your finger).

I stumbled on this next record while listening to a playlist during a very boring study session, it pumped me up quite a bit. It’s some kind of DnB but that feels somewhat underground. I really see myself listening to this in some abandoned factory at a rave while looking at how dumb people look when they do too much drugz. Do not forget to plug your subs people, this one’s worth it.

Before I end this post, I’d like to give out a little bit of love to the trance scene. If you didn’t check Armin’s essential mix last week, cancel your appointments for the next 3 hours and please grab it now (direct download link):

Hopefully my next post won’t be in 8 months, but we never know with me. Until then, say hi to your sister for me and cheers! (if you don’t have a sister your mom will do)

I made it out alive guys! They tried to take my happiness, to kidnap my 'joie de vivre'. Unfortunately, the hurricane that is finals left behind over a thousand papers scattered around my room. A clean-up operation is highly needed, and I, much like ex-president George W. Bush, will not be a part of it. Must I victimize my mother once again? Will she be the one to instil order in such a chaotic environment to which I feel a certain attachment towards (go anarchy)? That is the one thing I am most definitely not looking forward to when I move out. Don't get me wrong, independence is wonderful, but with it comes so many tiring and sisyphean responsibilities. Nevertheless, I am willing to compromise if it grants me the ability to sleep in before my classes.

     I’m surprised we’re managing to get a post out this week, due to the bevy of preparation each of us is faced with. Nikhil is unable to remove his nose from his scholarly texts, Fred is also busy studying, as well as seeing his brother off to Montreal and I am suitcase packing for a brief weekend trip to the US. An objective observer might say that I am in the best position to provide the Hawt’s lovely readership with some fresh tunes, but I know that this is the case. As in ‘yes,’ I am the one with the least going on, the most free time. In fact, my suitcase is already packed and I’ve been watching Jeopardy for the past half-hour, brazenly judging the show’s writers because every answer in the “Today’s Music” category was either Jessie J or Miley Cyrus. The sad part is, I aced the category, amassing more cash than a student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but I digress. Here are this week’s musical finds.

Yay for poor quality image editing!

     Dubstep pioneer Benga released his third studio album last week. My favorite cut from “Chapter II” is a collaboration with Kano called “Forefather.” You’ve almost certainly heard of it already since it’s been out as a single for over 2 months, but here it is again, because it’s just that good. Additionally, the album is available to be streamed for free here.

     I’ve already presented you Chris Malinchak, Isaac Tichauer and Jonas Rathsman. Moon Boots is also a ‘protector of the feel good’ and he’s proved that in the past with his fantastic remixes of Alison Valentine’s “Peanut Butter” and Bondax’s “Gold.” On Monday, he struck aurum once again with the release of “Love Strong” on French Express. As always with this label, the song is 100% free of charge, so go ahead and download that sucker.

     Not that it matters in the slightest, but it’s sometimes pleasant to have your taste in music validated. About 3 months ago, I heard Jeremy Olander’s remix of 16 Bit Lolitas’ “Chant a Tune” for the first time and kept it quiet because I had been posting lots of Prydz/Fehrplay/Olander. Last week, Above & Beyond played it on Group Therapy and it blew up online. Set for release on Bits & Pieces this Monday, here is the wonderful progressive house piece in all it’s glory.

     We’ve mentioned this next guy a few times because he’s an extremely promising up and comer, because he’s a local talent and because he’s a friend of the blog. Recently signed to Gareth Emery’s Garuda, Montreal native Rob Naylor will officially release his first track as part of the 3rd instalment of the ‘Sound of Garuda’ series. To welcome the compilation, some of the artists featured on it participated in a digital release party last night. Rob being one of the lucky few, he played a set live on Mixify that I am now going to redirect you to below. Check out the full mix here, or the preview for the ‘Sound of Garuda 3’ here.     

     Lastly, here’s this week’s video. In honor of Chris Hadfield’s return to Earth from the International Space Station, his version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” FROM SPACE.

     Have a great weekend!

     The Montreal Canadiens are disparaged, weakened and injured after losing game 4 to the Ottawa Senators. Lars Eller, Carey Price, Brian Gionta, Ryan White and Brandon Prust are all hurting and will not play in tonight’s game. While this may lead some to believe that the Eastern Conference’s 2nd seed is as good as eliminated, P.K. Subban has just scored late in the first, giving the Habs a tremendous amount of momentum that is sure to carry over to the 2nd period, where they will score enough goals to eradicate any trace of Craig Anderson’s confidence, thus transforming him into a turnstile. After this evening’s lopsided victory, the series returns to Ottawa, where Lars Eller will make a miraculous recovery, score a triple hat trick and teabag Eric Gryba at center ice. Game 7 is a lock in our favor and Les Habitants will move on to the 2nd round, where we will face the NY Islanders. Fingers crossed everybody.

     Last time I did it, you guys seemed to enjoy. So, here’s another list of mixes that I listened to and loved this week.

     Isaac Tichauer has a new EP out on French Express, but while the mix in which he first played those new cuts is well and good, it doesn’t come close to matching the level of awesome featured in his mixtape from march of this year.

     I don’t usually like techno, so I was apprehensive about checking out an RA mix, but the recent Solomun episode of the Resident Advisor podcast is truly great. I’ve listened to it at least 5 times already and I still get chills when he plays Charlie Chaplin’s speech from “The Great Dictator” over the beautiful “Charly” by Animal Trainer (13 mins in).

Update: 9:19PM: I just realized that the song bears the same name as “Charly” Chaplin, so the speech may be part of it. Either way, goosebumps.

     This year’s Pryda Essential Mix was one for the ages and drew comparisons with what Prydz purists believe to be one of his strongest radio recordings of all-time. The mix in question is Eric’s BBC appearance from 2007. Featuring tracks from Laurent Garnier and Josh Wink, as well as an early version of “Agag” from his 2012 album, the mix provides a close look into his musical development throughout the past 6 years.

    Jeremy Olander has stepped out of Eric Prydz’s shadow and has gained a significant following on his own. Two weeks ago, he premiered his very own radio show, Vivrant Radio, which is hosted with one of the most popular internet EDM radio stations, Frisky Radio. It lasts only an hour, but is filled with goodies from his Dhillon alias and an amazing new collaboration with Swedish band Kent.

Vivrant Radio 001 | 2013-04-22 by Jeremy Olander

     Have a good weekend and GO HABS GO!