Showing posts with label Swedish House Mafia. Show all posts

100 Posts Woot-Woot!

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Aight so today’s post is a very special one: Not only are we writing while playing Xbox with some Cheetos & rum at 3 am, it’s also the 100th  post on the HAWT (EDIT: we started writing this then, and then got too into owning Justin). So we decided it was a good time to look back on some classic tunes, all of the following are reposts.

Starry Eyed Surprise (Jakwob Remix) – Ellie Goulding                                Still one of my favourites after all this time

Pro Nails (Rusko Remix) – Kid Sister                                                 Pretty much a song that got many of us started on dubstep.

Exposure – Gareth Emery                                                                    This song is so good, it made Justin love trance, even Will admitted it “isn’t bad”. That’s Right!

A Juicy Intro (Ha-Yes! Mashup) – Notorious B.I.G. vs. The XX                  Already with the epic sound of Intro, Biggie’s lyrics just made it the shit.

One – Swedish House Mafia                                                                   I mean, come on…

Pacha On Acid – Afrojack                                                                     Started to hear this song everywhere after it was posted. I think the Hawt deserves all the credit really…

Pon de Floor (Diplo Rap Remix) – Diplo

Love – Borogre                                                                                   A track with lyrics we can all enjoy and chant out loud

Dynamik – Michael Woods

Ferry Corsten Set at Bal en Blanc.                                                Possibly one of the best  sets any of us has heard. Period. 

Aight so we’ve had a lot of good times, you know laughing at Justin and all, but it pretty much pales in comparison to Fred “fight” with Ultra Records which basically ended with this. GTFO!

Oh and like no post is complete without a picture, here’s a classic:

 

image

A City of Wonder, a Vote for Disaster

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During the past few weeks, The Hawt has become a forum for previewing, reviewing and critiquing electronic music events in Montreal. In the spirit of consistency, this post begins with more proof towards the thrilling aspects of the city’s nightlife.

montreal_at_night2

Sunday, October 17th was a special night for both Ellis and myself. Having to choose between Rusko and Laidback Luke is never an easy task. There is a reason why the Superbowl and Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals are not on the same night. We decided to go our separate ways and focus and two different genres. For the purpose of this post, Ellis was kind enough to provide me with his take on the night:

“Put’Em Up Put’Em Up Put’Em Up Put’Em Up

Aight so on the same night Justin went to Laidback Luke, some friends and I went to the Just For Laughs Studio to see Rusko and, needless to say, it was insane! People fighting, hitting, pushing, swearing; everything a good dubstep concert should have. For those who haven’t seen him live, what really makes him special is that every now and then, he grabs the mic and starts either singing, shouting or whatever he feels like doing. So anyways, back to the event, Vilify (think that’s how you write it, my bad if it aint) opened for him and on top of being hot and pretty good, she’s supposedly the one that takes care of almost everything dubstep in Montreal. Rusko came on at around 1ish and by that time, my friends had already ditched me and I was all alone, but that did not make it any less awesome! He played a lot of his older tracks mixed in with a few from his new album and obviously, some crazy reworks that you’re never able to find anywhere, which just pisses you off.

rusko2

Rusko – Hammertime

Doctor P – Sweet Shop (Friction vs Camo & Krooked Drumstep Remix)

The second track was a total crowd killer, literally. When you expect the Sweet Shop drop, but get this d&b style craziness instead, there is no choice but to jump around and hit people. Oh, and just as a complementary track to one I’m sure Justin will post, here’s a Wolfgang Gartner and Justice mashup.

Justice vs. Wolfgang Gartner - Illmerica Is Your Friends (Steve Camp Mashup)

The tone of his guest post communicates the intensity and superb entertainment of the night, two things that have become synonymous with a live Rusko concert. Coincidentally, I would use the same attributes to qualify the show I attended. Although Laidback Luke performed at Electric Zoo, we were only able to watch him from the line for the Above & Beyond signing. Owning a t-shirt signed by two of the members of one of the greatest DJ trios is a privilege, but as I would soon learn, it cannot be compared to watching a true master of house music.

The event was held at club Muzique, a relatively new addition to the Montreal scenery. Even though it was meant to be 21+, I was able to enter with my name on the guest list (more on this later). The crowd erupted when Luke made his entrance and the cheering did not stop until 3 a.m. As I am sure that most of you have noticed, electronic music has undergone a slight metamorphosis lately. The lines between genres are being blurred and it is becoming much more difficult to classify tracks. Laidback is an exception to this rule. Every mix he played was pure house, something that became very evident when considering his song choices. Two of my favorite moments of the night were when he played the Congorock remix of “One” and when he mixed Till’ Tonight with Miami to Ibiza. Another fantastic moment occured near the end of the night, when he payed his respects to his music’s ancestor, disco. He gave Axel F the moans from Pon de Floor and quickly transitioned to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”. As far as his own tracks are concerned, Laidback Luke also played his popular remix of Robbie Rivera’s “Rock the Disco”. Here are two tunes from the soiree, as well as his newest bootleg.

laidback muzique

Jay-Z ft. Swizz Beats - On To The Next One (Laidback Luke Bootleg)

Swedish House Mafia - One (Congorock Remix)

Robbie Rivera - Rock The Disco (Laidback Luke Edit)

Lets fast forward to this past Tuesday, October the 26th. The stage was set for another evening at Muzique, this one to celebrate the club’s one-year anniversary. The owners invited all of their resident DJs to open for Avicii, the night’s main act. Just like Laidback Luke, the event was meant to be 21+, so I called Muzique and asked to add Ellis, as well as myself to the guest list. Please explain to me how the following makes any sense: I was allowed to enter for Laidback Luke, but we were denied access for Avicii. As far as I know, the rules for both nights are identical; 21+, but 19+ with guest list. Even Ellis’ skills in the art of persuasion could not convince the bouncer to let us is, although he did not try long enough to get any results. The look he gave us let us know it was time to go. I can only hope the young Swede comes back to Montreal some time in the near future. Here is a remix of his from Tiësto’s “Kaleidoscope Remixed”.

Tiësto ft. CC Sheffield - Escape Me (Avicii Remix)

Enough with the events, here are a few new tracks that I have been dying to share with you for a while.

As Ellis correctly predicted in his guest post, the mashup he posted is an excellent complement to this next song. Ever since this artist was first discussed on The Hawt, he has been in constant rise, touring around the world while collaborating with huge producers and putting his own spin on the popular Electro House subgenre. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him at the Electric Zoo festival, where he put on an absolute beast of a performance. This tune has garnered lots of attention, earning the support of Laidback Luke and Gareth Emery. Here is the newest release from Wolfgang Gartner, a song that will certainly be featured on his upcoming artist album, due sometime early in 2011.

Wolfgang Gartner-Illmerica

Wolfgang Gartner - Illmerica (Extended Mix)

As Fred pointed out in his previous post, we’ve been slacking when it comes to dubstep. Although pickings have been slim, I do have a brand new one that will surely make you crave more deep synths and the overall dirty sound most of you have come to love. This is latest Borgore track. I’ve got to give a shout out to Gotta Dance Dirty; they have an amazing blog, go check it out if you haven’t already.

Borgore - Sex Instructions Dub

This next one has been sitting in Beatport’s Electro House top 10 for quite some time. When I posted about Hey Today!’s “Toasted” back in early June, I honestly believed they were a lower-tier, underground German duo. However, their latest remix of Tiga’s “You Gonna Want Me” has shot them into the spotlight and displayed the innovation they impose onto their music. I really enjoy listening to this track, especially from the 3:40 mark, where they divert from the tune’s core beat. Instead, they put an electro sound onto Tiga’s techno beat. Its different, but it sounds really good.

tiga-heytoday

Tiga - You Gonna Want Me (Hey Today! Remix)

Last Thursday, the new Gareth Emery podcast finally appeared on iTunes, an arrival that had been overdue for a long time. The songs played were great, but two caught my ear as being better than the rest. The first is from MEM, who came along with a very impressive trance track. It is called Forza and as Gareth later explained, the tune had been killing it for him in his recent sets. The second is from fellow Canadian Adam K, a progressive DJ from Toronto. Remember how I wrote that the lines between genres were being blurred? This song is a perfect example. Its slow tempo and relaxing melody give it a few trance aspects, but do not be fooled; this is progressive house.

MEM - Forza

Adam K ft. Naan - Wake Up (Club Mix)

Do not think that I’m strictly posting songs from the podcast. With the exception of the Adam K track, I’ve had these tunes in my library for a while. Gareth and I must have the same taste in music.

To finish off this large post, lets take a look at DJ Mag’s rankings of the top 100 DJs.

To start off, congratulations to Armin van Buuren for his fourth consecutive year as the world’s #1 DJ. I really was not expecting this, I rather thought that Above & Beyond, Markus Schulz or Ferry Corsten would take the crown. To be frank, very little of the top ten made any sense to me. I respect David Guetta as a DJ and I think he produces great music, but there is no way that he should be ranked higher than any of the previously mentioned. Most of you already know about the true producers behind some of his biggest hits like “When Love Takes Over”. He acts as a cheap ad campaign, giving them credit in the fine print at the bottom of the screen. According to Fred and Ellis, who attended his set at last year’s Bal en Blanc, he is awful live and the radio-like music he emits makes him sound like an amateur.

Placing immediately after Guetta were Tiësto, Deadmau5 and Above & Beyond, who respectively grabbed the 3, 4 and 5 positions. Deadmau5’s jump up 2 spots was also a surprise. His album was great, be he somehow seemed to disappear during the rest of the year. His single with Chris Lake, “I Said”, was and still is awful. “Some Chords” and “Animal Rights” do not warrant a number 4 spot. The Canadian is due for a new album release in December of 2010, one he will call 4x4=12. Here is the tracklist.

dead

1. "Some Chords"
2. "Sofi Needs a Ladder" (You Need A Ladder with vocals)
3. "City In Florida"
4. "Bad Selection"
5. "Animal Rights"
6. "I Said (Michael Woods Remix)"
7. "Cthulhu Sleeps"
8. "Right This Second"
9. "Raise Your Weapon"
10. "One Trick Pony"
11. "Everything Before"

One thing I am happy to see is that Axwell wraps up the top 10. In fact, all members of the Swedish House Mafia are in the top 20 and the trio itself places at #23. The DJ Mag vote is supposed to be an attempt to represent each DJ’s success during the course of the year. In this capacity, Swedish House Mafia should, without a doubt, be the #1 DJ. Their incredible summer took them to the Brixton Academy on more than one occasion and they also earned themselves a residency at Motel Masquerade in Ibiza, the party capital of the world. The film documenting their tumultuous 2010 will be coming out in the next month, so keep posted as it will surely be very entertaining. Check out the trailer here.

Unfortunately, DJ Mag’s voting method is highly flawed. Simply telling the magazine which DJs you like is not a valid measure of skill, hard work or innovation. Inside the method itself lies the biases of evaluation without numerical values. It is no longer a judgement on who is the best, but merely a popularity contest, a vote for class president, if you will. This year’s vote saw a large crowd of North Americans and therefore, whoever spent the most time on the radio waves or on their North American tour received an automatic bid. It is a shame to see the poll be reduced to such an infantile compilation of voices from uneducated, stubborn fans who want to see the one artist they know in the rankings. Notable additions were those of Afrojack, Avicii, Arty and Dada Life while unacceptable descents were those of Above & Beyond, Sander van Doorn, Cosmic Gate and Lange. Regardless of the results, go check out the bios from your favourite artists, some of which are quite funny. For example, Sebastian Ingrosso claims that he is best known for “fucking clubs in the pussy”.

ingrosso

Remnants of the Zoo

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Loud music always sounds better, that is why live shows are so popular. If you are someone who failed to attend Electric Zoo 2010, here is a chance to redeem yourself. On October the 10th, Montreal will welcome many popular DJs for the 20th anniversary of the Black & Blue festival. To name a few, Mark Anthony, Chus & Ceballos, Aly & Fila and Gareth Emery will be in attendance. This event is sure to attract a large crowd, so buy your tickets ASAP. Click here for more info on Black & Blue 2010.

The Saturday following this massive event will take place at the Telus Theater on St-Denis. With a new name and new member, this year's Bloody Beetroots have somewhat revamped their music as they attempt to recover from a quiet 2010. In my opinion, the trio has become too mainstream and my appeal for them has steadily decreased ever since "Romborama" was leaked weeks before its planned release. And besides, 35$ for a 2 hour set? Nevertheless, this track is pretty decent. For the purpose of this tour, they have named themselves Death Crew 77 and have welcomed a drummer, Edward Grinch.

The Bloody Beetroots - Death Crew 77 - Domino

Montreal will also receive a visit from Laidback Luke on the very next night. Performing at club Muzique on St-Laurent for the modest sum of 10$, attendees are certain to hear some of his latest and most popular house tracks like his remix of Wynter Gordon's "Dirty Talk" and "Till Tonight", his collaboration with vocalist Jonathan Mendelsohn. Apparently, Laidback and Mendelsohn developed quite a rapport while producing this tune. In fact, during Luke's set at Electric Zoo, Mendelsohn made a surprise appearance and added some live vocals to their track. More info about the show here.Wynter Gordon - Dirty Talk (Laidback Luke Remix)
Laidback Luke ft. Jonathan Mendelsohn - Till Tonight (Original Mix)

Shortly after, on October the 22nd, the Swedish House Mafia will be releasing an album named "Until One." This work will also serve as the soundtrack to their upcoming film which carries the same name and documents the trio's biggest moments as producers. The featured tracks range from old to new, aggressive to soothing, yet all stick to the distinct SHM sound. Here is the track listing.
1. Swedish House Mafia vs Tinie Tempah - Miami 2 Ibiza (Album Version)
2. Swedish House Mafia - Miami 2 Ibiza (Instrumental)
3. Sander van Doorn - Reach Out
The Source ft. Candi Staton - You Got the Love (Acapella)
4. Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello & Laidback Luke ft. Deborah Cox - Leave the World Behind
5. Axwell - Nothing But Love (Remode)
6. Steve Angello & AN21 - Valedja
7. TV Rock - In the Air (Axwell Remix)
8. Sebastian Ingrosso - Kidsos
Justice vs Simian - We Are Your Friends (Acapella)
9. Prok & Fitch pres. Nanchang Nancy (Axwell & Daddy's Groove Remix)
10. Steve Angello - Tivoli
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream
11. Benny Benassi pres. The Biz - Satisfaction
12. Steve Angello & Laidback Luke ft. Robin S - Show Me Love
13. Steve Angello - KNAS
14. Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South - Meich
Coldplay - Clocks
15. David Guetta ft. Sebastian Ingrosso, Dirty South & Julie McKnight - How Soon is Now (Main Mix)
16. AN 21 & Max Vangeli - Swedish Beauty
Louie Vega & Jay 'Sinister' Sealee staring Julie McKnight - Diamond Life (Acapella)
17. Supermode - Tell Me Why
18. Adrian Lux - Teenage Crime (Axwell & Henrik B Remode)
19. Steve Angello - Monday
20. Miike Snow - Silvia (Sebastian Ingrosso & Dirty South Remix)
21. Axwell - I Found You (Remode)
22. Daft Punk - One More Time
23. Swedish House Mafia - One
24. Swedish House Mafia ft. Pharell - One (Your Name)

Here is Swedish House Mafia's newest track with vocals from Tinie Tempah.

Swedish House Mafia vs Tinie Tempah - Miami 2 Ibiza

Just a small side-note before I continue; all the most played tracks at Electric Zoo, "One" (I heard 8 times), "Conscindo" (5), "KNAS" (4) and "Empire (Kyau & Albert Remix)" (4) have all been posted on The Hawt, before or shortly after their release dates. I don't mean to brag, but I actually predicted One's success in a post towards the start of summer (Proof). Just goes to show you that we, the writers, are very reliable in providing you with the best new tracks from the electronic music world. So spread the word, tell your friends about The Hawt!

Next up, I've got the latest track from Michael Woods. Unlike the Bloody Beetroots, his tunes have been getting progressively better. This song is great, my favorite from him so far. Enjoy.

Michael Woods - Dynamik (Original Mix)

So there was this song, played towards the beginning of Above & Beyond's Electric Zoo set, that I vividly remember as being one of my favorites of the festival. I asked many people surrounding me if they knew the name of the tune, some guy told me it was a Kaskade remix, another told me it was a new Deadmau5 track. Upon our return to Canada, this track drove me crazy. I searched, raided the blogs, conversed on forums and sifted through many episodes of TATW. Enter Ellis, connoisseur of the trance music, locker of the hotel room, who correctly identified the masked marvel. The artists responsible are all great and have never produced a bad song. I LOVE this track, it is absolutely amazing.

Rank 1, Nic Chagall & Wippenberg - 100 (Original Mix)

This next guy is relatively unknown. Porter Robinson is an 18 year old from North Carolina who went from nobody to somebody overnight. His first ever release, "Say My Name", hit the top of the Beatport ElectroHouse chart. The song is really great, pulling trends from Electro, Progressive House, Trance and Dubstep. Check out his interview with Gotta Dance Dirty here.

Porter Robinson - Say My Name (Original Mix)

Last, but not least, check out this rip-off of Some Chords. I'm not posting this song because I think its good, but solely because it truly sounds like it was stolen from Deadmau5.

Spencer & Hill - Sunbeam (Original Mix)

Summertime and the Livin’s Easy

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Let me start by apologizing for not writing in a while, truth is i haven’t been that busy, I’ve just been incredibly lazy recently.imagesublime

Alright so like we’ve been mentioning all summer, this has been a great summer for music and right now I’ve got way too much music I want to share. So here goes, the first track is triple mashup that Gareth Emery played during his set at Circus. The original mashup was already incredible and this version was really hard to find so sorry if its a bit short but believe me it’s totally worth it.

 The Great Find (Gareth Emery Re-edit) – Rank 1 vs. Jochen Miller vs. John O’Callaghan

Still from his set a Circus, this is a quadruple mashup that made the crowd go completely crazy.

Lethal Stadium Four (Gareth Emery Edit) – TIësto vs. Lange vs. Andy Moor vs. Komytea

Sorry, both of them are from live sets but it doesn’t take anything away from their greatness. One of the Dj that I like the most at the moment is without a doubt Ben Gold, or Be:Gold depending on the track. This guy, in my opinion is completely insane and deserves to be in the Top 100. Here’s a couple of tracks that Above & Beyond have been featuring lately.

Profile – Ben Gold

Sapphire (Trance Mix) – Ben Gold

Since I haven’t posted since Cosmic Gate, here are the two highlights of that night, both by Nic Chagall, the skinny half of the duo.

Here On This Earth (Nic Chagall Remix) – Tiësto

This Moment (feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn) – Nic Chagall

Here’s a little extra that I think you’ll appreciate

Griffin – Artento Divini

Alright so it seems i haven’t posted anything really dirty recently so here’s the Caspa remix of One by Swedish House Mafia that Justin posted a while back. Needs to be listened to with good speakers though.

One (Your Name) (Caspa Vocal Remix) – Swedish House Mafia feat. Pharell

And finally, some drum and bass / dubstep with Chase & Status.

Death (Chase & Status Remix) – White Lies

Heartbeat (Chase & Status Remix) – Nneka

Pieces (feat. Plan-B) – Chase & Status

Enjoy.

Old Tunes, Still Hawt

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If you want brand new music, go see Fred. He has everything. Seriously, that new Deadmau5 track, Some Chords, hes had that on his hard drive for a year now. I don't know how he does it, which obviously means my stuff won't be as recent. Doesn't mean is isn't great though.

So I've been watching a lot of late night television lately. Out of respect for Conan, im shunning Leno and tuning in to Letterman. His top tens have inspired me to make one of my own:

Top Ten Signs Your Summer is Going to Suck:

10. Your own original track that you were so proud of gets 4 downloads on beatport,
9. Your significant other turns you away from the latest Kaskade album to buy the new Michael Buble CD,
8. Your mom forbids you from going to a show because you accidentally told her it was a rave,
7. You like the Boston Red Sux,
6. You haven't already heard of THE house track of summer 2010, One - Swedish House Mafia,
5. You get arrested for illegally downloading music (we apologize),
4. You just got your driver's license a.k.a. the designated driver every night,
3. Your younger sibling gets more action than you do,
2. Your girlfriend orders you to go make her a sandwich (If you are a girl, click here),
1. You aren't reading hawtmusik.com, commenting on all the posts and downloading all the songs.

Bet you weren't expecting that last one huh? Anyways, as I was saying earlier in this post, I got some great songs for you that aren't new but they're pretty good and I think it puts you in a summer mood.

So theres an artist called Twocker which consists of producers Alex Calver or Calvertron and Will Bailey. They haven't released any new tracks in a while because they are both working on their own stuff. Twocker's style is a mixture of both individual artists' sound which gives way to some pretty cool tracks. Enjoy :)

Electric Boogaloo - Felipe Avelar ft. Olie (Twocker Remix)
Cash In Drop Out - Dada Life (Twocker's Danger Step Mix)
Stitch - Twocker (Bass Kleph Remix)