Everyone’s favourite indie-poppers Foster The People have been remixed by South African electro/ambient artist St Lucia. Featuring gorgeous synths, infectious vocals and a killer sax solo right at the end, St Lucia has injected ‘Don’t Stop’ with another burst of life. Such euphoria and irresistibility can only mean one thing: this track is going to be your new earworm within seconds.
Foster The People – Don’t Stop (St Lucia Remix)
New dreamy, and a tad bouncy remix of Miike Snow ‘Padding Out’, from their upcoming album Happy To You, out in March 26th via Columbia/Downtown Records. In all honesty, Jacques Lu Cont did a decent job adding an extra level of dance, with a more aggressive progression of melodic notes overlaid with a prominent baseline. Though it does sometimes feel out of place, the remix soon turns into a relaxing electronic dream. Still trying to warm up to this new remix, but what do you think?
Make sure to also check out the original ‘Paddling Out‘ along with the music video released a few days ago.
Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
Here at The Music Ninja we love talented young producers who break into the scene with exciting new musical ideas. Unrestrained by rules or industry standards, these young producers are simply making music for fun and it shows. 18 year-old, Sydney-based producer Walden exemplifies this kick-ass spirit with his latest rendition of the Mario Brother’s Theme. At one point or another most of us have wasted countless hours playing this timeless video game franchise so it is cool to see it become the inspiration behind a slamming electro tune! So throw it on your sound system next time you pick up that video game controller and enjoy the 8-bit sounds from down under.
It is a tall order to take on the likes of UK giant Feed Me for a remix project, but fate rewards the bold. 16 year old San Diego remixer Caveat stepped up to the challenge with his rendition of “Strange Behavior”. Although the original definitely has more punch, Caveat’s rendition takes this epic vocal track into eery new places that Feed Me would likely be proud of. In any case this is a damn good job from a 16 year old and it is hardly fair to compare it to a seasoned veteran such as Feed Me. Overall we solute Caveat for stepping up to the big leagues even if he only made it to first base this time around.
Strange Behavior (Caveat Remix)
Danish indie folk band The White Album make it difficult to do two things. One is to stop humming their catchy melodies, and the other is to google them. Seriously, you’ll wade through ten feet of Beatles references before you find them… But, like sifting for gold, it’s worth it when you find the treasure you’re looking for.
The Album has been getting the band a lot of attention, championing them over twenty thousand plays on their bandcamp in only seven months and earning them play on the UK’s Amazing Radio. In fact, they’ve stirred up such a buzz that The Album was listed as one of NPR’s 5 best albums of 2011.
The Album itself plays to the strengths of the three members of the band and never veers too far off of the beaten path in either direction, balancing a tight rope of what works for them and managing nineteen minutes of nonstop quality.
When the music does shift in style it’s because the lineup has changed roles and a different member is trying his hand at lead vocals. While “Guns and Ammunition” has taken the lead in the race for becoming a single, songs like “December” or “The Line” do just as well to showcase the ability of the band. Count on light percussion, banjo, acoustics, and lots of awesome harmonies to keep you coming back for more.
Labyrinth Ear – Amber from oof video on Vimeo.
London duo Labyrinth Ear are making quite a name for themselves with their sharp and icy electro tracks. Take ‘Amber’ from their EP ‘Apparitions’, for example. A gorgeous 4-minute pop song featuring biting synths contrasting with delicate modulated vocals. The video (NSFW) is shot largely in monochrome, and has echoes of fashion ad campaigns. With this perfect combination of effortlessly cool disco and arty visuals, Labyrinth Ear have the full package. Expect to hear ‘Amber’ everywhere in the coming months. ‘Apparitions’ is out now.
To have your song played by Swedish House Mafia in Madison Square Gardens, in Manhattan, New York, has got to be one of the coolest things you could say about yourself. Well – that’s the case with Hard Rock Sofa. Their song Quasar, which is out on Axtone records, was played at that show. We had a chance to fire over some questions for these guys, and ask them how they felt about it. Check out their answers below
Q: First off, tell us a little bit about Hard Rock Sofa. How did you guys meet and what got you into DJing/producing in the first place?
A: In 2005 we started off as a trio. All 3 of us (Alexander Shapovalov – producer / DJ, Denis Chepikov – producer/ DJ, Sergey Zuev – vocals) live in the same town, Smolensk. We’d known each other and been friends much longer before we organized the project of Hard Rock Sofa. The 2 of us (Alex & Dan) were djing in local clubs while Sergey was performing live with his rock band. As Hard Rock Sofa we toured a lot throughout Russia and Europe but not long ago Sergey Zuev left the project to pursue his own career of a lead singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band.
Q: How did you come up with the name?
A: We thought about it for a long time as we wanted it to be creative, interesting and original at the same time. In the early days of our career our house music was a little more influenced by rock and dance music of the 80’s than it is now.
At that time we tried to make music that was good for a club audience as well as for listening at home on the sofa.
Q: You guys have played in the US, Europe, and Russia. What’s your favorite club or festival venue that you’ve played at?
A: All the clubs and fests where we played at are good, each in their own way. Lately we’ve been touring the US a lot and the show we enjoyed the most was the one at Amnesia club in Miami, Florida. Continue reading
