100412

What's It Called?
deadmau5 feat. Chris James - The Veldt [8 minute edit]

What's The Story?
I don't as much want to talk about the artist as the song here--this is a really organically written tune. deadmau5 read Ray Bradbury's The Veldt and was inspired to pen a beat that had the mood he got from the story (which is dandy, btw). Then, fan Chris James heard it, and was moved to make some vocals. Very much a theme tune, and the 8 minute edit dropped on mau5's new album this past week, Album Title Goes Here.

Who's To Blame?
Not very often that any of us get to say this as fans: I watched this one happen. (Through social media, of course)

Why ♥ It?
It's a chill & introspective beat, and the vocals are really silky for a male voice.
I'll be honest, though: if the story about how this tune came together doesn't have ya listening, I don't know that there's much else I can say. It's hard to separate both the novelty of the writing & my love of that short story from the song and judge it purely on its sound without any context.
That's probably the charm about it, though.

082111

What's It Called?

deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon (Madeon Remix)

What's The Story?

Raise Your Weapon is an uncharacteristically extra-dirty half-dubstep beat from deadmau5's third album, 4x4=12.* More importantly, Madeon is only like 17 and is getting acclaim from some heavy names on the electro scene, including (but not limited to) deadmau5 himself, Skrillex, and Rob Swire (Pendulum).** This mix was on an album of Raise Your Weapon remixes.

Who's To Blame?

My fantasy football nemesis for the impending year.

Why ♥ It?

Forget everything about the original Raise Your Weapon. The remix mostly features the vocal line from the original. Whereas the original sees the vocal as sort of a gem among the rocks, the remix has a real Justice-like feel with the intensity, overarching organs, and slappy bass pieces. What results is a song that feels much cleaner and lighter than the original without losing vocal intensity.

The whole thing is great, but the chorus merits a highlighting all its own. It's mostly a funky breakdown, but what Madeon does is take snippets of the original vocal, run it through an autotune type filter, and play them almost like an instrument. The impressive part is the halfsecond of angelic vocal that almost every layer stops for, but not long enough to miss a beat. It's a series of small releases that feel absolutely awesome to listen to. After a couple rounds of verses and breakdown bliss, the bridge at 3:20 (You won't feel a thiiiiiiiiing) has the perfect soaring feel before the song tapers out.

I told a coworker about this song, and a couple weeks later he was telling me about how he'd bought $250 headphones the previous day, and one of the first things he did was listen to this song and hear a whole new tune. I'm no hardware audiophile, but I'd already thought this remix was a whole new tune. With layering like that, I hope Madeon makes a career of it.

* = Stand back, I have a math degree. It's true in base 14!

** = Needless to say, Madeon is from France.

072810

What's It Called?

deadmau5 - Not Exactly

What's The Story?

deadmau5 is quickly becoming the house artist to beat. The number of studio albums he has depends on your definition of a studio album, so we'll say it's from the popular one that's not For Lack of A Better Name.

Who's To Blame?

A 23 year-old with the nickname "old man" who will not stop until everyone knows how awesome deadmau5 is. (& rightfully so)

Why ♥ It?

deadmau5 is usually revered for his unorthodox use of chords and his unique and eclectic way of laying down beats. This song is not that.

I picked this as the song today because it's damn difficult to describe. If electronic had an easy listening branch, this track would be its posterchild. From the first second of the track, you're hearing the exact sound that you'll be hearing for the next 8 minutes. The line balloons and deflates, the beat changes, and other parts come and go, but the whole time, the spine of the song is that 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-etc that repeats over and over. The layout of the track is such that even when the intensity reaches peak, the relaxed nature of the song never leaves. By then, the tone has been set, and you're firmly along for the ride. I'm reticent to use the word due to its association with the dance genre, but I'd best describe this song as a serene trance.

If you've got 8 minutes where you want to kick your feet up and think about either nothing or everything, your soundtrack for that is right here.