Hey everybody, my name is Marc and I'm the newest member of the Hawt team. I'm honoured to be here and I hope that you’ll enjoy what I will be posting!
Alright to start it all off I’d like to introduce you to one of my favourite labels called Lucky Me. Lucky Me records are based in Glasgow and was founded by none other than Hudson Mohawke. Lucky Me signees include a lot of artists from Montreal like Lunice, Ango and of course the legendary Jacques Greene. The best way for you guys to find out what this label is about is to listen to their sounds so here you go:

Lunice is definitely one of the best electronic hip-hop producers out there. After going to the Red Bull academy and working with Diplo he went from being a small time producer to a world renowned artist. He always keeps his stuff fresh and he's a great showman.
Ango is another Montreal-based producer who was taken under the wing of Jacques Greene and later joined the Lucky Me family. He is also signed to Jacques Greene’s label Vase. As you can see his stuff is not as poppy as Lunice's. It has more of a deep vibe, kind of like a darker kind of dance music.
To top it all off the master of this sub-bass genre, the one and only…Jacques Greene! This guy is a genius. The stuff he puts out is always original and soothing, but in an eerie way. He has recently put out an EP on his brand new label Vase and the album is according to me his best work so far.

2012 The Year of…?
Alright so on another topic, if I were to ask you guys what the most prominent type of electronic music this year (in Montreal at least) was, you’d all have answered dubstep. But was it really? Last I checked what Skrillex or Flux Pavillion produce is not dubstep. Music evolves people and so has dubstep. To find the origins of dubstep we’d have to go all the way back to London in the 00’s. Does Mala, Coki, Skream, Benga, Loefah, Digital Mystikz, Rusko or Caspa ring a bell? If you’ve never heard a track from these guys then you probably don’t know what dubstep is about. In the past year a lot of people have declared themselves fans of dubstep, but the dubstep they are referring to is not really dubstep, it’s a transformation of what used to be dubstep. The reason as to why I’m writing this is to end this confusion. And so, next time you want to talk about a tune you heard from Skrillex or Dillon Francis, the more exact terms to qualify it would be brostep or moombahcore.
Examples:

-Dubstep
-Brostep
(I hate this song so much…..)

-Moombahcore
The main difference with Moombahcore being those upbeat squeaky synth lines pulled from Moombahton.
As for 2012 I'm looking forward to see what will come up. A lot of artists like James Blake, Nicolas Jaar and Julien Mier are surfacing with a sort of post-dubstep sound kind of a more primitive sounding dub. Also I think that glitch-hop will break through this year. Glitch-Hop has been a pretty dominant genre on the west coast and I have a feeling that the winds of technology will bring the glitch-hop hype to the east coast.

Also before I finish I just wanted to leave you with this great remix of Major Lazer’s new track called Original Don. Flosstradamus does an amazing job in slowing the drop down and turning this track into a serious head bobber. This stuff is the real kind of panty dropper, none of that Trey Songz crap. Check it out:



Also while we’re on the topic you guys can expect a review of Diplo’s (one half of Major Lazer) mental, out of this world set @ Igloofest 2012 very soon.
Cheers!

It’s been a real, real long time since my last post but I guess that just means I have a lot of music to share. There have been a lot of awesome albums released during that time, I’m thinking mainly of Armin’s Universal Religion and Gareth’s Sound of Garuda compilations, W&W’s Impact and Camo and Krooked’s Cross the Line. If you haven’t checked them out yet, I highly recommend them especially if you’ve got some extra time over the holidays.

I’ll start it off with an awesome Red Hot Chilli Peppers remix that was probably one of my favourite tracks from Electric Zoo this summer and finally got released this past month. This song has been remixed so many times but I think this is the only one that does it justice really. It’s definitely a huge crowd pleaser and anywhere it gets played the crowd always gets in and starts singing.

So both Arty and Mat Zo have had monster years and so to cap it off they released a new single together in December called Mozart. I personally love it but it seems to have divided fans since many just wanted Rebound pt. II and it wasn’t necessarily as trancey as they wanted. Well fuck it, haters gonna hate, the track is crazy (although the video is utterly horrible).

Alright, so if you like drum & bass, you’ve probably already listened to the Camo & Krooked album (I’m REALLY late on this one but it’s so good I had to talk about it) and if not you’re missing out. I didn’t know much about them before, other than their Sweet Shop Remix, so the album was a great surprise. My favourite track is, without a doubt, Run Riot which just pumped me up every morning and probably caused the nice people at St-Hyacinthe to think I was crazy.

This second track started off as a great remix to Deadmau5’ Raise Your Weapon before he vetoed the release because he didn’t like it. Oh well, since they had just sampled the vocals, they pretty much said “Fuck that Shit!”, put new vocals and released it as its own track.Camo

Finally, I just had a few mashups to share with you guys. They are a lot more “poppy” then what I usually listen to but I am a huge sucker for good mashups. I recommend you check out these two guys’ site since they put up all their tracks for free downloads and they have quite a few gems.

E.T. Feels Starry Eyed (3LAU Remash) by 3LAU
Kap Slap - AA - One Rolling Love (Club Mix) by Kap Slap

I can’t say I like every part of the tracks (especially not that 3 second Flo Rida interlude), but they managed to use many songs I didn’t really like to make one I did so I believe that deserves some respect. So anyways, you can check out their soundclouds with the description of their tracks here: 3LAU & Kap Slap.

Last week, Ellis and I went to Circus Afterhours to hear Shogun and Joop play live (there were other DJs, but we missed them). We were very pleased by their performances and I think it it safe to say that the future of trance seems pretty bright, with all these newly popular DJs/producers that are working hard to bring us the best music possible! Like some of you know, Cosmic Gate was playing at Redlite the same night, so the Circus wasn’t exactly what I’d call "full”, but the atmosphere was still great and the music was still amazing! We arrived there when Joop had just started his set. Joop is a Dutch DJ/producer that plays some very tech-trance tracks and that brings a lot of energy to the crowd. Check his Facebook page HERE for more info on him! The first half of his set brought the people to his room and then he “unleashed the beast” in the second half. Ellis and I both think he was on “f***ing fire” during the last hour, playing tracks that made the people there go crazy, like his new track that he made in collaboration with Raneem and that is getting released on the 21st, Plur. Here is a little preview of it to convince you to buy it in a few days. Trust me, listening to it is worth your time and you will understand why people go crazy when it’s played live.

The next artist playing was Andrew Chen, also know as Shogun. He is an American born Taiwanese DJ/producer that has seen his popularity rise a lot lately, with the release of his track called Skyfire. We can give the credit to Armin Van Buuren’s influence in the trance scene and Shogun’s hard work for his popularity, since Armin played Skyfire a lot in his sets during the last few months and since it is featured in A State of Trance 2011 compilation. If you want more information on Shogun, check his page on Armada HERE or go read the interview answers we got from him below!

Shogun started his set with one of the hottest tracks right now, Tomahawk, from BT and Adam K. He kept this insane energy during his whole set by playing great tracks and mixing very, very well. He played some Stoneface & Terminal, some Gareth Emery, some Ferry Corsten, Above and Beyond, Armin Van Buuren and, of course, his own track, Skyfire, that you can hear right under this paragraph!

And since Tomahawk from BT and Adam K is so great as well, here it is:

It is always awesome to be able to ask questions directly to artists; it helps us learn a lot from them. We sent some interview questions to Shogun and here are the answers. Hope you enjoy!

What are your primary inspirations? my family, good trance music, and movie scores

What do you think sets you apart from other trance producers? I like to produce tracks that are based on a personal level, and try to evoke different emotions with my remixes and productions.

What did you do before being a full time EDM Producer and DJ? I used to be a resident DJ at clubs

What do you like the most from being an EDM Producer and DJ? Gigs, traveling, meeting people who are as passionate as I am about the music

What do you think of the DJMag Poll in general? this year? I think DJ Mag Poll is important for DJ's, clubs and promoters worldwide. Also, its something the fans can follow and keep track of their favorite DJs which is a great thing. This year I ended up at #122

What is your favorite drink when you DJ? Vodka Redbull, or just Redbull

Do you have any "rituals" you do before starting a set? I listen to chillout music before starting a set, it helps gets my mind ready for a big gig.

What tip(s) would you give out to new DJs/producers? For DJ's, start producing if you haven't already and try to find your own style. For producers, focus on mastering one synthesizer and one sequencer. You can do a lot more by really knowing a synth inside out, rather than slightly knowing 50 synths.

You've travelled a faire amount, where would you say the girls are the most attractive? Girls in LA and Vancouver, there's something about the West Coast

Which song(s) has gotten you the best crowd reaction so far in 2011? Definitely Skyfire, every time I drop it the crowd goes off!

Is there anyone you'd really like to work with next year? I'd like to work with Orjan Nilsen, I think his productions are top notch at the moment

Any plans on returning to Montreal after your set at Circus Afterhours? Of course, I love this city and can't wait to come back

What do you think of the crowd in Montreal? I think the crowd here is one of the best, so much energy and everyone shows their love for trance music.. can't ask for more.

Do you often go to see other DJs play? And which ones are your favorite? I'm either on the road or in the studio working on tracks, so I don't get to catch other DJs play too often. Armin van Buuren is my favorite DJ, he always puts on an unbelievable show.

What do you think about music blogs? In your opinion, are they helping or hurting artists? Do you follow any blogs? Will you read The Hawt?music blogs are great, and help the artists in many ways. Will definitely read The Hawt.

 

That is all for now, take care and make sure to buy your tickets for Resolution 2012 if you want to see Avicii, Axwell, Gareth Emery and Dash Berlin to celebrate the New Year! The event is on January 1st and is happening at the Bell Center in Montreal. There is also an event in Quebec City and it may be your chance to see Deadmau5 if you missed him last time he came here!