Category: Song Of The Day

SONG OF THE DAY: Hardwell ft Amba Shepherd – “Apollo”

The big Dutch EDM producers pretty much fall into two categories – trance or dirty.? Hardwell stands out as one who blurs the lines, combining the aggressive electro of the Dirty Dutch with the pretty, melodic feel of the trancers.? Current single “Apollo” is a great example of this as it starts out progressive, pretty, and trancey. ? Ninety seconds in, the dropout builds up to a stop, and then full-on electro banging madness ensues.? The progressive melodic feel floats over the harder beats until the next dropout when the vocals of Amba Shepherd come into focus.? Amba sounds amazing, as always, and this is a great follow-up to her last track with Giuseppe Ottaviani, “Lost For Words.”? With massive singles (“How We Do,” “Cobra,” “Spaceman”), remixes (Example, Knife Party, and Rihanna), and rising to #6 on the DJ Mag list, 2012 has been quite a good year for Hardwell.? Topping the club chart with “Apollo” is a great way to end the year and have us DJs/EDM lovers salivating for what he will “Reveal” in 2013.


Image Courtesy of Revealed.

SONG OF THE DAY: Fedde Le Grand – “Raw”

A hooj choon – exactly what every DJ wants for Christmas! Following up the massive collaboration with Nicky Romero and Matthew Koma “Sparks (Turn Off Your Mind),” Fedde Le Grand flies solo and unleashes a track made for the big rooms. Close your eyes and you will hear elements of Daft Punk-ish electro, jarring glitches, and robotic voices combined with a “Raw” sensibility which no doubt inspired the title. The frenetic feel continues, even through the groovy dropout showing a nice change in groove without losing the energy. “Raw” is more proof that Fedde has a knack for bouncing between big vocals and big instrumental tracks. With its release on December 24th, “Raw” is a track that DJs will be buying for their big Christmas sets.


Image Courtesy of Spinnin.

SONG OF THE DAY (SUNDAY FUNDAY): DJs from Mars – “Phat Ass Drop”

In this world where microwave DJs get gigs with little talent and Al Walser secures a Grammy nomination, the idea of absolutely anyone being able to produce an EDM track is not that far-fetched. Leave it to Italian pranksters DJs from Mars to document the exact process on how to create a formulaic big room electro track (featuring the “Phat Ass Drop”). The robotic voice starts by saying “How to Produce a Club Track Today, Just follow the instructions and you’ll be an electronic music producer in no time.” As you might expect, every cliche of big room club tracks is demonstrated with simple step-by-step directions (military drums, random loop, crash, clap). The only thing left out is the obligatory dubstep breakdown (or rap by Pitbull). For club play, a dub is included which strips out the instructions. I can imagine crafty DJs having a lot of fun with the acappella. As funny as lines like “hit some keys and call it melody” are, the video is simply insane. Inside jokes abound, with stabs at Swedish House Mafia (Super Hit Maker aka SHIT Maker), Chat Roulette (Mars Roulette), and presets (a torrent for downloading “presets like Skrillex”). Respect is also shown to one of my favorite EDM sites, Dancing Astronaut – renamed Dancing Aliens. “Phat Ass Drop” works well as a stomping club track and a humorous meme that producers/DJs will be sending around for at least the next few weeks. For a similar-styled tutorial on how to create disco records, check out “Disco Dick – DIY Disco” which is a more humanized approach to the same idea, one that you can also trace back through Danny Tenaglia’s “Elements” and the Young Person’s Guide to the Twelve Inch Mix of “Rage Hard” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood..


Image Courtesy of Dance Love.