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.
If we had to give an award for most ironic cover art, this week’s prize would go to Lee Dagger’s “No Superstar (No. 1 DJ.)” The pumping electro track is bouncy and frenetic with vocal lines that contrast bragging and humility. Then you see the cover shot which will no doubt entice several DJs to make a quick, erm, download. In the interest of equal opportunity for all rocking female DJs out there, like Nervo who are early supporters, where is the male version of the cover?
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..
