Author Archives: Matthew Bloss

[Future/Deep-House] Sebastian Carter ft. Aela Kae – Fascination (Kulkid Remix)

Posted by Matthew Bloss - August 3, 2015

Sebastian Carter ft. Aela Kae
Fascination (Kulkid Remix)

It’s been a hot couple of months since we last featured anything from French dance producer Kulkid, and while we’re a few days late to the party on this one, it was without a doubt that we needed to share his latest remix, this one of Sebastian Carter (a TMN staple) & Aela Kae‘s collaboration “Fascination”, with our Ninja faithful. In honor of celebrating their first anniversary, Crosswalk Records in conjunction with Believe Recordings, have released a compilation including past acts from the label and new comers alike; including this one from Kulkid. Kulkid molds his sound onto Sebastian Carter’s original beautifully, focusing on a chunky analogue bassline to highlight Aela Kae’s soaring reverberations and plenty of ambient pad work as fuel. Crosswalk’s complete anniversary compilation, which features more cuts from the likes of Ofenbach, , Lost Frequencies, MÖWE, FDVM and more, can be purchased on iTunes here, but for now you can cozy up to Kulkid’s “Fascination” remix above.

[House] Hervé – You Give Me Something [TMN Premiere]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - August 3, 2015

Hervé
You Give Me Something

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This morning, we’ve hooked up with jackin’ UK-House sensation Hervé to premiere his latest single “You Give Me Something”. Not a stranger to scooting house rhythms and pumping dance soul, Hervé folds interweaving shuffled hi-hats, and a snappy bassline tipping its flavor to the late 80’s house music crafted in parties like Ron Hardy’s Muzic Box or Frankie Knuckles’ Warehouse nights resulting in a club weapon we’ve not been able to shake all weekend. And that’s not to say there isn’t loads of contemporary influence either, as all of Hervé’s signature energy and charm is on full display; especially behind a sticky-sweet vocal providing an alternate play against a peak-hour deep-house backbone. After releasing on notable dance labels including Ministry of Sound and Mad Decent, “You Give Me Something” marks Hervé’s debut release on ultra-tasteful underground dance imprint Love & Other Records and with past support already from the likes of Annie Mac & Pete Tong it’s pretty clear to hear that this one was a match made in house-heaven. Stream Hervé’s “You Give Me Something” above, and be on the lookout for its official release via digital retailers on August 14th through Love & Other. Mondays never felt so good.

Rose Quartz Sits Down With TMN To Discuss New Album, Record Stores & More [Exclusive Interview]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - July 31, 2015

Denver based Rose Quartz has long been a staple in many of The Music Ninja staff’s music diets. Back in December, the now four-piece released their re-tooled, textured and evolved debut EP as a full four-piece, Leaving Now, which we fell head over heels for and most recently dropped a collaborative ‘TMN Premiere’ single with Brothertiger, “Pleasure & Pain”. Last weekend we had the chance to take in one of our favorite music festivals, The Underground Music Showcase, in Rose Quartz’s backyard of Denver, which this year featured headliners like DIIV, STRFKR, Tennis and of course, Rose Quartz themselves for one of the busiest three-day stretches we have the pleasure of consuming all year. After taking in their Saturday performance on the Main Stage, we caught up with Ethan, Alex, Clay and Matt after an intimate and enthralling set on Sunday at the Hi-Dive to discuss the important things in life. Like disco, Schlitz Malt Liquor and loads more. Read our entire interview below.

TMN: First off, thanks guys for sitting down with us, we’ve been huge fans since it was just Ethan & Alex as FLASH/LIGHTS, and then of course to the debut Flashlights EP from Rose Quartz. We’re just going to keep it super casual, so let’s just get right into it.

So, now that you’re a full live quartet with the addition of Clay on bass and Matt on drums, there seems to have been a shift in sonic temperament from the Flashlights EP to your most recent EP Leaving Now, which we loved. Can you talk a little bit about how that shift has affected the songwriting and recording process for you guys.

Alex: Yeah, we’ve done a lot of different things now that we’re a four-piece. We’ve been writing for the entire band now, and shifting our influences much more to a funky, disco kind of influence. We’ve been listening to a lot of the BeeGee’s, Hall & Oates, and Michael Jackson…

Clay: …The Gap Band

Alex: …Yeah The Gap Band, and a bunch of good 70’s funk and disco. And I think that just that has really helped out, and then having four people, whether it’s on stage or in the studio, just having three other people to smile at has made us want to play I guess, happier and more upbeat in regards to the music.

Ethan: And now that we’re a four-piece band, the writing style has changed. When it was just the two of us we had to write stuff that could be performed by two people and didn’t look shitty. *Laughs from the room* Which limits the kind of writing we could do in terms of our live performances. So now that we can do it as a four-piece we can write much more complex stuff with more layers, and more tasteful ways we could actually recreate live. So that was a big shift for us definitely. Just.. finding the groove.

Read the rest of our interview with Rose Quartz after the jump….

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[Indie-Dance/Nu-Disco] Midnight Pool Party – Disease (Eau Claire Remix)

Posted by Matthew Bloss - July 29, 2015

Midnight Pool Party
Disease (Eau Claire Remix)

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D.C. based indie-dance and disco bender Eau Claire just might be one of the hardest working producers in the dance game right now. It seems like not another week passes without another gem bubbling up from her, and after most recently appearing with us behind a shiny take on Saint Motel’s “Just My Type”, Eau Claire’s back with another window into an ever-evolving production psyche on a remix of Midnight Pool Party’s “Disease”. While the original fits squarely into that shapeshifting indie-dance niche, Eau Claire showers a glossy revision with ample disco synths, subdued percussion and some mid-track vocal filtering that would make Imogen Heap quiver with delight. While this writer might be a sucker for sunny dance beats which hearken visions of rooftops, beaches and pools; Eau Claire stands above much of the pack with her tightly wound production and crisply composed dance structures. If Eau Claire keeps rolling on like this, we have a feeling it won’t be long before she’s being mentioned in the same breath as some of the underground dance scene’s biggest names. We’ve already been doing exactly that. Stream Eau Claire’s remix for Midnight Pool Party above and for our friends in the U.S., take a peek at Eau Claire’s next slate of performances below.

Eau Claire Upcoming Shows:

July 31st – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
August 8th-9th – Palm Springs, CA @ Splash House
August 22nd – Brooklyn, NY @ Elements Music Festival
August 29th – Los Angeles, CA @ Skybar at Mondrian

[Deep-House] Cazzette – Together (Beckwith Remix)

Posted by Matthew Bloss - July 29, 2015

Cazzette
Together (Beckwith Remix Extended Mix)

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Swedish duo Cazzette certainly needs no introduction around these pages. The pair, who helped shape the current landscape of what we’ve grown to know as EDM over the years, first landed on TMN all the way back in 2011 (be forewarned, our writing and genre tagging has become much more desirable in the last 4 years), and most recently touched down last month with an alternate glimpse of their deeper and proper house production prowess on “Together” (a much more solid read, trust us). It didn’t take long for the savory remix package to trickle out either as NYC House slayer Beckwith has warped “Together” beautifully to fit into his refined aesthetic. Beckwith ditches Cazzette’s original major-key tonality, instead bending their original fist-pumping stems around a lucid take on club-house sonority and fleeting sub-bass for a darker, more melodic alternative to Cazzette’s. Not to forget, Beckwith’s exquisitely haunting and wobbly break works wonders inside of the original. Needless to say, we’ve been busily devouring this one since first listen and it was high time we shared that addiction with our readers as well. Stream Beckwith’s “Together” remix above.

[House] FK Panda – Remember The Feeling

Posted by Matthew Bloss - July 27, 2015

FK Panda
Remember The Feeling [FREE DOWNLOAD]

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About three years back, we had the chance to fall in love with U.K. house duo Panda; specifically their record “All I Can Give”, which was released on Bondax’s Just Us label (which unfortunately has been defunct for about two years now). In the time since, the London/Plymouth stationed pair have worked with highly notable dance imprints including tastemakers like Toolroom, Kitsune, and Black Butter; while today -with a freshly revitalized moniker, FK Panda, and more streamlined, jackin’ underground house sound- sees their latest single, “Remember The Feeling”, placed as a free download through Love & Other Records. The re-branding as FK Panda seems to have reignited a burning flame within the two, as “Remember The Feeling” carries one of the heavier and most club directed house backbones we’ve heard them ever employ. Their debut single as FK Panda rolls on top of a shuffled hi-hat, rumbling kicks, backing piano stabs as soulful as Marshall Jefferson could have envisioned back in ’86, and one of the catchiest vocal samples the house game will see this entire year; highlighting the twosome’s keen grasp on proper club structures while keeping intact their unique playability. Needless to say we’ve got our full Ninja stamp of approval all over this one, and with past support already coming from the likes of Pete Tong & Annie Mac, we think you’ll have an easy time giving yours as well. Stream FK Panda’s “Remember The Feeling” above, and grab the free download from their Soundcloud here.

[TMN Mix Premiere] Dr. Fresch Presents ‘The Prescription’ 004: Shaun Frank

Posted by Matthew Bloss - July 24, 2015

The Prescription
Dr. Fresch The Prescription 004: Shaun Frank Guest Mix

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It’s no secret that over the years we’ve become quite enamored with L.A. House assailant and Prep School Recordings co-founder Dr. Fresch and his entire band of raucous cohorts. After releasing some of our favorite dance cuts last year including official remixes for Carmada and of Jason Burns’ “Lightweight”, Dr. Fresch has been tuned into his latest project, The Prescription, a semi-monthly mix series featuring both a half-hour mix from Dr. Fresch and a special guest half-hour spot from Dr. Fresch’s steadily expanding multitude of talented friends. The groove forward series has already featured worthy entries from the likes of SNBRN, Ghastly and Wax Motif while today sees a huge successor to that aforementioned trip with Toronto based producer Shaun Frank taking the reigns. Whay resulted was one of the best hours of dance music we’ve had the chance to feature here on TMN, with over thirty tracks from some of our absolute favorite dance artists including Disclosure, Zeds Dead, Crookers, Watermat, Moguai, Borgeous and of course loads from Shaun Frank; and we couldn’t be happier to share it first with our Ninjas. Especially on our favorite day of the week to distribute that hot-as-fire dance content. So check out the entire tracklist below, grab the full download here, sit back, or in this case stand up, and get your footwork on to The Prescription‘s 4th episode above.

Dr. Fresch Tracklist

Dr. Fresch – Superfreak

Dom Dolla & Go Freek – Define

Hotfire – Bitches

Zeds Dead -Bustamove

Chris Lake & Anna Lunoe – Stomper

Project Bassline – Drop The Pressure (Jack Beats ‘Rinsed Out Rave’ Remix)

Disclosure – Bang That

Goshfather & Jinco x 1DAFUL – ID

Candyland x Lodge 21 – ID

Preditah – Selecta

Drezo – Heaven

Astronmar & Wuki – How We Live

Crookers – What Up Y’all

Aylen & Baewatch – How I Roll

Sleepy Tom – I Want Your Soul

NGHTMRE – STREET

Shaun Frank Tracklist

Oliver Heldens & Shaun Frank – Shades Of Grey Feat. Delaney Jane Oliver Heldens & Shaun Frank – Shades Of Grey Feat. Delaney Jane (Antoine Delvig Remix)

Calvin Harris & Diciples – How Deep Is Your Love

ID – Want You So

ID-ID

Fono vs Sander Van Doorn – Oh Amazing Bass (Shaun Frank Edit) Shaun Frank – Time

Kiesza – Take Me To Church (Shaun Frank Remix)

Shaun Frank & Vanrip – All About

Grace feat. G-Eazy – You Don’t Own Me (Shaun Frank Remix)

HI-Lo – Renegade Mastah

Kanye West vs Jungle – Busy Earnin All Day (Shaun Frank Edit)

Jill Scott – Golden (Royce Remix)

Watermat & Moguai – Portland

Dropout – Slowly

Rezz – Plague

Borgeous & Shaun Frank – This Could Be Love ft Delaney Jane (Fada & Morden Remix)