Happy Hump Day: Cazzette and Dillon Francis and ID Fest in 3 Days!

 

Identity Festival is finally just three days away and I couldn't be more excited. My last festival was Ultra and that was way back in March so you can imagine that my anticipation is through the roof (and it's killing me). Not only am I looking forward to some of the dirtiest beats produced by some of the best DJs in the world, I am also looking forward to enjoying them ALL DAY outside on one of the last summer weekends of 2011. Of course, this comes as a teaser for the massive Electric Zoo which is just over two weeks away. Both will be fun and both will leave my ears ringing the next day. As for Identity, I've never known so many people going to one show/festival and that truly excites me - hit me up if you'll be there.

My Top 5 Acts to See @ ID:

1.) DJ Shadow - a pioneer in the DJing game. You will be blown away

2.) Avicii - he's just too good and too hot to be missed right now

3.) Rusko & Nero - some dirty dubstepping Brits

4.) Steve Aoki - he's a headliner of this festival & his new stage set up looks unreal. Sure to be a sweat party

5.) Booka Shade - leaders in the minimal movement, have yet to see them and love their tunes

Today I bring you a couple tracks to get you excited for the weekend. The first is a song that's been stuck in my head since I first heard it and it's by one of my new favorite producers in Dillon Francis. "Beautician 2.0" is a chilled out Moombahton version of his original dubsteppy "Beautician" and it's been on repeat all week.

The next song is a remix by Cazette of the massively popular "Seek Bromance" by Avicii, who goes under his Tim Berg identity. Cazette is quickly growing his fan base and for good reason. You can see him perform with Avicii in New Jersey next month.

Dillon Francis - Beautician 2.0

Tim Berg - Seek Bromance (Cazzette meets Ash Vocal Mix)

Monday Throwback: Brother Ali - The Travelers + a Song Stuck in my Head

The Album Art for 2009's Us

There's something about this track that really puts me in a nice groove considering it's a rainy Monday morning here in Boston. Thanks again to Pandora I found this gem hanging out as part of one of my hip hop stations (I can't remember if it was Mos Def or Digable Planets) that I regularly cycle through. The beat is the first thing that stood out to me, as usual. And it's one instrument in particular that does it for me amid the hip hop drums: the Marimba. I could be wrong in my identifying of the instrument - it may very well be another mallet instrument similar to the Marimba but that's what I'm going with. Being a long-time drummer and percussionist things like this always stand out to me.

Ali's flow is sick as usual, coming from a rap-battle background and being an incredible story teller. Some of the lyrics that stick out to me are:

Everything that the passenger do
The driver experience too
So if humanity is one
Then we all get burned when it's hell that we're traveling through

This brings the word Karma to mind but it's definitely open to interpretation. The album Us was released in 2009 and was produced entirely by Ants of Atmosphere. Brother Ali has been a practicing Muslim for 13 years and hails from Minnesota. He's a white dude and pretty ugly so you're welcome for not featuring his mug on this blog entry.

Brother Ali - The Travelers

*See Lyrics after the JUMP*

BONUS:
Here's a song that isn't quite new but it has been stuck in my head for quite some time. It comes from the trance trio Above & Beyond featuring Gareth Emery and has deep hitting bass with some nice uplifting vocals. This is by no means a "new" song as it was released in 2010 after receiving a makeover from the previous 2009 version.

Above & Beyond and Gareth Emery Present Oceanlab - On a Good Day (Metropolis)

Fuck Yeah Friday!: It's a Knife Party!

Man it feels good to be back for a Fuck Yeah Friday post. And this week I bring you pure filth - I hope you're ready to have your face melted completely off. Knife Party is a new club project of Rob Swire (featured on Deadmau5's Ghosts N' Stuff) and Gareth McGrillen of the Australian dance band Pendulum. While I haven't really gotten into Pendulum, they have a huge following world wide. Knife Party is more up my alley, with crazy drops and electro-house roots that go very hard. They've been working with Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex (see the awesome Moombahton collabo below), and putting together disgustingly awesome beats. If the following tracks don't get your parties started this weekend then I will have failed you. Crank it up and let me know what you think!

Swedish House Mafia - Save the World (Knife Party remix)

Knife Party & Skrillex - Zoology (preview)

Nero - Crush on You (Knife Party Remix)

Knife Party - 25 Minute Studio Mix by GBallz
Knife Party - 25 Minute Studio Mix from Ibiza (track listing after the JUMP)*Click the down arrow below "Info" to download the mix*

BONUS - An older Flux Pavilion song to groove to:

Flux Pavilion - Night Goes On

Happy Hump Day: New Tiesto

I'm back from the homeland and excited to bring you new music straight from the top of my dome piece. Israelis love dubstep but today I am not bringing you any. I am first bringing you Tiesto's new track called "Work Hard, Play Hard" which  goes real hard and seems to be a nice change from Tiesto's old cheesy trance. This dude's music is evolving with the times and it even sounds like he's using Dada Life's Sausage Fattener plug in. Nice beat and good vocals. As Brian said on it's anyone's guess when Tiesto finds the time to put something like this together. He tours the world constantly, has a weekly podcast, and collaborates with various other artists on tracks. And yet, this tune is as good as any out there.

I had the pleasure of seeing Lazy Rich kill it last night at the Middle East in Cambridge. He brought so much wobbly electro-house to the basement of the venue and I wish he played longer than an hour. Find a bonus track by him below.


Tiesto - Work Hard, Play Hard

Fuck Yeah Friday! : Kaskade Livin'

Cam Harris checking in for the last time on the G- Spot as Mr. Gballz returns this weekend and I take off for retreat to lovely Cape Cod for the week. Nevertheless, this Fuck Yeah Friday is all about Ryan Raddon. Better known as his stage name, Kaskade, this guy has been destroying the charts this year putting in immense time at the studio and having it be reflected in his countless shows. He has been on tour for the better part of this entire year and makes a stop at the Comast Center August 20 for the highly anticipated Identity Festival which he is headlining along side the likes of Avicii and Steve Aoki. I had the opportunity to see only a quick glance of his set at Ultra Music Festival, therefore, I am highly excited for Identity and seeing him in full effect. To kick off your Friday into what I hope is a great weekend, I have posted one of my favorite songs that I cant seem to avoid when bumping the tunes in my car. Also, posted a few of his other mixes which are sure to get you upbeat and ready for whatever the weekend may brings. It's been a pleasure, and happy Fuck Yeah Friday!

Call Your Girlfriend - Kaskade Remix


Stars Align Tomorrow - Kaskade Mashup


Invisible - Kaskade Remix

Happy Hump Day: In Honor Of Mr. PowerStroke Being In The 617 Tonight

Cam Harris checking in for my last couple of posts here before G-Ballz himself makes his epic return back to the US from the Motherland. In wishing him a safe trip back in a couple of days, this post is a tribute to him and one of our favorite minimal artists, Mr. Powerstroke, or better known as Claude Vonstroke. Claude has given the city of Boston the great opportunity to see him live tonight over at Phoenix Landing in Cambridge. For those of you looking for a way to spice up your Wednesday night, I highly recommend trying to get over there and catching a once in a lifetime show. I had a chance to pop my Vonstroke cherry at Ultra Music Festival earlier this year and to say the least wow. He played in a tent full of jungle gyms and dusty people to bring his small crowd his intense music which I was informed was categorized as "jungle house". Nevertheless, he kills it. So this week I decided to dedicate some tracks to show you what I mean. So take a listen and if anything check out his artist page on facebook. Happy Hump Day to all and hope this picks up the pace for those of you with a slow work week. Enjoy!

The Whistler - Vandalism Vocal Mix



Wut - (Claude Vonstroke Remix)


Figure I would leave you with one Bonus track to keep the week rolling. Wolfgang Gartner has been on his grind this year and continues to do show after show after show to show his fans how much he loves playing for them. For this one, I leave you with what he calls his BRAND NEW track, even though he has been playing this on tour for quite a while now. Either way, the guy is a true producer and DJ, Enjoy


Menage A Trois - Wolfgang Gartner (Original Mix)

Monday Throwback: Kansas City's Finest, Tech N9ne

Cam Harris here returning folks for your Monday beat. Keeping pace with the usual Monday Throwback vibe of a classic hip hop song, I decided to introduce my long time favorite rapper and Strange Music CEO, Tech N9ne. 

For those of you who do not know about Tech N9ne, you are certainly in for a treat. Tech, also known by his real name, Aaron Yates, has remained as the #1 Independent rapper in the country. Now one may ask, who could care less about an Independent? Fortunately for Tech, his insanely rapid rapping skills along with his story-like telling approach has gained him respect from almost every major artist in the industry. I personally had the opportunity to see Tech live last a few weeks ago at the Worcester Palladium and in a nutshell, his raw talent matched with his undying appreciation for his fans made the energy level feel like it was pulsing every beat of the way. His newest album which dropped earlier this month entitled, "All 6's and 7's" has quickly impacted the charts with collaborations with some of the top artists in the business including the likes of Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg, B.O.B, and E-40 just to name a few.

I highly recommend browsing the tracklist for his newest album and taking a listen; I promise you will not regret it. However, to ease you into your work week I have decided to feature the track that made Tech famous, and many college kids alcoholics. Without further or due, I give you Caribou Lou.

Tech N9ne - Caribou Lou