SONG OF THE DAY: Major Lazer ft Busy Signal, The Flexican & FS Green – “Watch Out For This (BumaYe)”

Here’s a track that I’ve been waiting for months. The Flexican tipped us that his track “Bumaye” was being reworked by Major Lazer as a collaboration called “Watch Out For This.”? The original version of “Bumaye” is a midtempo horn-led groover with an intro not dissimilar to “Apache,” supporting a strong flow by rapper Typhoon and a primal chant of “Bumaye.”? Sped up, with a more reggaetonic intro, the new version keeps the feel of the original while pumping up the energy with dancehall and moombahton beats, additional horn lines, and a bit of glitch.? Diplo and his crew do quite an exceptional job on the 2013 take, yet after hearing the original it feels like it should be Major Lazer AND The Flexican not Major Lazer ft The Flexican.? Nevertheless, here’s hoping this track shines more spotlight on the brilliant up-and-coming Dutch producer, The Flexican.

Image Courtesy of Dim Mak.

SONG OF THE DAY: Freemasons – “Bring It Back”

2013 is going to be a big year for the Freemasons. Starting the year, “Tears,” their stadium-housed take on “Purple Rain”- featuring vocals by inimitable Katherine Ellis, created huge buzz on Soundcloud. Next up was their epic mix of Depeche Mode’s “Heaven” which is already storming the clubs. Out now is their first official release, “Bring It Back,” an updated take on the classic Freemasons sound – big room happy house with elements of “Da Funk”-era Daft Punk hooks, uplifting keyboard lines, and wildly-effected vocals. The brilliantly-executed drop-out, leading to a massive speed-up, had me flashing back to old school rave days when the DJ would drop “Thousand” by Moby and watch the candy kids try to keep up with it. Speaking of kids, the stop-motion video made by the duo featuring Legos, action figures, studio gear, and post-it notes coming to life is beyond brilliant. Along with “Butter’s Theme,” the video proves that artistic creativity trumps big budgets every time.

Image Courtesy of Freemaison.

INTERVIEW: DJs From Mars (2013)

Italian producer/DJs DJs from Mars, the duo of Max Aqualuce and Luca Ventafunk,? are quite hard to pin down.? Pure pranksters at heart, they are difficult to spot in a crowd because they don’t reveal their identity, choosing instead to wear boxes over their heads (inspired by their first single, “Who Gives A Fuck About Deejays”). It took some effort to find them, but with a bit of effort and a little luck, I interviewed them at the Amsterdam Dance Event and can honestly say that the infectious energy and humor of their tracks and videos are true reflections of their animated personalities.

RS:How did you two guys meet up?
Max Aqualuce: We met at a recording studio about ten years ago, and in 2004 we started the project “Djs From Mars? as producers. A couple years ago we started with the bootlegs and continued that for years; right now, we are trying to focus mostly on production.

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