SONG OF THE DAY: Fedde Le Grand & Sultan + Ned Shepard – “No Good”

Ever since “Put Your Hands Up for Detroit,” Dutchman Fedde Le Grand has been a fixture on the international club scene, packing dance floors with his energetic sets.? He is one of those DJs (like Benny Benassi) that you can watch DJ and feel how good of a time he is having. This also comes through in his original tracks and remixes.? With aims for the big festivals, he has found a special niche of updating club classics with a 2010s feel through remixes (Sono “Keep Control,” Everything but the Girl “Missing,” Fatboy Slim “Praise You”) and covers (“So Much Love” as a cover of Together’s? “So Much Love to Give”). For “No Good,” Fedde teams with talented producer/DJ duo Sultan + Ned Shepard for an electro update of The Prodigy’s classic jungle anthem “No Good (Start the Dance).”?? The track is an energetic (and entertaining) mix of dancehall, electro, stadium, hardcore, and even a breakbeat section reminiscent of the original track.? As divergent as that sounds, the flow is perfect and this track will be massive on any dance floor.? For the video,? the style is similar to that of his previous track “Rockin and Rollin” with the addition of live action dandies with cartoonish Jedward-styled bouffants.? While the goose-stepping might be a little off-putting, the idea of consecutive videos with a similar animation harkens back to Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555 space-age narrative.? We could only imagine the story that would come from playing these Fedde Le Grand videos back-to-back.

Image Courtesy of Spinnin.

INTERVIEW: Audien (2013)

Barely 21 years old, producer/DJ Audien is already a force to be reckoned with on the EDM scene. His first track “Rise and Shine” was picked up Ferry Corsten for release on his label.?? Support from Tiesto, Above & Beyond, Armin Van Buuren, and Hardwell quickly followed.? As one of the top 13 Freshman artists chosen by Elektro Magazine, he rocked their event at WMC this year and his touring schedule is quickly filling up. With solid productions and remixes, Audien definitely has a long and successful career ahead of him.?

DJ Ron Slomowicz: Where did the name Audien come from?
Audien: My friend came up with it; it is just a random word that stuck. I decided that I wanted to use it as an alias because I am not huge on my own name.

RS:? Rise and Shine was your first record that blew up, how did you get it to Ferry Corsten?
Audien: I sent it to the label and they saw something in it and picked it up and that was the very beginning.

RS: What did it mean to you to have Ferry Corsten play and endorse the record?
Audien: He is such an inspiration and it was a really big moment for me. He has always been an idol of mine and playing it was really big for me.
Continue reading INTERVIEW: Audien (2013)

SONG OF THE DAY: BT – “Skylarking”

No one does pretty soundscapes better than BT. “Skylarking” is a gorgeous, bordering on epic exploration of synths and keyboard melodies, starting from a hybrid of ambient and classical music which gradually builds in intensity until the beat comes in – leading to an almost-Hi-NRG-style production. Not to sound cliched, but there is definitely a ’90s feel here, reminiscent of the beautiful trance-y circuit tracks that would bring a warm feeling to all those dancing.? If there was ever a track worthy of the label ’emotional technology,’ it would be “Skylarking.”? What make this track sound classic also makes it sound timeless – it is neither overly aggressive, nor formulaic stadium – it’s a pretty track that will sound perfect in an opening set for a trance night or a closing set for a progressive night.? For DJs that require a more primetime mix for their floor, Ilan Bluestone goes progressive electro while Maor Levi toughens it up with a harsher, glitchy remix. The video is absolutely stunning using time lapse footage of the Northern Lights over Alaska. The breathtaking visuals perfectly capture the emotion of “Skylarking.”

Image Courtesy of Armada.