Dynamite, the Nobel Prize, Vikings, Minecraft, the Pirate Bay, the Millennium Trilogy, Swedish meatballs, and of course, Swedish women. These are only a few elements that make Sweden awesome, music being the important one missing from this short list. Here are a few old tracks from Swedish producers that I’ve been avidly listening to these past few weeks:

Faithless ft. Cass Fox – Music Matters (Axwell Remix)

     Originally released on Sony BMG back in 2007, re-released alongside Rollo & Sister Bliss, Peter Heller and Mark Knight remixes on Toolroom in 2010. I have a soft spot for anything remotely Faithless.

Dada Life – We Meow, You Roar (Original Mix)

     Also from 2007, back when Dada Life wasn’t popular enough to occupy both faces of a vinyl. The A-side of this record is a Rob Mooney track with “We Meow, You Roar” taking the B-side. Sidenote: Dada Life recently announced their new studio album, “Rules of Dada.” Pre-order it here.

Carl B – Social Suicide (Original Mix)

     Profuse records gave life to this old-school big room trance track back in 2006, only Carl’s second release to date. This guy is quite inspiring to young producers, because he was able to break into the dance music scene without any prior music education whatsoever.

Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso – Together (Original Mix)

     The first release on the now famous Axtone record label, Axwell and Ingrosso’s 2005 collaboration was and is an amazing one. It was subsequently featured on many house compilations, including the soundtrack/compilation to SHM’s documentary, “Take One.”

Eric Prydz – Slammin’ (Extended Mix)

     One of my favorite tracks of all-time is this Eric Prydz classic. Is came out on Feel the Rhythm in 2003 and it was one of the gems that propelled him into the house music spotlight. It still sounds amazing today. Sidenote: He recently did an edit of Adrian Lux’s “Teenage Crime” that I can’t get enough of.

     This Friday, Armin van Buuren and Jochen Miller play a sold-out show at New City Gas which continues into the early hours of Saturday morning, as Miller heads over to Circus Afterhours. On Saturday, you can catch Etienne Ozborne at Circus after you’ve gone to see Sultan & Ned Sheperd play at New City Gas. Sunday is a big one, as the Palais des Congres plays host to another installement of the annual Black & Blue festival. You can also go check out Felix Da Housecat at La Mouche on Sunday. A week later, on Saturday October 13th, it’s Tommy Trash’s turn to play New City Gas and Mr. Jean Louis spins another set at Circus Afterhours. Enjoy your weekend!

What happens when spare time meets a passion for music? You get an individual by the name of Nikhil (that would be me). When I am not busy with my schoolwork, or tinkering with fruity loops, I spend most of my time rooted in the blogosphere. Consequently, like every other electronic lover out there, I begin to question the direction in which the genre is heading. The rise of dubstep to the foreground and the recent explosion of high-bass tunes makes me question how producers react to the pressures of conformity. Many have molded to the public's desires, however there are still a handful of artists that stay true to themselves, which is what, after all, drives the music industry further. One of these artists is Flying Lotus. A fundamental pioneer in experimental, trip-hop infused electronic music, Steven Ellison (aka Flying Lotus)has seen a constant evolution that strays from what we normally hear. In addition to the album he is expected to release the following week, he produced a short film to accompany it. If this wasn't enough, he is making an appearance at the SAT on the 12th of October, only a mere 10 days following the release of Until The Quiet Comes. I strongly advise anyone with an interest in experimental music to attend this event. Additionnally, npr has released the album for all to listen.

 

 Although the popularity of trap music is soaring, and the creativity output of the genre seems to be rather stale at the moment, Baauer comes to the rescue with his recently released EP entitled Dum Dum. This collection of three tracks are all extremely hard hitting, and will surely entertain for months to come. The timing of this release also coincides with his signing to LuckyMe, which hosts quite a diversity of artists, such as Lunice (local Montreal producer extraordinaire), Machinedrum, and many others. Here is an abridged sample to give you an idea:
 

Straying away from that, the lovechild of Armin Van Buuren and Ana Criado has been released approximately two weeks ago, and deserves a mention. The mesmerizing vocals combined with the signature sound of the well known dutch producer has made appearances in many of his recent sets. The follow-up tune to Suddenly Summer will be an anthem for months to come, creating a warm and uplifting atmosphere which will please any trance lover.

 

Lastly, I would like to steer your attention to upcoming house producer Hannah Alicia Smith, also known as Hannah Wants. Her recent collaborations with Lorenzo have yielded some rather groovy tunes. This is my first post of hopefully many on this blog, so I will keep it short and sweet. From trance anthems to deep house to hard hitting bangers, I will be keeping you posted on all the latest and greatest. Enjoy the rest of your day.
 

It doesn’t get better.
WARNING, this is partially a rant.
Hey guys, I know, it’s been a fucking while. What I usually tell you is that I was busy, but to be honest, I’m pretty sure I could’ve squeezed a post between all the work and parties. The main reason I didn’t write was because I lacked inspiration and great music (+ motivation). Notice there that I wrote “great” instead of “good”… is it just me or every fucking track that comes out has been sounding the same lately? Trance is now almost all Trouse (Tr-House? or like Justin once told me, “Hance”, hahaha), dubstep is now almost all brostep (think Skrillex) and electro… what is electro? You mean house? What? … I won’t lie, I got caught in the “let’s all listen to house” train, like many.
Sadly, not many genres survived the mainstream "gold rush” towards electro/house/dubstep. I mean… even Tiësto is dead. My boredom towards new music lead me to listening to old DJ sets, old tracks and overall, “old” music. I’m not sure if some of you guys are old school enough to remember the old Dada Life mixes, Justice tracks, Rusko’s bedroom dubstep tracks (made on freaking Sony ACID), pre- “making an album with 10 tracks that sound the same” MSTRKRFT, Amanda Blank, La Roux (may be good or bad, depending if you liked her), Simian Mobile Disco, old-school Deadmau5, Benga, early Nero, Trance (does anyone even remember what it sounded like?), etc. I’ll be honest, I kind of miss all of the things I enumerated.
Oh and two words: Haris Pilton.

Here are “a few” old school tracks to help you remember all the good stuff we had. (Yes, download links, bite me.)
Omnikrom – Prends une photo avec moi (Le Matos Mauviette Remix)
Justice – D.A.N.C.E.
Ellie Goulding – Starry Eyed (Jakwob Remix) (My link got removed, this is not my upload link)
Amanda Blank – Might Like You Better
N.A.S.A. – Gifted (The Aston Shuffle Remix)
Lykke Li – Little Bit (Death to the Throne Re-Remix)
Dada Life – Happy Hands and Happy Feet
Simian Mobile Disco – Audacity of Huge
The Sounds – No One Sleeps When I’m Awake (VIKING Remix)
Bassnectar ft. Lupe Fiasco – Land of the Lupes
MGMT – Kids (Soulwax Remix)
Chromeo – Fancy Footwork
I have more old tracks I’d like to post, but this is already way too much downloads, so maybe next time!

The guy in the (old) picture “pon di top”, Diplo, is one of the few artists that I still respect immensely. He always tries to innovate. Whether it’s by producing Reggae music under the Major Lazer alias, moombahton or even trap, Diplo always knows how to surprise us and must be the only old school artist that properly matured. I can’t wait for his upcoming Major Lazer album, but while we’re patiently waiting, make sure you grab these two tracks.
Hot Chip VS Major Lazer
Major Lazer ft. Amber of Dirty Projectors – Get Free
And a little extra:
Three Loco – We Are Farmers (ft. Diplo)

Before I leave, here are my two last tracks. It’s two of the few “new tracks" that I actually enjoy listening. Trance and “dubstep”, respectively.
Heatbeat – Extra Bacon (Youtube link)
Foxes – Youth (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix)
Cheers!