D!MUSiK

Some mix

Winter is coming, but I still have a bit of a summer aftertaste.

And so does Viceroy, an up and coming producer who caught my ear some time ago with his remix of Will Smith’s “Gettin ‘Jiggy Wit It”. I decided to pay attention to his work, and the attention has rewarded me with a shiny new set of tracks to listen and play.

With his new song “While We’re In Love”, Viceroy once again fills a track with a nu-disco, pool-side daiquiri drinking sound that will help you forget how long it has been since you last wore a swimsuit.

Everytime I find out Gigamesh has a new remix out, I have to admit, it feels like unwrapping a birthday present from a cool uncle. That uncle whose gift is always what you were hoping you’d get.

And Matthew Masurka, a Minneapolis producer/DJ who goes by the name of Gigamesh, always delivers exactly what I am hoping to hear. His disco influenced electronic beats are not only extremely danceable, but he also manages to make them sit in perfectly with the original track. It is almost as if the original artist recorded to Gigamesh’s track.

His latest remix of Moullinex exemplifies this beautifully. And as a bonus track: Gigamesh Remix of Pumped up Kicks.

Run Da Trap.

EDM has, over the past year or so, emerged from the underground to become the backbone of popular music. It is now the driving force behind pop songs and is no longer considered a side show. Yes, there was time when even Calvin Harris would not be allowed to perform on center stage. And yet he is, nowadays, involved in producing the defining sound of pop.

The counter movement arrived from rap music, which ran in the opposite direction. It moved from the high tempo sound (125-130 BPM) of EDM to the lower range of the spectrum (65-70 BPM). It became nearly impossible to find a song on the charts that was not sitting on either edge.

Music, however, always finds a way to demolish barriers. And what better way to close a gap than to combine both beasts in one track and let it run wild?

So here it is. Trap music.

Have a taste:

Of course the name of the band is Kisses. And yes the name of the song is Funny Heartbeat. And guess what? It is a song about love and it comes packaged in a far from unique wrapping paper. They even have a “beating heart” sound about a minute and a half into the song.

… And yet this is undoubtedly an amazing track.

Behind its lovely cuddly skin, there is a deep melancholic tone. This is not the most joyful song you will hear. Definitely not the most joyful love song. Even musically, right after the first verse, Kisses went for a guitar riff that compliments this tone and makes the entire song stand up.

And I have to face it, even though it is cliche, the “beating heart” sound works perfectly.

Make sure you download the track here

I went to Rio a few months ago, and while I was there I took a trip to Buzios. It was raining for most of the trip, so we had to stay inside the house for a day. One of the guys I traveling with was Brunno Monteiro, an up and coming singer/songwriter from Rio.

Throughout my trip, I was slowly falling in love with Brazilian music and the uniqueness of bossa nova chords and rhythms. We recorded, during a rainy afternoon, an acoustic version of Aguas de Marco. Although it is a classic Brazilian song, this was the first time I had ever heard it. I immediately fell for it and decided to make a remix that would add my own flavor to this sweet song.

New Orleans filmmaker Jon Jackson made a video of his interpretation of the remixed song. Here’s that video, hope you like it.

Making of The Bucket, by Kings of Leon.

This is KOL before it was cool… (i.e. when they were cool)

Check it

In the middle of a rainy trip from Rio de Janeiro to Buzios, the very talented Brunno Monteiro and I recorded this cover of a Bossa Nova classic. I took that acoustic recording and made my own remix. This is the result of that experiment.

Hope you like it