The M Machine | Metropolis, Pt. I

This is a two part EP, so expect the second half Friday.

Background

The M Machine, formerly Pance Party, are an electronic duo (used to be trio) based in San Fransisco, California.  They made their name known when their debut EP "Promise Me A Rose Garden/Glow" was released on OWSLA, and remained #2 on Beatport for an entire week.  A teaser for their "Metropolis EP," now split into two parts, went viral.  The first part, "Metropolis, Pt. I" released in April 2012, with the second installment releasing almost a year later.  "Metropolis" as a whole is based on the sci-fi film "Metropolis" and tells the story of the dystopian city of Metropolis.  On The M Machine's website is an illustrated story that goes along with the EP, the first part of which lines up with the first part of the EP and can be found here.

Review

Listen to "Metropolis, Pt. I"

The first part of this EP starts off with "Immigrants," which begins with a driving drum beat with fluttering hi-hats, but then continues into a mish-mash of sidechained sawtooths.  The second and third drop explore the saw melody a bit more.  In addition to the title, "Deep Search" actually sounds like an exploration into a cave, with water drops, heavy reverb, and other assorted cave-y sound effects.  There's a cool synthbrass fanfare in the middle, like the discovery at the end of the journey, but we're thrown right back into the cave as "Deep Search" closes out.  "A King Alone" sounds rather upbeat at first, but the lyrics are rather sad ("Look at me, look at all that I control / Everything that I need when I'm alone").  The song drives itself along nicely, with the lyrics supporting the happy house feel and overdriven synth lead.  "Faces" is next and rather short, and features unaccredited vocals.  The main focus of the track is the synth arpeggio over a slower house beat, and the arp features some crazy harmonies.  A machine boots up in "Black" with an intro more suited to a soundtrack than a dance floor.  However, as a deep voice says the title, we're treated to the electro that we all know and love as a deep synth crunch drives syncopation into our ears.  The breakdown screams cinematic with strings abound and chimes ringing across the vast soundscape, but the foreboding voice one more brings back the rhythmic bass to close out the song.  The first part of the EP ends with "Shadow In The Rose Garden," which starts off with chanting vocals as the drums build up to the heavily dissonant electro chords balancing on top of sawtooth basses that make up the rest of the song, bar the filtered outro.

As far as electronic music goes, The M Machine have always been at the forefront of creativity, in my opinion, at least.  It's easy to label the overarching genre of this two-part EP as electro house, but there's nothing else out there quite like the imaginative forefront of creativity that The M Machine have been exploring on this EP.  Their unique take on a genre so quick to become stale makes "Metropolis" a fantastic experience.  The only problem with this EP was the year long wait until the second half came out.  9/10

Notable Remixes

The M Machine | Metropolis Remixed

Interested in a whole bunch of awesome remixes from Metropolis, both parts one and two?  You're in luck, there's a whole album of them picked by The M Machine themselves, so you know they're quality.  Check out my review of the remixes (linked above)!

Sources

Wikipedia | The M Machine

Arkana | Nihilum EP

Background

Arkana is rather new on the EDM scene; the oldest track on his SoundCloud is only a year old, but he already has 2 EP's and numerous releases, of which "Nihilum EP" is the most recent EP.  He describes his work as his "attempt at sonically recreating the fantasy world in [his] head."

Review

Listen to "Nihilum EP"

Arkana may be relatively unheard of, but his sound is one of the best when it comes to the new trend in electronic music where the sound design and production is used to create vivid stories and settings, which became mainstream after Porter Robinson released his "Worlds" album a little over a year ago.  It's a new sound that doesn't really have a specific genre name, but genre or not Arkana has created a wonderful work of whatever it is.  "The Oracle" starts off the EP and is an interesting mix between an intro and an actual track.  It's only 2 and a half minutes long and it's very cinematic.  The first half of the track is a driving drum beat with spacey blips and bloops, but the second half introduces a tribal-sounding drum rhythm with spacey string chords added.  It would make a great soundtrack for a space trek across a foreign planet.  The EP ends, though, with the title track and a beautiful piece of the new trend in electronic music in "Nihilum."  "Nihilum" starts off with some basic synth chords and a hi-hat loop, but in a quick turn of dissonance and intense energy a driving kick drum brings a heavily sidechained saw crunch into the mix in epic fashion.  The song returns to the opening with more dissonant chords, but quickly builds back up to the pure frustration with huge bass hits and whirring drums.  String chords take the outro as the EP comes to a close.

"Nihilum EP" may be incredibly short, but Arkana has set a dangerously perfect precedent with the world he's not only envisioned but masterfully transferred from his mind to our ears.  Don't be surprised to hear more of Arkana here around Detour EDM; he's going places.  8/10

Skrillex | Leaving EP

Background

Love him or hate him, Skrillex's name is synonymous with EDM, and more specifically, dubstep.  Coming from the post-hardcore band From First To Last, Skrillex switched to producing electronic music when he was told he had to stop singing or risk destroying his vocal chords.  After releasing his "Gypsyhook EP" under his real name, Sonny More, he released "My Name is Skrillex" for free under his new alias, Skrillex.  It was his next EP, "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," though, that rocked the world and not only brought Skrillex to international fame but also popularized dubstep into mainstream media in the United States.  After that, the rest is history.  "More Monsters and Sprites," "Bangarang," and eventually his debut LP "Recess."  "Leaving EP" was a special 3-track EP given out to anyone that subscribed to Skrillex's label, OWSLA.

Review

Listen to "Leaving EP"

As a fun little bonus EP designed to incentivize a subscription service, "Leaving EP" is nothing special, but the tracks themselves are decent and have received decently well.  "The Reason" starts off the short EP and is an interesting electro track with vocal chops of the title's name and a moombahton-y breakdown full of lasers in the middle.  It's got a solid beat and the production is very clean, but it fails to do anything of note and and feels a little lackluster as a result.  It's interesting to note, however, that "The Reason" was produced an hour before release in a hotel room in Miami.  Skrillex returns to his roots with "Scary Bolly Dub," an interestingly grungy dubstep track with a wobble-heavy drop that gets stuck in my head for days.  The second half of the song is a variation on Skrillex's grammy-winning track "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites," which released on the EP of the same name and has over 216 million plays on YouTube alone.  "Leaving EP" finishes with the title track, "Leaving," which is a downtempo, relaxed atmospheric track more suited to watching snow fall than being the soundtrack for a loud, thumping club.  It's unexpected from the king of dubstep, but it's a welcome change and, if anything, shows off Skrillex's talent and versatility as a producer.

While being a freebie for a subscription service and 2/3 of the tracks were written in hotel rooms, "Leaving EP" manages to produce tracks worthy of a listen and, although it feels more like three singles than a coherent release, is far from a bad EP.  6.5/10

Notable Remixes

Leaving (Sonny Alsalmo Remix)

Sonny Alsalmo takes a chill track and makes it that much chiller with his 8-minute remix of "Leaving."  As it's a trancey house mix, 8 minutes is more than acceptable; in fact, it's traditional.  With a prominent sub bass and spaced out drums, Sonny Alsalmo creates a misty atmosphere that is perfect relaxing listening.

Sources

Rolling Stones | Skrillex Releases New 'Leaving' EP
Wikipedia | Skrillex

Porter Robinson | Spitfire

Background

Porter Robinson is a well-established name in electronic music.  He began producing at 12 and was already a famous DJ by 18.  While his newer projects have broken away from traditional EDM, "Spitfire" is the embodiment of a typical club EP; early Porter Robinson was defined by his glitched out electro house, dubstep, and moombahton basslines.  "Spitfire's" success skyrocketed because it was the first release on OWSLA, Skrillex's label, and, naturally, Skrillex himself supported the album.

Review

Listen to "Spitfire"

Porter Robinson is no stranger here around Detour EDM, and for good reason: not only is he my favorite artist, but he's a talented producer with a diverse track record and, in addition to the certain quality needed for tracks to sell, he's found his own niche and his own way to make not just music but art, whether that be in the club scene or the newer, synthpop style that he's made his own.  "Spitfire" starts off with the title track, interestingly enough, in "Spitfire," a mysterious plucky opening that makes way for Robinson's huge, glitchy dubstep basses.  It's a powerful way to open such a massive EP, but it's kind of deceptive, since most of the originals on this EP are electro house.  Speaking of electro house, "Unison" is next up on the EP, and is my favorite electro house track ever and one of the reasons I started producing music myself.  In a perfect blend of melody and classic electro house sawtooth bass goodness, Robinson weaves a catchy, danceable melody intertwined with a grooving bassline which, when combined with the melodic breakdown before and between the drops, makes for an electro house track for the ages.  Robinson offers a humorous song next with "100% In the Bitch," a head-bobbing moombahton 4-on-the-floor beat with vocal samples detailing a Japanese test that needs to be taken and passed with 100%.  Even though the vocal samples are supposed to be funny, it's still a clean, well-produced track, something that a lot of producers overlook when creating a gimmick track.  Coming in at 7 minutes and 20 seconds, "Vandalism (feat. Amba Shepherd)" is the longest track on the EP, but, as a trancey electro house track, the genre more than allows it.  Shepherd's vocals compliment Robinson's energetic track nicely, and the sawtooth melody is enough to get anybody moving.  We get a taste of more dubstep with "The State," and, in typical Porter Robinson fashion, it's dark, moody, and ridiculously heavy.  After deep vocals describing and ranting about "The State," some kind of dictator-type regime, in come the massive glitches, wobbles, and growls that define Porter Robinson's short-lived dubstep career.  The song ends as the bass glitches into oblivion.  "The Seconds (feat. Jano)" ends the dubstep regime with more tasty electro house.  Jano's ethereal voice floats on top of a chopped bassline, which transitions into a beautiful chord breakdown.  Naturally, the beat drops and those glitched saws return, and a traditional drum outro ends the originals on the album.

From here on out, the rest of the EP consists of notable remixes, so, luckily, I've already got my "Notable Remixes" section done for me.  Knife Party kick off the remixes with "Unison (Knife Party Remix)."  In their take, they switch up the beat and, naturally, they bring their classic electro-moombahton bass sound that can be heard on their "100% No Modern Talking EP."  Mikkas also choose to remix "Unison" with "Unison (Mikkas Remix)."  It's still electro house, and while the melody has an interesting chord progression beneath it, the drop is much more focused on a new melodic line in tight, dissonant supersaw synths.  Downlink brings moombahton to a whole new level in "100% In The Bitch (Downlink Remix)."  The original was moombahton, too, but Downlink's beat has a lot more pop to it, and the lasers at the drop go crazy.  "The State (Skism Remix)" is also true to the original, dubstep, but Skism's all-over-the-place crazy bass drops make an appearance in his remix.  The king of the modern American drum and bass sound Kill The Noise finishes off the EP with "Spitfire (Kill The Noise Remix)."  It starts off with a drumstep drop chock-full of all the wobbles and growls you can imagine.  Luckily, the switch between drumstep and drum and bass is as easy as the beats the drums are placed on, and the second drop is the classic drum and bass sound that we all expect from Kill The Noise.  In between the drops is a nice synth solo.  And with that, "Spitfire" ends as it started.

Whether he's making the synthpop of tomorrow or the club tracks of yesterday, Porter Robinson is and continues to define the sounds that he helps create.  "Spitfire" spawned the electro house sound of the early 2010's, and artists today continue to be inspired by the nostalgic ring of "Worlds."  Even though it was a heavy EP designed for the club floor, "Spitfire" manages to walk the line between entertainment and art (a line much more explored in his later works).  "Spirfire" was the sound of club music, and it is and will continue to be a fantastic example of dance music done right.  8.5/10

Source

Wikipedia | Porter Robinson

Barely Alive | We Are Barely Alive

Barely Alive released their debut album today, "We Are Barely Alive," and I'm happy to get the chance to review it.

Background

With multiple releases on Disciple Recordings and 4 consecutive Beatport #1's under their belt, Barely Alive are no strangers to the EDM scene.  The duo, whom apparently have yet to be named, got their start a little over a year ago with "Lost In The Internet EP," which was critically acclaimed and hit number one across various genres on Beatport.  Today, Barely Alive released their debut EP, "We Are Barely Alive," through Disciple Recordings.

Review

Listen to "We Are Barely Alive"

For their self-titled debut album, Barely Alive left nothing on the table and delivered a high dosage of the medicinal heavy bass that's just what the doctor ordered.  "Hackers (feat. Armanni Reign)" starts off the record strong with the slightly typical but never unwelcome growls, lasers, and melodic glitchy dubstep that features Armanni Reign's angry, rhythmic chanting.  In a bit of an unusual switchup, "Binary" is pure trap goodness with strange, uncredited vocals chopped into oblivion sprinkled on top like, well, sprinkles.  It's not my favorite, but I've always been a fan of the big acid synths in trap music anyway.  It's still well produced, and there's a nice lead synth taking a solo in the middle.  "Windpipe (feat. Ragga Twins)" knocks the air out of your lungs with Ragga Twin's aptly named reggae-style vocals over a wonky, twisting dubstep drop.  "Rough and Rugged" is a mishmash blend of trap and electro and glitch hop and everything in between.  Best part is, its a perfect blend; there are no rough transitions.  I don't even know what "Stomp" is, but it's got enough lasers and filtered chords to make a sci-fi movie a very happy person.  It's certainly a mystery as to what "The Riddler" is.  I think it's a blend of moombahton and trap, but whatever Barely Alive was aiming for, its got a strong beat worthy of a dance floor.  "Pooyoso (Take It Back)" is by all definitions weird, as it has a very eastern tonality and doesn't really fit into any defining genre.  With that the first half of the album is done and Barely Alive breaks up all the bass music with a chiptune interlude with vocal chops of the album's title.  "Over It" brings back the bass in a tasty glitch hop work full of jazz organs, swung beats and a hypnotic FM (likely) bass which bends pitch like it was born to do so.  "Scoop" is an enigma of bass music, it's like glitch hop and trap had a strange bass child, but it's incredibly catchy.  Coming straight out of the 80's is "Poison Dart" which imitates disco right from the start, but transitions perfectly into a mishmash of trap and something resembling hardstyle.  I may be noticing a trend, but "Poison Dart" works perfectly, and it doesn't matter that its a bastard child of a whole bunch of genres.  Luckily, "Fireflies (feat. Ewol and Espired)" is fairly straightforward genre-wise; it's a nice US-style drum and bass beat chock full of reese basses, growl basses, glitchy basses, and more.  You name it, Barely Alive, Ewol, and Espired have already mastered it.  "Elephant" is a dubstep wonderland with all the bass goodness expected of them.  "No Time" closes out the album in a chill, serene atmosphere resembling a tech house infused misty wasteland.  It caught me slightly off guard, but I love every second of it; the scene it depicts is vivid, and it's a perfect way to end the album.

Barely Alive, with their self-titled album, have hit the ground running, just as they did a year ago with their debut EP.  "We Are Barely Alive" is a massive collection of bass music that screams "I don't know what I am, but I'm going to be as huge as possible doing it."  Every track, bar the ones that seep dubstep, is a genre mash of bass music.  From moombah to trap to dubstep to glitch hop to drum and bass and everything in between, "We Are Barely Alive" is a must-listen for anyone who thinks of themselves as a bass music fan.  8.5/10

Sources

Facebook | Barely Alive

Pegboard Nerds | Pink Cloud EP

Background

Pegboard Nerds have been a group since 2005, when its members, Alexander Odden and Michael Parsberg, met.  The name Pegboard Nerds is actually an anagram of their last names, Odden and Parsberg.  They've released a number of EPs and singles, most recently through the label Monstercat.  "Pink Cloud EP," their most recent release which released today, is part of their motion through the month of October to raise money to fight breast cancer.

Review

Listen to "Pink Cloud EP"

It's certainly strange to hear an EP very focused around pop-y future bass from artists so hellbent on heavy glitchy bass music, but while it's a little rough around the edges, "Pink Cloud EP" is a fluffy cloud of happy future music.  "Pink Cloud EP" is the Nerd's first foray into a lighter, more relaxed style of music in a while, and it shows.  It's painfully obvious when their old style seeps through the cracks of the songs, and it somewhat distills pink future world that they were trying to imagine.  This is mostly obvious in "Emoji," the first track off the EP, from which it seems that Nerds cant find the balance between the monster basses that they're used to and the largely unexplored territory that is future music.  Luckily, "Pink Cloud (feat. Max Collins)" is much better in that regard, and, as the title track, I sure hope it would be.  The title track is a bright, upbeat future track with catchy vocals and a tune to remember.  It's cleanly produced and is a much better showcase of what the Nerds can actually do with future music.  Same goes for "Just Like That (feat. Johnny Graves)," which is another well orchestrated future track with the signature gated synth stabs and pitched vocal hits that are so common in the genre.  Taking a break from the future, "Downhearted (feat. Jonny Rose)" is the next track, and it's a melodic blend between big progressive house and slower, more relaxed indie dance.  Whatever the genre is technically called, "Downhearted (feat. Jonny Rose)," with its slow groove and festival sound, is another standout track on "Pink Cloud EP."  In a complete switch-up "End Is Near (Fire In The Hole VIP)" is a return to the Nerds's original glitched out growls, wobbles, and lasers sound layered on top of a drumstep beat with pitched vocals.  Standalone, it's a fantastic electronic track, but, on the future-meets-synthpop album that is "Pink Cloud EP," it has no place.  It's out of line and a strange way to finish off such a relaxed album.

Usually, hearing an artists signature in their tracks is a sign of individuality and uniqueness, but in this case Pegboard Nerds's huge basses and energetic leads don't lend themselves to such a clean, simple, synth-pop-y genre, and "Pink Cloud EP" suffers from this slightly.  But, for such an unexpected venture into the more relaxed side of electronic music, "Pink Cloud manages to produce a few gems.  6.5/10

Sources

Wikipedia | Pegboard Nerds

Knife Party | 100% No Modern Talking EP

Background

As stated in my previous review about Knife Party, Knife Party was originally a side project of two members of the drum and bass band Pendulum, but eventually the Australian duo, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, made the project their main act.  After a few insanely popular remixes, most notably of "Spitfire" by Porter Robinson and "Save The World" by Swedish House Mafia, released their debut EP, "100% No Modern Talking EP."  Modern Talking refers to a popular waveform in the synthesizer NI Massive, which has a negative reputation for being so overused in the making of electronic basses, most commonly growl and vocal basses.

Review

Listen to "100% No Modern Talking EP"

Knife Party couldn't have burst into the scene with a bigger debut.  "100% No Modern Talking EP" made waves in the electronic music community, and it's racked up 7 million plays on their SoundCloud alone.  The first track, the mega-famous "Internet Friends" which has over 39 million plays across various videos on YouTube, features a robotic female voice ranting rather crudely about relationship issues.  She gets a little bit too obsessive, and after the famous line "You blocked me on FaceBook, and now you're going to die," the heavy electro drop kicks in after a couple string-like chord stabs.  There's a melodic chord interlude in the middle, and then we're back to the electro until the song ends.  Next up is "Destroy Them With Lazers," and it's more of a gimmick track than anything, although Knife Party is known for those.  Sci-fi blaster sounds serve as the core sound for the song, with the build-up being nothing but.  The drop is interesting, and the breakdown in the middle is well orchestrated, but it's not enough to offset the principle of the track.  However, from here on out the EP is nothing but fantastic, with "Tourniquet" next in line.  With no gimmicks and no bullshit, it's nothing but a hard electro beat with a sizzling ride cymbal and a glitchy, gritty bass-line.  The synth break in the middle is especially tasty, and then the beat drops again with renewed vigor.  In traditional house music style, the track ends with a drum loop.  "100% No Modern Talking EP" ends with  "Fire Hive," which is nothing but heavy dubstep.  It's definitely my favorite straight dubstep track from Knife Party; my friend and I listened to it endlessly for a while.  The gritty wobbles are offset by the 8-bit melody.  The second drop has a swung feel, and the beat is switched up slightly, but it doesn't lose the feel of the track, which is good.  "Fire Hive," with its dubstep beat, is a nice contrast to the heavy electro/moombahton of the first three tracks and is a good closer to the EP.

"100% No Modern Talking EP" has become a staple EP in electronic music repertoire, and for good reason: it's a hard-hitting EP filled to the brim with bass music, and from the psychotic vocals of "Internet Friends" to the deep growls of "Fire Hive," "100% No Modern Talking EP" is here to stay.  8/10

Notable Remixes

Internet Friends (heRobust's Run Da Trap Bootleg)

heRobust, in line with the title, has trapped out "Internet Friends" with 808 kick drums and a warped, gutted version of the song's original drop.  The heavy trap feel behind the completely glitched-out version of the original makes for a heavy trap track.

Tourniquet (Bebop Remix)

While I was expecting a catchy bebop cover of this electro track, Bebop mixes sawtooth basses with the original to create a unique breakbeat feel.  The sliding saws and the heavy glitching combine perfectly and bring a different, old-school feel to the track.

Fire Hive (Flatline Refix)

It's not technically a remix, but the Australian duo Flatline redefine glitching with their edit of "Fire Hive."  While it seems to be a theme of "100 No Modern Talking EP" remixes, Flatline's fix has been completely flipped on its head.  It's now more upbeat, and the only dance I can see going along with this is a zombie on speed.  Whatever mental image you get, there's no denying that the Flatline edit of "Fire Hive" is a fresh take on the original and a textbook example of good glitching.  Make sure to check out the second drop, it's insane.