My name is Ren, I live in Australia (New Zealand born!) and I make music under my guise ¥i-Ren. On this blog I will post some of my music as well as links to some songs that I like. (or dislike!) I am mostly interested in house, electro and nu-disco music. I will try to showcase lesser known artists and tracks. This is not an attempt to appear hip and indie but I don't think that people want to hear about the same old Beatport-topping songs. I will still review popular songs if I believe that they bring something special to the table. If you think you have any songs that I would like, or if you want me to review any songs please feel free to send pop them in my soundcloud dropbox. a.soundcloud-dropbox:hover {color: white !important; background-color: transparent !important; background-position: -250px 0 !important;}*html a.soundcloud-dropbox {background-image: none !important; filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src='(http://a1.sndcdn.com/images/dropbox_small_dark.png?065f2b8)', sizingMethod='crop') !important;}/* if you want to have valid HTML, please be so kind and put the style part in the head of your page */Send me your sounds My music!: Latest tracks by ¥i-Ren http://renmus.bandcamp.com/
I was having a look through some Beatport Charts recently and I found this gem. It's the Rogerseventytwo remix of Don't Look Back by Tommie Sunshine and the Disco Fries, from the remix album. It has a funky disco house swing and the production is top notch. I prefer this remix over the original as it is a bit more groovy and fast-paced than the original (which is great too!). You can grab it from Beatport or iTunes if you live in Australia or New Zealand C:
Soundcloud has a new player by the looks. Very nice.
Earlier this week Joris Voorn released a remix of Moby's track After, titled After The After. Joris Voorn gives a twist with his signature tech house sound on just another downbeat Moby track. There is a lot of groove and swing and a very nice piano melody. It is very summery which is great because I live in the Southern Hemisphere and summer is starting! Joris Voorn is in my opinion one of the greatest tech/house producers of all time and consistently delivers. Moby is great too but I think he needs to develop his sound a bit further than his dark tracks-maybe a bit like he did on 18.
This track however is fantastic and should go #1 on Beatport.
Joris Voorn vs Moby - After The After (Terribly Low Quality Preview) by Joris Voorn
Today's song is 'My Turn' by TheRio. It was released on Houserecordings a couple of weeks ago. As expected from any Plasmapool division it is a quality track. I really like this song because of its simplicity. There are no cleverly arranged samples. It's just a vocal synth with a nice chord progression and some solid percussion and some vocal blips. The quality of production is good and makes a fairly simple melody sound pretty good.
Today's song comes courtesy of Nurvous Records, the same label who published Volta Bureau's Beatport-topping Alley Cat. It's the Walker & Royce remix of Disco Addict by Ter Khan. It's a neat piece of deep house. The groove in this track is really cool and I especially love the chopped up vocal snippet which adds a human element to the song. I prefer this remix as the kick is a bit more solid and the chopped up chords and samples are used to better effect than in the original. Overall I think the song has a really good concept that has been executed well.
Ter Khan "Disco Addict (Walker & Royce Remix)" by Nurvous Records
<a href="http://renmus.bandcamp.com/track/small-world" _mce_href="http://renmus.bandcamp.com/track/small-world">Small World by Renmus</a>
Another song I made-except this time it's in 3/4! I've decided that "Renmus(ic)" will be the name I use for all my ambient/chill/experimental stuff. I suppose I kinda drew inspiration from the Minecraft OST. This one is free too, for now.
<a href="http://renmus.bandcamp.com/track/strange-magical-fantasy" _mce_href="http://renmus.bandcamp.com/track/strange-magical-fantasy">Strange Magical Fantasy by RenMus</a>
So I was mucking around in Live and I conjured up this experiment. I created a Bandcamp account because they have more downloads and no upload limit-plus I like the player better. The download is free but I might set up PayPal on Bandcamp so that people can make donations if they like.
Anyway the song is not electro house like the rest of them-it's more ambient.
Sorry about the lack of posts recently-I've been really lazy-and it took this reeeeaaaally great track to get me to post. The song is Our World Is Here-an electro house collaboration between Finnish producers Steve Lade & XSpectiV.
The song has one of the most beautiful chord progressions I've ever heard-up there with Arty & Mat Zo. A gorgeous melody on top makes for an outstanding track. Our World Is Here was released on Houserecordings-a division of Plasmapool.
Steve Lade & XSpectiV - Our World Is Here [Houserecordings] / OUT NOW ON BEATPORT! by SteveLademusic
I have to say that Plasmapool and its sub-labels, which include Plasma.Digital, Houserecordings, Noize & Aelaektropopp, are probably releasing the finest electro house music out there at the moment-with first class artists like Mord Fustang, Joe Garston, & Hypster. I would rate them more highly than mau5trap as mau5trap is getting pretty crappy.
This track is one of my favourites of 2011-but the $2.49 price tag is enough to deter me for now. However I will be adding this to my Beatport cart and purchasing as soon as the price decreases.
In this uber-cool era of audio, headphones are no longer about sound quality alone. They have to be hi-tech and fashionable... Here you will find all the latest... celebrity endorsed range of headphones.
And so read the audio section of the latest catalog that arrived in my mailbox on Sunday. The store had Beats By Dr. Dre and Soul By Ludacris- both celebrity endorsed 'fashionableubercool' headphones that I have seen increasing numbers of in the local area recently. What shocks me most about this is their use as a social status for kids to show off how expensive gear their parents are willing to buy them. This worries me as it shows they don't really care that much about sound quality (although I've never tried those headphones before) but more about how cool they can look to their friends, even to the point that they will buy counterfeit versions of the headphones just to conform to the status quo. This shows a clear lack of appreciation for music in general and alerts me to the fact that these people care only about how the appear and probably have self-esteem issues. What I also noticed was that nobody wanted to wear Justin Bieber headphones-probably because they think it will make them un-cool and 'losers'.
What I also know is that most of these kids are only casual listeners to music-they only listen to music on the way to and from school on their super-cool iPhones and iPod Touches. For the amount of listening that they do, a cheap $50 pair of earplugs would do just as well. Most of them also pirate their music in crappy 128kbps files, so the argument that the headphones provide better sound quality is absolute rubbish. Anyone with a true appreciation of audio will know that there is no replacement for a good pair of speakers with a good amplifier. I am amused by the fact that many of these people classify all electronic music as 'techno' and bag it regularly.
I would recommend anyone who listens to music casually on the way to work to use earbuds or at least cheap headphones. I strongly recommend anyone to consider practicality, ergonomics and price before social status. I did-and saved myself $350.
Todays last song is an absolute classic that many of you have probably heard. It's called The Music Sounds Better WIth You and it's by Stardust, a one off collaboration between Thomas Bangalter (One half of Daft Punk, of course), Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond(Vocalist). It is from 1998 and myself and others believe it to set the highest possible standard for all house music released after that date.
The song contains a sample from Fate by Chaka Khan. The song is VERY repetitive, but the chords are absolutely perfect and I could listen to it many times without getting bored (In fact, I have!).
The Music Sounds Better WIth You is not available on Beatport or any other major download store, so you'll have to buy a CD or cassette version to own the song. I got one from Amazon for $10.00, which included the Bob Sinclar and Chateau Flight mixes. Seems expensive in the digital age, but I'm sure this CD will become much more sought after in the future. Alternatively, you can download the Kid Massive bootleg for free from his Soundcloud page, but I think that the bootleg lacks some of the charm and groove from the original.
10/10
Stardust Vs Kid Massive - Music Sounds Better With You - 2011 Edit by Kid Massive
Next song for today Drifting Off by Joni with vocals courtesy of Molay. This song was released on the prestigious Anjunadeep label, home to artists including Michael Cassette, Solarity and Jaytech. It is a truly special piece of progressive house with a beautifully crafted chord progression and lead melody. Molay has done a great job on the vocals that compliment the chords very nicely. The addition of an acoustic guitar adds another dimension to the song that gives it a real edge. I am sure I will have many great experiences with this song over the coming summer months.
For todays review we go back a couple of years to May 2009. The song I have selected is the Fred Falke mix of Annie's "Anthonio". The track is a pocket of nu-disco goodness with a gorgeous chord progression and vocals.
Fred Falke is a French producer who plays the bass and has a vast array of analog synthesizers. He shows exceptional talent in remixing pop tracks, and has provided mixes for Robyn, Little Boots, Metronomy and Katy Perry among others.
Last review for tonight is a hidden gem by Les Strobelights (That is if you classify 7000+ plays on Soundcloud as hidden, although it IS worthy of much greater feats). The song is called How Does It Feel and it is by German producer Les Strobelights, released on Solfege Records. The track is a very nice "Electro-ish House" song, and it features a perfect melodic drop and great synths. I also love the cover art, featuring, of course, Strobelights! The first thing that hit me was the quality of the mastering, and it makes a great song sound amazing. Evidently many sleepless nights have been invested in this track, and it has paid off-I love this song. I am sure Les Strobelights could have got a release on a much larger label, such as Plasmapool or even mau5trap. Nevertheless, I am sure Les Strobelights will become much larger and will be a valuable asset for Solfege. Watch this space for sure!
10/10
How Does It Feel (Original Mix) /Released On Solfege Records\ by Les Strobelights
Next up on the review table is one of my favourite pieces ever to come out on the mau5trap imprint(And probably one of my favourite songs ever!). The name of the song is Anti Crisis and it was produced by James Njie, a producer from London. It was released as a song on deadmau5's "Meowingtons Hax Tour Trax". The song is a masterfully crafted piece of electro house, with great percussion and a beautiful melodic drop. The track incorporates some fantastic melodies and solid special effects. Njie's synth patches are great and it is evident that many hours of care and love have been poured into this track. I was really surprised that the song didn't climb all that high on the Beatport charts in comparison to other songs from the Meowingtons Hax Tour Trax compilation. The song is much better than Where My Keys and leagues above Datsik & Excision. This song is simply wonderful, and I strongly recommend that you give it a listen.
