Author Archives: Matthew Bloss

[Deep-House] Essess & Mike Gill – Love Somebody Else [TMN Premiere]

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 14, 2015

essess & Mike Gill
Love Somebody Else

When we caught onto the latest collaborative release from burgeoning House and Garage duo Essess and longtime UK club staple Mike Gill (both acts currently taking up residence in London), through Ministry of Sound sub-label HK Records, we had some lofty expectations. Luckily for us, Esses & Gill have crafted a deep, dark and seductively hooking single with “Love Somebody Else”. The tune bolts out of the gate with a thumping 4/4 kick, while echoes of techno leaning pads establish themselves atop careful string progressions. By the time “Love Somebody Else” finished building its thick sea of dance minutiae, and has unloaded a bouncing deep-house topline, an appropriately pitched vocal bursts through to push this one straight to our playlist of favorite club singles. We’re beyond thrilled to premiere Essess and Mike Gill’s “Love Somebody Else”, as this one is sure to catch on with the most ardent of House fans very soon. Beat them to it above.

[Event Preview/Denver Giveaway] Bag Raiders w/ Action 52 & Rose Quartz- 4/10 – The Bluebird Theater

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 6, 2015

Kimbra
Miracle (Bag Raiders Remix) + Denver ticket giveaway!

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Australia’s Bag Raiders have brilliantly maintained a coveted spot between the staunchest of electronic and dance aficionados, and full-fledged mainstream success in a way so few acts have the ability, yet countless artists aspire to. The duo behind indie-dance gems like “Shooting Stars”, and “Nairobi” are bringing their skills behind the DJ booth for a special DJ Set this Friday at Denver’s Bluebird Theater, and we’ve teamed up with our friends at AEG & Global Dance Music to give away a pair of tickets for one lucky winner. Rounding out the bill are a pair of TMN darlings out of the burgeoning indie scene of Denver, CO: Action 52 & Rose Quartz.

Fresh off of a superbly composed and wonderfully executed EP: Axis of Love, Rose Quartz has been sharing their sound all over the contiguous U.S. lately, behind a nationwide tour with Generationals and Ishi; and never come close to disappointing anyone in attendance for one of their hometown shows. Finally, kicking things off will be the underground tipping, fun loving house music of Action 52, who last landed on these hallowed pages with their take on Ludacris’ “How Low”. Needless to say, we’re getting positively jazzed up for this one, and as always, it just wouldn’t be half as fun without a couple of our Ninja friends in attendance as well. Entering this one is a cinch. Just “like” The Music Ninja Facebook page here, and comment with your favorite Bag Raiders tune below in the comments section for guaranteed entry. We’re announcing our winner on the day of the show, so stay tuned for the reveal!

There are a few rules, of course:
– The event is all ages, so tell all your friends to increase your odds of winning!
– You are responsible for your own transportation.
– You must bring a valid form of ID to pick up your tickets at the Bluebird Theater box office.
– You must find a TMN representative and let them buy you a shot (or Red Bull for our non legal friends)
Good luck Ninjas!

[Event Preview] The Underground Music Showcase – 7/23-7/26 – Denver, CO

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 6, 2015

After the raucous and discovery laden journey that was last year’s Underground Music Showcase in Denver, CO; we are once again gearing up for another edition of our favorite music festival in Denver. One of the few remaining music gatherings in our the fair city of Denver to eschew the typical smattering of major label festival fare, The UMS has dropped the first glimpse into a lineup boasting over 1,500+ acts strewn across various shops and bars dotting Denver’s South Broadway district, and we’ve already got stars in our widening Ninja eyes as a result. Buoyed by the gleaming synth-pop of Portland, OR’s STRFKR and the psych induced dream-rock of Brooklyn trio DIIV, as well as TMN Favorites Rose Quartz, Wild High and The Epilogues, this year’s UMS looks to be as top heavy as ever without skimping on any of the underground qualities which brought it to prominence in the first place. Grab your tickets here, and quite honestly, for our friends in Denver, $50.00 for a four-day paradisaical dip into some of the best atmosphere and music (of an absurd number of genres as well, mind you) the Mile High City has to offer is what we like to call in the industry… “a steal”.

Check out our 2014 coverage of The UMS here, stream our mini-playlist featuring a tune from each aforementioned act to stoke your UMS fire, and read the full lineup of announced artists thus far for the 2015 installment of The Underground Music Showcase below.

UMS 2015 first lineup announcement:

STRFKR, Diiv, Milo Greene, Brick + Mortar, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), Moon Hooch, Until The Ribbon Breaks, Accordion Crimes, Beginners, Bud Bronson and the Good Timers, Colfax Speed Queen, Dragondeer, The Epilogues, Eros & the Eschaton, Gabriel, Garzón-Montano, In the Whale, The Knew, Land Lines, The Lonely Wild, Ned Garthe Explosion, Plum, Rose Quartz, Ryan Chrys and the Roughcuts, Shady Elders, South of France, SPELLS, Wild High, Wiredogs, The Yawpers.

’Golden Light’

’Doused’

’Leaving Now’

’Tidal’

’Hunting Season’

[House] Digital Farm Animals – True

Posted by Matthew Bloss - April 2, 2015

Digital Farm Animals
True

Soundcloud

A familiar face to the pages of TMN, London’s Digital Farm Animals has dropped his latest shot to the dancefloor with an ode to classic house, “True”. The tune waltzes out immediately behind a club tuned grand piano line, which in itself has maintained as a true testament to the truest roots of Chicago house since Marshal Jefferson’s timeless 1986 “Move Your Body (The House-Music Anthem)”, Digital Farm Animals slowly unravels the full spectrum of “True” with each passing bar in the form of vintage hip-hop claps, chopped and pitched vocals bouncing between pitched up falsetto and expansively pitched down interpretations of themselves. It seems Nick gale’s output has continued taking aim towards more danceable club fare since his earliest days under the Digital Farm Animals namesake, and we’ve been all but addicted the whole way.

Check out our interview feature with DFA all the way back from late 2013 here -proudly for us, his first ever recorded interview on record as Digital Farm Animals- and stream “True” above.

[Event Preview/Denver Giveaway] The Golden Pony – 3/26 – Spill Lounge

Posted by Matthew Bloss - March 25, 2015

Hozier
Take Me To Church (The Golden Pony Remix)

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It’s no secret around here at TMN, that we have more than a musical soft-spot for BangOn!NYC founders, dual afro-wielders, and insanely talented underground dance producers The Golden Pony. From the first time we featured their unproven yet incredibly refined remixing abilities all the way back in early 2013, through their “Golden Classics” series, to their foray into the completely original side of production, and finally their latest remix, for Hozier’s smash “Take Me to Church (listen above); we’ve not yet seen the genre blurring pair miss so much as a step within their beefy and constantly expanding catalog. So justly, it was only a matter of time before The Golden Pony stepped away from their throne of dane-party curation and took their DJ set on the road. Tomorrow, the indie-disco meets house sensibility that they’ve so readily claimed on the interwebs will touch down in Denver at Spill Lounge for our Mile-High faithful to absorb as well, and there was no way we couldn’t get our Ninja companions in on the action. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Granny Milk Events to give away a pair of free tickets to the show and entering is beyond simple. Just “like” The Music Ninja Facebook page here, and enter your e-mail in the widget below. We’ll be notifying our winners via e-mail tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Eastern/ 2:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time, so be on the lookout!

There are a few rules, of course:
– The event is only for attendees 21 +
– You are responsible for your own transportation.
– You must bring a valid form of ID to pick up your tickets at the Spill Lounge entrance.
– You must find a TMN representative and let them buy you a shot.

[Chill/Nu-Disco] Falcon Punch – Square One

Posted by Matthew Bloss - March 25, 2015

Falcon Punch
Square One

Download

The last time we had the pleasure of featuring Denver based laid-back dance slinger Falcon Punch was with a lovely contribution to MANI/PEDI Records “Silk”, and it was only shortly thereafter that he set the music blogosphere on fire with “Donald’s Bird”. Today, one of our most looked-to disko tastemakers is back with another tastefully arranged piece of placid dance construction, “Square One”. A funk-fueled, slow groover, “Square One” interweaves every piece of Falcon Punch’s sophisticated production psyche together effortlessly. Bouncing along on an understated and underground favoring deep synth line and a smattering of reverb treated Mo-Town vocal chops, we were easily entranced no less than four bars into his latest movement. But, the real treat for us was discovering the versatile musician’s talents extend far beyond the confines of computer production programs. Almost every inch of “Square One” pulses with painstakingly written and modulated analog instrumentation; from the delicate keys, to serene guitar plucking and swinging bassline, Falcon Punch occupies a tangible music space so few producers dream to delve into. It’s more than inspirative when we learn our favorite dance artists maintain and bridge the fundamental connection between legitimate music players and dancefloor wizards so needless to say, “Square One” has been on repeat around the TMN offices today. It’s high time our Ninja friends join the party, and to do you one better, grab a free download here.

[Deep-House] Need & Necessity – So Listen

Posted by Matthew Bloss - March 18, 2015

Need & Necessity
So Listen (Original Mix)

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As is the case with so many past Hump Days, we had a bit of a hankering for some jackin’ dance music. Luckily, Denver based underground house unit Need & Necessity came through at the most serendipitous of moments with a brand new original “So Listen”. After last stopping by TMN with a self-released subteraranean house edit for The Internet’s “Dontcha”, the assiduous duo have returned to the throne they helped co-found, Night Supply Records, with a bullet. Riding the intoxicating pitched down vocal chops from Timbaland’s “The Way I Are”, “So Listen” bolts out of the gate with an army of Roland TR-909 tipping bass and a lovely interplay between shuffling cymbals and crisp claps before Need & Necessity’s hooky synth progression usurps the entire movement as its primary focal point. We’ve been on top of Need & Necessity’s career arc since the beginning, and seeing the clearly adept pair begin to assume a warranted spot near the top of rising house acts has been nothing short of taste affirming for us Ninjas. “So Listen” is available exclusively through Beatport for those wanting to add this to their personal libraries or DJ repertoires, but since we’re already here, go ahead and stream this deep groover above.