Heady | adj. \'he-dē \

It’s been a while since these two artists have collaborated together to bring us another track. If you can remember from last year, their combined work 2012 was a banging trap tune and you most likely heard it at any live sets you have been to recently. Bro Safari and UFO! have been on the up and up in the trap game, constantly touring the country and blowing up clubs. In this latest release they also have a music video, for what might be the greatest cooking show I have ever seen. You would be really missing out if you didn’t watch this video as well as download this trap banger.

Bro Safari: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

UFO!: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

by: Amir G

Tags: Bro Safari, Trap, UFO!, video

A while back you might remember us sharing the Beatport chart topping dubstep single from Xilent ‘Boss Wave’. If you missed it, be sure to check it out and get a sneak peak at the forthcoming remix EP set to drop on the 27th of this month via Audio Porn. Featuring remixes from Tha New Team, Dodge & Fuski, Teddy Killerz, James Marvel, and a new single from Xilent himself, the Boss Wave: Reloaded EP is densely packed with explosive, bass cradled productions that all resonate with crunchy, glitch-out soundscapes for true a 8-bit auditory experience. Stream the EP below and be sure to pre-order a copy on iTunes.

Xilent: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter
Tha New Team: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter
Dodge & Fuski: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter
Teddy Killerz: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter
James Marvel: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter

by: Carlos V

Tags: Audio Porn, Dodge & Fuski, Drumstep, Dubstep, Electro, EP, James Marvel, Remix, Teddy Killerz, Tha New Team, Xilent

One of the greatest forms of support that can be given to an artist who constantly releases free music is to purchase their music when possible. For an artist who has delivered some of the most priceless gems to the electronic music community, SirensCeol rightfully deserves every penny obtained from the sale of his most recent release, ‘Nocturnal’. Available now on Beatport via Ministry of Sound, the California native has once again put forth a melodically captivating yet thrilling and explosive drumstep hit, adding another massive hit to his catalog of impeccable releases.

SirensCeol: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter | Beatport

by: Carlos V

Tags: Drumstep, Dubstep, Original Mix, SirensCeol

Master of the genreless, David Jio aka ClosedEyeVisuals is a force to reckon with, and his latest, a collaboration with Yokudan Savage, “Qliphoths,” clocking in somewhere around 140bpm, transcends the boundaries of modern genre labeling.

A soft and welcoming intro introduces the track, featuring moody vocals by Kid Cudi that carry on throughout portions of the song. Four bars into the intro, the vocals are enveloped in warm and powerful sub-bass and slow but hard-hitting percussion that brings a motion and persistence to the track.

After another four-bar interval, the sub-bass drops off and leaves the vocals to drift in spacious and absorbent pads that reinforce the chilled vibe of the track. But just as you had begun to label “Qliphoths” Chillstep, or something else that you could fall gently asleep to – even though at a minute and a half in you thought the time had come and gone to drop the bass – just then, the track explodes into full Trapstep glory. As forewarned by the genre listing “Astral Plane Floating x TURNT UP,” “Qliphoths” bursts apart into colossal bass growls, gun cocking, and synthy madness reaching up an octave at times to achieve the the signature ghetto Trap psychosis.

Settling down at around 2:23, the track continues to alternate between its polar persuasions until its ultimate conclusion with more lyrics from Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Night,” an appropriate finalé to a deep and psychedelic track made competitive with its heavy Trap influences.

Yokudan Savage keeps a low profile, with less than thirty followers on Soundcloud, so it remains hard to tell what will become of him next, but we’ll be hearing more of ClosedEyeVisuals on Drop The Bassline’s 50k subscriber release, so ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves.

ClosedEyeVisuals: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

Yokudan Savage: Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

by: Theo B

Tags:

Undoubtedly one of the most revered musicians of our time, Bob Marley will forever be engraved in the spirit and essence of music. What is arguably one of the best albums of his career, ‘Legend’, which has stood the test of time, is being reincarnated by a handful of contemporary artists. Come June 25th, listeners will be gifted with ‘Legend Remixed’, a compilation of ‘Legend’ remixes from select artists who had the honor of reviving some of the most prized compositions in the history of music.

Artists ranging from Thievery Corporation, Pretty Lights, Z-Trip and Beats Antique, to Ziggy and Stephen Marley, Photek, RAC, and many others, have taken part in reincarnated the fifteen tracks from the beloved ‘Legend’ album. Stephen Marley and Jason Bentley’s remix of ‘Three Little Birds’ is out now on iTunes and can be previewed below in a video containing commentary on the making of the remix album. A documentary film on the making of the album will also accompany the release of the ‘Legend Remixed’ during the summer. Be sure to pre-order the album via Amazon and watch for the tracks to be released via BobMarley.com.

Tracklist:
Is This Love (Jason Bentley Remix)
No Woman No Cry (Stephen Marley Remix)
Could You Be Loved (RAC Remix)
Three Little Birds (Stephen Marley and Jason Bentley Remix)
Buffalo Soldier (Stephen Marley Remix)
Get Up Stand Up (Thievery Corporation Remix)
Stir It Up (Ziggy Marley Remix)
Easy Skanking (Stephen Marley Remix)
One Love/People Get Ready (Photek Remix)
I Shot The Sheriff (Roni Size Remix)
Waiting In Vain (Jim James Remix)
Redemption Song (Ziggy Marley Remix)
Satisfy My Soul (Beats Antique Remix)
Exodus (Pretty Lights Remix)
Jamming (Nickodemus & Zeb Remix)
Punky Reggae Party (Z-Trip Remix featuring Lee “Scratch” Perry)

by: Carlos V

Tags: Album, Beats Antique, Jim James, Nickodemus, Photek, RAC, Remix, Stephen Marley, Thievery Corporation, Z-Trip, Zeb

Driving innovative and explosive sounds into the stream of electronic music, Atlanta’s Ralf Popescu, now widely known as Popeska, has become a rapidly growing presence in the industry. With a vast catalog of releases, showcasing his profound musical dexterity and versatility, the newly signed Kindergarten Recordings visionary is stepping further under the limelight with each successive production. As his fanbase, career, and reputation grow exponentially, it is without question that Popeska will remain a prominent presence in the realm of music, regardless of the genre. If the name is new to your eyes, acquaint yourself with the young and humble producer as he was kind enough to sit down and give us an in depth look into his musical career.
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HT: Looking back to the earliest years of your involvement with music, who were some of the artists you grew up listening to? Are there particular acts that had a combined influence to help you arrive at your sound and is there any significance to the name Popeska? Where did that come from?

My sound nowadays is kind of a culmination of everything I’ve ever done musically I guess. It wasn’t really like a jump into production where I was like “yo I like this guy so this is kind of the music I want to make”. I guess just from having had so many different piano teachers, from messing around with so many instruments from the flute to the bass guitar, and from listening to what I used to listen to in middle school like Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, whatever… just everything kind of eventually comes together and makes your sound ya know? So I couldn’t really pinpoint it anywhere, it’s just kind of evolution really.

As far as the name goes, my last name is Popescu so obviously it’s a variation on my last name! Long story long, I had this girlfriend I really liked, and I would like get her roses and stuffed animals every so often, just cause I liked her ya know? And so I got her stuffed animals, and she named them all after me… So I only have a first, middle, and last name, so when those ran out so she started calling them variations and one of them was Popeska (Pope-ska) and that was actually the original pronunciation, kind of just saying my last name in a weird way. And when I made a SoundCloud one day, and I had to think of name… I think that the stuffed animal was nearby (it was a little horse) and I was like, whatever I’ll put that. I guess I didn’t really ever like choose an artist name ya know, I just made a SoundCloud and I needed to put something there. I could’ve either put my name, or put something funny or something dumb…so I was like alright whatever I’m just going to put Popeska (Pope-ska)… and then eventually the whole thing caught on and I changed the pronunciation to Po-pes-ka because I thought Pope-ska was dumb.

HT: Up until recently, most of your music has been released for free. In what way do you see some of your forthcoming productions being released? Will you always maintain a balance between purchasable and free releases?

It’s a strange balance nowadays, now that I’m signed under a label, management and stuff like that. Back in the day, whenever I finished a song, I would put it up immediately and that was it. I finished it and I wanted people to hear it. Even now, my next EPs have songs on it that I made way back in like September, October. So, its just like a whole different system now ya know? You have to wait for stuff to come out, its kind of like strategic… back in the day when I put stuff out for free I could even go back to old songs and remaster them and stuff, whereas nowadays when something’s out, it’s out. Its just a lot different now. I was kind of used to that system where I would just finish a track and put it out. It’s a bit more difficult nowadays cause like right now, I’m probably sitting on like thirty to forty tracks and its just like “what happens to them”? I don’t know. A lot of different things can happen to songs now, as opposed to the ol’ SoundCloud of before. If it was up to me I would still put out everything for free as soon as I finished it, I just want people to listen to it! Unfortunately me just doing whatever I feel like isn’t the only factor in the equation anymore.

HT: ‘Karmameter’ was a huge breakthrough for you last year. It was your first EP on Beatport and your debut release on Kindergarten Recordings. How long was the EP in the works and how happy are you with the outcome and success of the EP now that a good amount of time has passed? Is Kindergarten going to be home to what ever is next in your career?

I actually started that EP at the beginning of the summer, last summer. I got signed to the label and they were like “alright, we’d like a first EP”… I was in Barcelona at the time, I was on study abroad. I had some free time there so I actually started and finished the whole thing while I was there. I’m super proud of it, it’s made of all the inspiration I had from being in Europe and stuff. I’m proud of any of the music I make as long as it’s something I really wanted to make and it came out how I wanted it to, which that EP definitely was, for the most part. The one thing I would have to say is that a lot of the tracks aren’t really made to play out, like for DJs…I think for my next EP I’m going to shoot for a couple tracks that people can play out easy, stuff like that… and as far as being on Kindergarten, I got a few more EPs to put out on it and I really love the label and everything that comes with it.

HT: Earlier in the year you put out ‘The Feeling Of Being Watched EP’ as a charity project. Was the turnout of that release what you expected? Can you open up a little bit those tracks and maybe talk about what inspired you to put the EP out the way you did?

I made that EP mostly back on the ‘Love and War’ tour with Wolfgang. The whole point of the EP is kind of related to what I was talking about having the label and stuff like that, how now that I’m on a label I can’t just put out whatever I want whenever I want. Not in any kind of negative way or anything. It’s kind of talking about the feeling of being watched as almost like people are watching over your career as an artist, it kind of matters what you make, and now it matters what kind of music I put out. Back in the day I could just put out whatever I wanted and it didn’t matter because it’s out for free, I’m doing it for fun, so whatever, like it or hate it. And now there’s this looming feeling of being watched where now it DOES matter what you put out and it DOES matter how good your next release is, you know; it matters. It can’t be terrible, people will judge you for it and not give you a second chance if they don’t like your release. It’s a weird feeling, a good and bad feeling in different ways. It motivates you but at the same time it’s kind of stressful and sometimes you feel like your artistry is compensated a bit because of it.

That EP was something that I really wanted to make and something I didn’t want to make any money off of. With the charity angle, the feeling of being watched is such a universal feeling, and I thought it could also expand to the feeling that people are being watched by people, cared for by people who they don’t even know. I really like the idea of this music inspiring people and people donating to people and caring about people who they won’t necessarily ever meet. And these people who they’ll never meet are being cared for by people, likewise, who they will never meet. It’s kind of a feeling of humanity that gives you a spark of hope and light even when the world seems so opposite to that.

*Buy On Bandcamp*

HT: Your most recent releases like ‘The New Kings’, ‘Another Day’, and ‘Karmameter’ have been centered around an electro-house style, mostly 128 BPM. With the exception of your ‘Cooking All Morning’ remix any chance you’ll put out some tracks similar to some of your older releases like ‘Back To The Streets’, ‘Knives To A Gun Fight’, or ‘New Soul’ for example?

I think really it’s whatever inspires me at the time. There was that time period where that 110BPM stuff really inspired me. I would start up a project and I would think in 110BPM and make my sounds thinking in that genre…and now I’m in a period of time where I’m thinking in 128BPM , so it’s kind of whatever inspires me. It could be as soon as next week where I suddenly feel an inspiration for 110 BPM, or 400 BPM. So it really depends. I never choose what I make, it kind of just happens. If it happens, it happens.

HT: What can people expect to hear from you in a live set? You have a catalog of productions that range across various styles and tempos so how do you mix it up on stage? Do you constantly switch it up or do you work your set list around a certain BPM?

It depends!! If I play a bottle servicey kinda club, I’ll definitely stick around the 128 bpm region. If I’m playing a more venuey/theatrey kind of feel I’ll definitely throw in lots of different tempos and stuff like that, tunes that catch you by surprise and grab your attention, and I mean in the nightclubs I’ll also throw in some weird stuff if it feels right for the night of course. As far as my shows go I like to play a lot of originals, I’ll probably go like, half originals in an average set, once again more or less depending on the gig. I also play loads of unreleased stuff, I like when people have absolutely no idea what I’m playing but dig it anyway, so yeah, I like to play ahead of my catalog a bit. I really like to avoid the Beatport top whatever as much as I can, and if I play something I didn’t make then I rarely even play the track straight up, it’ll most likely be a bootleg or like some kind of mashup I made.

HT: You’ve mentioned that Pretty Lights was one of your influences earlier on in your career? Can you talk about that a bit? Any tracks where we might hear some of that PL influence?

So basically when I first started, I loved glitch-hop, kind of that trip-hop kind of thing, Pretty Lights, STS9, kind of like that style. I found it very musical and interesting. It draws from a lot of different genres and sounds which is why I really liked it. A lot of the earlier pages of my SoundCloud are like that Pretty Lights style. There’s a song on there called ‘Makin’ Bacon’, which I’m still really proud of to this day. There’s a story behind it actually, I entered it in a contest with Madeon many years ago and ended up beating him, and then when I met him a few months ago I told him all about me being the one that beat him, and he admitted to me that that was the only music contest he ever lost, which I still like to brag about to this day.

HT: With all the other talent currently on Kindergarten (Recordings), is there any chance we’ll see any collabs with Charlie Darker or DallasK? You’ve been touring with both of them this year, how has that experience been?

I love those two guys! Whenever something funny happens to me or whatever they’re one of the first people I text, they’re just super fun guys, super nice, really awesome people, and really good musicians too. Me and Charlie actually have a collab in the works. I actually play it out all the time. We’ve had it going for like months now, but that’s just kind of how it happens. You finish 90% of the collab, but its just getting that last 10%, mixing it down, getting the label to think of a plan for it, it always takes a while. I really want all three of us to work on something together, I thought that’d be a really cool idea. We’ve definitely played around with the idea so I think it just comes down to one of us coming up with a good starting place and working on something.

HT: You’ve got some major festival appearances coming up. Your scheduled for SummerCamp Music Festival and Sunset Music Festival pretty much back to back, and Camp Bisco not too long after that. These are going to be some of the biggest shows you’ve performed at so how excited are you to finally hit up the North American summer festival run?

I’m literally like so excited. I actually played some of my first festivals during New Years. I played Lights All Night and Snowglobe and it was such an awesome experience to have so many artists and people together there just for music. Since then I’ve just been so excited to get back to playing those again and really just being in those environments. The summer especially, is supposedly like the craziest of the crazy music festivals. I’m really excited to see that summery music vibe.

HT: What’s next for you in the second half of the year and beyond? You’ve got some big performances coming up, and you mentioned it earlier but can we expect any forthcoming releases anytime soon? What direction do you feel your sound is evolving towards, what keeps you driven right now, and do you think electronic music will always remain the primary outlet for your musical visions?

I’ve had an EP in the works for a long time! I really just want to put music out! Like I said I have so much music hiding around, it just comes down to picking four or five good ones and just finally getting the politics of it to work out and stuff. That’s definitely coming up soon. I’m just waiting for masters to come back and stuff like that. Basically with the next EP, I think my goal is to kind of translate that sound that’s really hip and popular right now, which everyone is admitting to being a little bit tired of, and taking that sound and putting my own style and flavor into and taking it and making it into something that still bumps like the other stuff but also has some cool musical value to it. I’ve definitely been a bit in that reactionary phase that a lot of people have been feeling nowadays, so I’ve been coming up with lots of different new sounds and new ways of producing and stuff. I’ve been going back to my jazz and classical roots and been playing a lot more piano and stuff like that. I’m just trying to bring the music back into it. I think my goal is just to make good music on and off the dance floor, something that your mom would like, your dad would like, your kids would like, the club will like. Something that is just a good tune and you know maybe it makes you dance or maybe it doesn’t, but I want it to be good, that’s just the goal.

Popeska: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter

by: Carlos V

Tags: Interview, Popeska