Although I’ve lived the majority of my life in Canada, the fact that I was born in New York gives me a false sense of allegiance to the Big Apple. This favoritism manifests itself most strongly with regards to the arts. Whether it’s Broadway, the avant-garde architecture, or the critically acclaimed filmmakers, the city has produced some of the most recognizable pieces and talents across the vast spectrum of disciplines. It’s never easy to follow in the footsteps of greatness, a notion that NY-based producing partners Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson know all too well.

     The pair, better known as The Knocks, has seen a quick rise to fame since their 2010 hit “Dancing With the DJ,” recently sharing the stage with acts such as Chromeo, M.I.A. and Ellie Goulding. Veering off the path taken by today’s mainstream house records, these Lower East Siders aspire to  join indie and electronic, an endeavour which results in tracks that are often augmented by unaffected funk instruments and a traditional song structure. Their latest offering, a collaborative effort with French/German producer Fred Falke, is a good example of how they use these different elements. “Geronimo” starts with a rhythmic introduction where the kick drums and first synth are phased in. The song ensues with a light reverberating electro growl that leads straight into the short breakdown populated by a few syncopated beats. The lead synth entangles itself beautifully with the funky bass guitar and the “Oh Oh, Geronimo,” given during the chorus, where Fred Falke’s french house influence can truly be heard. This segment repeats itself after a lengthy bridge, as some pitch changes and scatted vocal cuts are strategically placed. Altogether, this track pulls from house, disco, funk, electro and indie influences and gets The Knocks well on their way to matching their artistic antecedents.

     This next artist needs no introduction. To say that Andrew Bayer is one of the most eclectic producers in dance music is an understatement. The 26-year old American is the unofficial usher for the next wave of innovation in EDM. From his work as half of the famed trance duo Signalrunners, to his collaborations with highly praised Norwegian producer Boom Jinx, his prestigious Fraction Records and his already superb solo career, the Anjunabeats signee lives on the border of progressive and cutting edge. Those who long for the trance and progressive of old have qualified his music as bizarre, refusing to acknowledge the possibility of change. His debut artist album, “It’s Artificial,” contained subgenres such as glitch hop, breaks and electronica, the likes of which many had never seen. I can only assume the complaints will continue as Bayer keeps on his trailblazing vision with “Floating Continent,” a demo of a current project he recently posted on his SoundCloud page to mark his 10,000th twitter follower.

     “Floating Continent” is vintage Bayer, in that the track’s direction is unexpected. The excerpt starts as a wind sound fades out, leaving a soft, lonely kick. An oscillating melody pad and bassline synth join the percussion, slowly gaining importance before their levels are reset and a clap is added. It all sounds quite minimal up to this point when the melody goes on a tangent, the wind sample returns and some distant sounding vocals are mixed in as the demo reaches its climax. Once again, the levels are reset, the vocals disappear and the wind fades out amidst the recurring clapping sounds. That description may not seem like much, but a new Andrew Bayer tune is always something to get excited about. As he warns: “[…] it’s probably going to change, so don’t freak out if it does,” it is after all, a demo. As long as the final version keeps its minimalistic tendencies while still giving off substantial amounts of raw emotion, I won’t nitpick.

     Of the 2 tracks, my obvious favorite is “What’s Wrong.” First premiered during the opening episode of this year Global DJ Broadcast Ibiza Summer Sessions, the original mix is a melodic, big-room, beast of a track. The tune truly starts in its breakdown, where the samples from the intro gradually fade out, welcoming a off-pitch sounding synth coupled with a growing wind loop. Then comes the build-up and the first taste of the complex melody and a barely audible bassline which comes in and out of hearing range. A wind sound and second synth are added as all the loops coalesce to create the drop, highlighted by the fat Coldharbour bassline we finally get to hear. As is the case in so many of the label’s releases, the bassline is absolutely massive and was created to be played live; just imagine what the stadium mix of this track sounds like. However, I think the melody is the loop that steals the show as it seems to hook the listener in and gives off a feeling of confident uncertainty. I’m not sure exactly how to explain that, apart from highlighting how well the name of the tune was chosen. All in all, this a great return to form for Skytech and we hope he keeps on offering up music as good as this.

 

     Eric Prydz has always been somewhat of a mystery to Americans, or for that matter, any non-European. While his productions travel to the far reaches of the globe, he does not, thanks to a bad case of aerophobia. Last week’s post’s highlight of his production talents left out those he has as a performer, a muscle he’s been flexing recently. On April 2nd of 2011, Prydz unveiled his new live performance concept named EPIC, or “Eric Prydz in Concert,” to a sold-out crowd at the Brixton Academy in London. The audio-visual showcase included both mobile and static structures, 3D animation, films and holograms, a combination that is pushing the bar for the next generation of  dance music production. Good news for Europeans, irrelevant for everyone else, or so I thought.

 

 

     It had been 4 years since Prydz last conquered his fear of flying, crossed the Atlantic and hallowed French-Canadian soil. Thrilled, jubilant, ecstatic, rapturous, overjoyed, elated, blissful, euphoric and down as fuck (props to my thesaurus) I was when I discovered he was to grace Arena Montreal with his presence on Sunday, July 22nd. While this wasn’t a formal EPIC show—he keeps those stocked for venues like the Brixton Academy—I was simply happy to have him play a regular set. You may think it sad for a handsome 21-year old guy to attend such a spectacle alone. Frankly, I’m the one who pities all those who missed the Swedish house master. My midnight arrival downtown gave me the 30 minutes I needed to judge my surroundings. Arena is a respectable club with a modern setting that unfortunately clashes with the exposed pipe that lines its ceiling. The area reserved for the DJ booth is backed by a large screen while a series of lights and a high output fog machine is set overhead. These elements were a welcome complement from the get-go, as the light changes went perfectly with the darker, techier tracks that Prydz opened his set with. The start of his show seemed to better fit Stereo Nightclub as he pulled out many new tracks from his Cirez D alias. In fact, the Mouseville insignia was shown on screen in between shots of Prydz’s usual split face logo.

 

     Apart from “On Off” and an acapella from Danny Tenaglia’s “Music is the Answer,” I can’t say I recognized any of the tracks. Then he completely changed gears. Progressing masterfully from a tech house ID to his Pryda alias’ “M.S.B.O.Y.,” Prydz’s looped the early, genre ambiguous portion of the track and decided to give it vocals from Florence and the Machine’s “You Got the Love,” loosening a few of my screws in the process. A few more marbles were lost during the meshing of his “2Night” with vocals from Underworld’s “Two Months Off,” but the track that really threw me off my rocker was “Boothaus ID.” That isn’t the actual name of the track—it is currently untitled—but rather what it’s come to be known by after it was first played during Eric’s EPIC show at the Boothaus Nightclub in Germany. It’s been updated since the YouTube clip below, but the lead synth and vocals are intact.

 

     I was zonked out of my mind for the rest of the night. I’ve never taken any drugs at a live event, one of the reasons being that I don’t think anything can beat such a strong, natural high. And boy, was I up there. I’m pretty sure I found Amelia Earhart gyrating to Prydz’s remix of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” I really hope someone gets that reference. What ensued was a proper display of how to use crowd reactions to select what tracks to play, his classic “Pjanoo,” continuous encore screams that extended the set 40 minutes past Arena’s closing time, a mashup of Everything but the Girl’s “Missing” and Pryda’s “Europa” that nearly brought me to tears, a random facial laceration that didn’t keep me from dancing and a presentation of his album that included both singles, along with Eric’s personal favorite, “Leja.” At that point, the night was nearing its end, so the crowd didn’t mind the funky, groovy vibe and noticeably slower tempo of the track. The soiree was capped off by an impromptu autograph session, while everyone turned into a douchebag by wearing the glasses the attendants at Arena had given us at the door.

 

 

     Eric Prydz is a special DJ. I may be saying this because I’m a huge fan, or because he never comes to Montreal, but it’s true. Throughout my love affair with EDM, I’ve never seen a better progression through a set than I did watching Prydz perform. It’s hard to believe how you can go from a bass-heavy tech house tune and end up with a funky, 119 bpm ballad without playing one or two songs that just seem out of place. Yet somehow he did it. His consideration of harmonic keys when he mixes, something few DJs seem to worry about, helps smooth the transition to the next track without displacing the vibe given by the last and puts him far ahead of others performers. Finally, the passion he has for his fans, while maybe not as overt as others, is extremely powerful and truly embodies the link a DJ is supposed to establish between himself and the crowd on a nightly basis. Do yourself a favor, if Eric Prydz ever comes back to Montreal, don’t miss out. Here’s where I plug our friend Samson over at Montreal-Nightclubs.com without whom, I would not have heard of Eric’s once in a lifetime trip to Montreal.

 

     Ok, so I might have been talking a lot about him during the past 2 weeks, but I promise the subject will be changed for next week’s post. Until then, have a listen to Prydz’s new podcast, EPIC Radio,  and have a great weekend!

     As a former Christian, I’ve always held in favour the idea of resurrection. There’s no denying the fact that, over the past year, the Hawt’s writers have had varying levels of involvement with the blog and have struggled to keep it in existence. In fact, the past 4 months spawned a policy of laissez faire as exams were written, “trips” were taken and very few fucks were given. So here we are, apologizing for yet another prolonged hiatus and hoping that what follows will somehow convince you to place us back into your good graces: we’ve returned. The rock’s been moved, the tomb’s been emptied, Scotty’s beamed us up and we’re ready to begin anew and establish a fresh set of guidelines, or a new Hawt, if you will. The blog will now feature a post every Thursday which will highlight that week’s notable releases, any tracks we may be feeling at the moment and any snippets of information we find interesting enough to share. Those mainstays will be coupled with our usual ‘post when you want to’ attitude, which will provide a slightly more active website than before. To top it all off, I’m certain you noticed the  different reading pane with enlarged writing we’ve chosen to cater to our older, visually impaired audience. Having said this, I’d like to personally welcome you all back to the Hawt!

     I was ashamed to admit I did not know who Chicane was. Despite my adoration for trance, the identity of said artist remained a mystery to me. It was early last year that Ellis chose to post “Saltwater,” a golden oldie revered by all EDM veterans. At that point in my musical education, I was apprehensive about delving into the annals of Trance, since the epic climaxes that first drew me in seemed to be absent in older tracks. Later that year, when Above & Beyond played “Saltwater” during their weekly radio show, I reconsidered, did some research and greatly regretted the high school years plagued with mainstream music. I can picture the now 41-year old Nick Bracegirdle looking down on me and shaking his head as I bop mine to some Fallout Boy. Bracegirdle has been actively making tunes since 1994, his first notable success coming under the guise of Disco Citizens with the track “Right Here, Right Now,” an unadulterated old-school melding of trance and house. 1996 saw the arrival of the Chicane alias and the release of “Offshore,” the soothing Balearic chill out classic, known to have given Bracegirdle the title, ‘godfather of the Ibiza anthem.’ It’s in 1997 that Chicane’s first studio album, “Far from the Maddening Crowds,” was released, appearing on the UK Albums Chart for a week and peaking at number 49. After licensing issues with the record label rescinded the release for a full 5 years, the album became a hot commodity and its popularity soared, turning the simple compositions into an extremely influential vehicle for the evolution of dance music.

     15 years later, in April 2012, Chicane brought forth “Thousand Mile Stare.” The 12 track album, his fifth so far, is a veritable piece of art and very unlike any other I’ve listened to in the recent past. This isn’t a release to sift through, pick and choose favourites and discard the rest. Within the spectrum of progressive trance and chill out subgenres, “Thousand Mile Stare” hits every point of interest and all different tastes, resulting in an album that, while regrouping tunes that all sound so unique with regards to one another, all share a universal likeness to the genre which they come from. In simpler terms, every song shares certain aspects from all subgenres within its genre, regardless of the prevailing genre it is attributed. Although it can be argued that all albums do the same, there is an important nuance to be observed. Listen to the album, you’ll know what I mean. Below are 2 tracks that best communicate what precedes and happen to be my favourites from “Thousand Mile Stare.” First is “The Nothing Song,” a beautiful progressive trance track that borders on progressive house, followed by “Windbreaks,” a more upbeat song that masterfully joins the piano with numerous different percussion instruments and background vocals.

     Chicane wasn’t the only old-school trance heavyweight to release an album this year. Richard Mowatt, better known as Solarstone, came out with “Pure,” a 13 track offering that put an ear to ear smile on all the lovers of old-school trance. For a while now, there has been a divide between trance fans young and old. Those who have been around for a while have seen the evolution of the genre and despise the housier direction in which it is heading. Some of the more hardcore fans even think that today’s trance shouldn’t identify itself as such. Solarstone’s put a muzzle on all such claims. “Pure” is filled with sweeping synths, complex melodies and meaningful vocals; all characteristics of trance from back in the day. Although there is an obvious influence from current tendencies, Solarstone does a great job to satisfy his long-standing fans while still being relevant in today’s EDM. In my opinion, there is one track that stands out from Mowatt’s 3rd studio album. It’s a collaboration with Aly & Fila called “Fireisland,” a beautiful mix of both producers’ styles. The speedy 136 beats per minute and powerful bassline, obviously tied to the Aly & Fila sound, go splendidly with the Balearic vibes and elaborate breakdown Solarstone is known for.

     On June 23rd of this year, the super group known as Swedish House Mafia announced that they would disband, leaving little doubt as to who would succeed them on the throne of Swedish dance music. Eric Prydz, the architect behind such monstrous hits as “Pjanoo” and “On Off,” is the obvious replacement choice. Arguably the most consistent producer in EDM today, Prydz has established himself as one of the crown jewels of House music, succeeding throughout his career in finding the ever elusive balance between mainstream and underground culture. The origin of his production career can be traced back to an 8-year old Eric convincing his parents to buy him a keyboard. He joined a synth band named Enemy Alliance at 18, spending lots of time tinkering with their minuscule studio set up and crafting his own techno-funk tracks whenever the opportunity would arise. His first solo release would come 6 years later, when one of his demo tapes found its way into the offices of EMI’s New Religion label. Prydz went on to contribute another 3 releases to New Religion, culminating in EP3 and its smash-hit “Slammin’.” Then came the fireworks. Utilizing a slightly modified vocal sample from Steve Winwood’s “Valerie,” the young Swede unleashed “Call On Me” on Ministry of Sound’s Data Records. The single was extremely well-received, opening on both German and Irish charts at number one and topping the UK Singles chart for a full 5 weeks while giving birth to the now infamous music video, widely criticized for being overtly lewd and sexually suggestive.

     In 2004, Prydz’s own name saw a diminution in use, which led to the conception of the Cirez D and Pryda pseudonyms along with their respective labels, Mouseville (techno and tech house) and Pryda Recordings (progressive house). Over the past years, Prydz has gone back and forth, releasing almost as many tracks on both labels, as well as the rare remixes he uses his own name for. Interesting segue about how he’s never come out with an album. On May 22nd, Prydz released his debut album, “Eric Prydz Presents Pryda,” on Virgin UK. The 3 discs regroup 11 brand new Pryda tracks, 2 tweaks on existing ones and a 2 part retrospective mix which includes 24 previously released songs, some of Eric’s biggest and most successful to date. I could keep writing and tell you about the album, or I could let Eric Prydz tell you about it himself. Lets go with the latter.

Pryda – Sunburst (Original Mix)

Taken from “Eric Prydz Presents Pryda”

Released on May 22nd on Virgin UK

Beatport – iTunes