Not familiar with Dawn Golden and Rosy Cross? You will be after hearing his remix of “Original Don,” the latest single from Major Lazer. The original was nothing to spit at, but given how complex the track is, it was begging to be remixed.
The Mad Decent labelmate responsible for this gem is Dexter Tortoriello, a producer out of Chicago. His take on the track highlights the synth, ups the bass, and peaks with an epic guitar solo. It’s somehow darker, and yet it feels perfectly suited to the club.
A digital EP, featuring this remix and other versions of “Original Don,” will be released November 1. Until then, you can stream the remix HERE.
Looking for a June getaway? The electronic dance festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, is moving to Las Vegas for the first time! EDC is not only a music festival but an entertainment experience. Aside from showcasing some of electronic music’s premiere artists, EDC presents several other activities to entertain festival-goers. Attendees can see dancers, clowns, and stilt-walkers as well as six stages of music and several carnival rides. EDC’s incredible created environment completely transforms a venue into musical paradise. This year’s headliners are Tiesto, David Guetta, and Swedish House Mafia. The move to Las Vegas from Los Angeles will allow an even bigger and better event with more attractions and artists. EDC is definitely going to be a weekend to remember!
Two years have passed since Diplo and Switch put out the now infamous album, Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do. The compilation of Jamaican Dancehall tracks was named the 10th Best Album of 2009 by Rhapsody. I have been to parties and DJ sets in the past two weeks where the infectious, vibrant, energy of Pon De Floor has filled the room. Every time, the crowd responded with a unanimous roar of approval, sing-a-log voices, and chaotic dance moves. How do you follow that up? Hopefully we will know soon enough, since it is rumored that the new single ‘Original Don’ featuring Partysquad will be hitting the internet by the end of this week. Amber Coffman, Jahdan Blakkmoore, and Vybz Kartel are a few of the vocalists appearing on the new album. To hear a few clips of several new songs, check out the video below.
This past weekend, Downtown Records celebrated its five year anniversary with two fantastic nights of music. The first night at Webster Hall featured The Suzan, Lissy Trullie, White Denim, Art Brut and A-Trak. The following night at Terminal 5 featured Miike Snow, Major Lazer and Santigold, with DJ sets by DJ Mehdi and So Me.
One of favorite labels, Downtown Records (home to Fool’s Gold and Mad Decent, among others) is celebrating its five year anniversary next month with two awesome nights of music, right here in New York City.
On Friday, March 4th, Downtown will take over Webster Hall for the first night of festivities. We’ve always had a soft spot for Japanese quartet The Suzan, but they really blew us away last week when they opened for Chromeo at Terminal 5. If you haven’t already (and even if you have), make it a point to see this band before they head back to the motherland. The line-up also features A-Trak, Art Brut, White Denim and Lissy Trullie. Tickets available HERE.
The party continues on March 5th at Terminal 5 with Miike Snow, Major Lazer with special guest Santigold, DJ Mehdi and So Me. I think the line-up speaks for itself. As a matter of fact, it’s already sold out.
CLICK HERE to get tickets for the first night at Webster Hall, and if you’re not familiar with the entire line-up, fret not, our friends at RCRLBL have you covered with a free playlist. Check it out HERE.
What’s left to say about Major Lazer? After attending every single NYC appearance, I thought I’d tire of seeing them live. Not so. Diplo and Skerrit Bwoy took over Øya’s Vika stage with lazers blazing for one of the most explosive sets of the week. Though there were familiar elements I’d come to expect from a Major Lazer show – Skerrit Bwoy’s “Pon De Floor” moves, girls dancing on stage, and a touch of Ace of Base – there were definitely some surprises in store.
Assigned the sunset time slot, Major Lazer ushered in the night with a full-blown party, transforming the stage into outdoor dancehall. Flaming Lips lead singer Wayne Coyne joined us in the photo pit to take some choice shots of his own, a testament to Major Lazer’s growing popularity. Coyne wasn’t the only one who made a guest appearance – Die Antwoord joined the action and clearly had a blast on stage, wearing Pokemon and Stitch onesies, no less. Unpredictable as always, Skerrit Bwoy took advantage of the scenic atmosphere, disappearing for a moment only to emerge in one of the trees surrounding the stage.
All in all, it was one of my favorite Major Lazer performances to date. I had to take off a little early to catch Robyn, but given their recent collaboration, I have to wonder if La Roux made a cameo after I left.
Catch some snaps of Major Lazer’s set after the jump… and CLICK HERE for more photos from the festival.
Øya’s Friday line-up was by far the most popular – single day passes sold out less than 20 minutes after their release. Stacked with MVPs like Die Antwoord, Flaming Lips, La Roux, Major Lazer and Robyn, the line-up was not only good on paper, each artist delivered solid performances that collectively made the third day of the festival Øya’s best overall.
Check in throughout the week for highlights of individual performances…
With vocals by M.I.A. and Collie Buddz, and remixes from Thom Yorke, Buraka Som Sistema, Kicks Like a Mule (KLAM) and others, the latest EP from Major Lazer, Lazers Never Die, highlights the great dynamics between DJs/producers Switch and Diplo. Five tracks in all, these songs are busy and unlike the riddim vibes of their 2009 release, Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do. For $4.95 we’d say Lazers Never Die is a pretty good deal, but nothing beats a free sample - click here to stream the EP on Myspace.
Click through for the track list and a video-teaser for the album.
We were already amped about the massive line-up for Øya Festival in Norway, but after seeing the list of artists scheduled to perform at Nighttime Øya, our anticipation has gone through the roof. Øya has teamed up with some of the best clubs in Oslo to keep the music going after the park closes at 11 PM. Diplo, Caribou, Four Tet, Jamie XX are among those who will illuminate the nightlife scene in the nation’s capital each night after the festival.
As for the festival itself, Yeasayer, Die Antwood, and the Flaming Lips have been added to the roster, which was finalized last week. They will join the list of previously announced artists that includes M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Robyn, La Roux, The xx, Sleigh Bells, Miike Snow, Major Lazer and many, many more.
Tickets for Øya Nighttime events will be available at the venue and in advance at the festival. Discounts will be given to those who hold a festival pass, which costs around $330 for five-days. CLICK HERE for tickets and info.
In a surprising union, Major Lazer (Diplo + Switch) has teamed up with La Roux to create Lazerproof, a mixtape that combines Major Lazer’s electro-dancehall bangers with tracks from La Roux’s eponymous debut album. No stranger to the realm of mixtapes, Diplo has collaborated with M.I.A. on Piracy Funds Terrorism and Santigold on Top Ranking, creating mixtapes that fuse the respective artists’ debut albums with a selection of hip hop, dubstep and reggae beats. La Roux’s songs have seen their share of dubstep remixes, making her collaboration with Major Lazer a little less surprising (bonus: check out tradehooks compilation of the best La Roux remixes HERE).
Lazerproof balances the familiar with the unfamiliar, while delivering surprise after surprise. Some songs are close derrivatives of their respective archetypes - the Costra Nostra Edit of “Cover My Eyes” adds a ska beat while keeping the melody and vocals intact. “In For The Kill” gets reworked twice, first in “Independent Kill”, where Candi Redd raps over the original melody, then again in ”In 4 The Kill Pon de Skream”, which takes Skream’s pervasive remix and laces it with a stripped-down beat from “Pon de Floor” for a curiously subtle result.
“Magic (Falling Soldiers Dub)”, a less obvious interpretation of “As If By Magic”, takes the vocals from its poppy predecessor and lays it over a reggae dub. Stripped of its synth undertones, the song takes on a completely different mood. The two closing tracks – “I Said It (Major Lazer Dubplate)” featuring Opal and “Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate)” featuring Gyptian – left us mystified. Although there are two La Roux songs that didn’t get the mixtape treatment (“Saviour” and “Reflections Are Protection”), neither resembles the tracks in question.
CLICK HERE to download Lazerproof from the Mad Decent blog, a free download if you get it today (Wednesday, May 26). Last we checked, the server was having some issues, so if you need it right this second (as we did), head over to the Stockholm Beat Connection for an alternate download link.
We leave you with two samples from Lazerproof: “In 4 The Kill Pon de Skream” and the mysterious “Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate)”. If you can figure out its origins, by all means, enlighten us in the comments section below.
Major Lazer & La Roux – “In 4 The Kill Pon de Skream”
Major Lazer & La Roux featuring Gyptian – “Hold Yuh (Double Dubplate)”
