It’s damn good. Fuck albums, I’ll take a Cool Kids Mixtape. Get it for free HERE

by Aaron Willis

In my history of concert-going, I’ve never experienced anything as remotely insane or mind-numbing as Electric Daisy Carnival 2010.  The Insomniac event has, in recent years, emerged as the most electrifying and notorious large-scale massive around, playing host to a bevy of world-famous DJs like David Guetta, Paul Van Dyke and Fatboy Slim, as well as enormous crowds of people.  It’s definitely the biggest rave in the country—the centerpiece of the recently surging rave scene in North America.  With this year’s headliners Deadmau5 (Friday) and DJ Magazine’s number one DJ in the world Armin Van Buuren (Saturday) EDC 2010 brought in somewhere in the ballpark of 185,000 practically naked Kandee kids over the two days.

It’s important for me to note that until now, I had never even been to a rave in my life.  I love electronic music, dancing, and mind-altering substances, but I’d never actually given a go at doing all three at once.  People have told me about raves—EDC in particular; how truly nuts and unique they are, but trust me, I wasn’t expecting what I got.  When I arrived through the front gates with my pals Justin and Nick, I was like…What country am I in?!!?  Think Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory from the original version, but on even more drugs: nasty beats, drop-dead gorgeous girls in nothing but lingerie, and an endless sea of etards.

After initially digesting this bright and vibrant sight, my friends and I decided to take a stroll through the festival grounds, catching a few of the warm-up DJs, and hopping on some rides (yes, there were some pretty awesome carnival rides there too).  At around 5:00, there was already a giant crowd checking out Afrojack at the Circuit Grounds, who was throwing down some truly sick remixes and mash-ups.  It wasn’t necessarily my style of electronic music, but he got my party started in upbeat fashion, and for that, I recommend that everyone check him out at some point.

After Afrojack, I met back up with Justin and Nick, who had just been stranded after the roller coaster broke down mid-ride (the low-point of their nights, I’m sure).  Nonetheless, we trudged on, running into a couple of Justin’s friends at the grassy Cosmic Meadow stage (one of whom immediately started making out with him, while the other gave me my very first piece of Kandee ?).  We sat around a little bit for Spank Rock, who sucked complete donkey dick.  Sorry Spank, but shouldn’t you be playing at, you know, a hip-hop festival?  Very shortly after, we moved onto the Kinetic Stage on the field of the Coliseum, which was already packed despite it being only six in the afternoon.  I think Oscar G was spinning, but we paid little to no attention.  We looped back over to the Circuit Grounds to see part of Z-Trip, who was just okay.  Some of his remixes—Phoenix’s “1901,” for instance—fared better than others, but his 15-minute detour into some truly cacophonous drum and bass kind of made my ears bleed.  He wasn’t bad, but for some reason, I was glad when he ended.

The rest of the night got really saucy.  Whenever the sun sets at a rave, the mood immediately changes, and the Kandee Kids come out to play.  By the time Basement Jaxx came on, myself and the other 85,000 ravers were having the time of our lives!  Jaxx started slow, but eventually their deep house/big beat style came to life as the night sky got darker and the festival grounds lit up like Las Vegas.  At one point I looked over at Nick, and he had the hottest, skimpiest-dressed blonde model hoisted onto his shoulders (I was truly jealous).  When we’d had enough of Basement Jaxx, we got in line for the Supreme Scream-type drop ride, which had to have been the best quick adrenaline rush I’ve had in a while (It dropped us just as Jaxx dropped the bass during “Raindrops.”  But the drop almost ended up being our undoing.

Afterwards, we rushed to the Coliseum entrance and waited in the mob of fans looking to catch the tail-end of Swedish House Mafia.  But just as we were about to be let in, the guards closed off the field: it had just reached full capacity, and it was only 8:00.  I’ll admit, that killed my seemingly unbreakable mood, so we wandered into the stadium bleachers to watch from afar like the rest of the common folk.  And to our surprise, Swedish House Mafia was unbelievable.  But even more stunning was the sight of the stands and the floor.  The place was completely packed.  I’ve never seen such a huge crowd for a musical act in my life.  And up on that stage, Sweden’s Axwell, Sebastian and Steve Angello were putting on quite the display of white lights and electro house.  The crowd loved it, and they ended up being pretty much the people’s choice of favorite act of the night.  I guess it’s too bad that I was distracted at the time, albeit in a most euphoric way (I had been massaging some cutie’s shoulders), but I’m glad that Swedish House Mafia was such a hit.

We then stopped at the Basspod Stage, to witness the single best act of the whole night: 12th Planet.  Even though I was already off my face, 12th Planet was more than just the cherry on top.  His brand of experimental dubstep absolutely blew my mind.  Fuck Rusko.  This guy should and will become the true face of dubstep.  The intimate crowd at the Basspod stage was hugely ecstatic, and 12th Planet himself was leaping across the stage with the intensity of an acrobat.  For this alone, I’m glad we got rejected from the Coliseum floor.

Infected Mushroom was next, and man was I glad to see them finally.  That show was pretty much a complete blur, but I do remember a lot of smoke machines, trippy lights, the guitarist bouncing on a trampoline, and them playing the song “I Wish” perfectly.  Next up on the same stage was Moby, who seemed legitimately happy to be there.  By now, most of the festival crowd was holed up in the Coliseum watching Kaskade, but it was worth spending about 20 minutes watching the bald-headed dude drop some sick beats over songs I couldn’t recognize.  That’s the beauty of EDC: you don’t have to know or remember anything you see.  Just knowing you had the time of your life is enough satisfaction.

We practically jogged up the Coliseum stairs and back down while Kaskade finished his set with “I Remember” to get a good spot for the headliner of the night.  That would be Deadmau5 (real name Joel Zimmerman).  And by now, the entire stadium was at maximum capacity.  I’ve never quite seen anything like it.  Justin, Nick and I posted up as close as we could in the stands, still envious of the people on the floor, eagerly anticipating the sight of currently the hottest DJ/producer in the game.  His show definitely impressed.  The cubed stage set-up was just as jaw-dropping as it was at Coachella, and his Mau5 head is a genius spectacle and marketing tool.  Mau5 blitzed through hits like “Strobe,” “Moar Ghosts N’ Stuff,” which seaged right into “Ghosts N’ Stuff” and later on into a piercingly energetic version of “FML.”  My only complaint is that the sound was terrible in the stands.  You couldn’t hear it as good as you could if you were on the floor, and it showed, as the floor people were absolutely eating it up, while the rest of us in the stands acted as if it was just background music to the most awesome party ever.  By the end (around 2 a.m.), a sea of kandee-coated wrists saluted Deadmau5, and the night was over.  This was quite possibly the quickest 12 hours of my life.  As much as we wished the party wouldn’t stop, we finally had to accept that what goes up must come down (literally).  Overall, an amazing night with some amazing friends, and some of the most interesting things I’ll never forget (if only I could remember it all).  Then, it was back to our home in San Diego.

It then hit me just how big the electro scene is finally blowing up here in the United States.  Of course, it’s always been big in other parts of the world, but here in the U.S., EDM seems to get no respect.  But when DJs like Tiësto, Guetta and Deadmau5 are suddenly getting paid seven figures to play massives, selling out arenas and stadiums, and just generally contributing to an overwhelmingly euphoric PLUR lifestyle, it’s time to take a step back and dish out some love.  Seriously, these guys are the new breed of global rock star.  Not only is EDC the biggest U.S. rave, it’s also the biggest U.S. music festival…PERIOD.  As far as per-day attendance totals go, EDC has Bonnaroo, Coachella and Lollapalooza all beat.

EDC was one of the better days of my life, and I couldn’t even believe that there was a second day.  I didn’t go of course.  There’s only so much exploding head syndrome one can take.

***

About five years ago, I almost gave up on the hip-hop genre entirely. Then I heard T.I.’s “What You Know,” quite possibly one of the most raw, free-flowing, catchy and downright honest rap songs I’d heard in years, and I was easily drawn back in. It was then that I realized what hip-hip—at least that of the mainstream kind—had been missing in previous years: honesty.

And that brings me to our artist to watch, from Los Angeles by way of Alabama. With vibrant electro beats mixed with a full-force delivery that oozes swagger, Matchstik is on the verge of a breakthrough. Last year, he released single “Surina’s Song” independently in London, which sold over 100,000 ringtones, was featured in Billboard as an artist to look out for, and his debut LP Along Came Matchstik is set to be released later this summer. Right now he’s stuck in a bidding war between two major labels, and whoever scores him will surely have a gold mine in their hands. Not bad for a former high school dropout from the drug-infested neighborhood of Dothan, Alabama. Matchstik’s back-story is quite eye opening, and you can read all about it in this Billboard article.

And now onto the issue of honesty in the rap world. When T.I. broke through with a dose of realism and catchiness, he revived a dying hip-hop landscape that was obsessed with ridiculous supped-up cars, partying “like a rockstar” and waxing poetic on why MiMS was so “hot.” Nothing seemed real—just fake and processed, and nobody (at least me) could really connect to the themes. Now, the protégés of rap’s biggest names (Drake, Kid Cudi, Wale, B.O.B.) are ruling the charts and (for the most part) critical approval. And while these kids haven’t impressed me entirely, I will admit, things are better.

Now, given Matchtik’s back-story, including his dramatic fight to make it out of his neighborhood to make it to where he is now, it is important to note how truly honest his music feels. Along Came Matchstik can currently be heard here.  Listen to opening track “Just An Artist,” in which Match reminds us that we are all human, and therefore imperfect, but that no matter who we are or where we come from, there is no reason we can’t dream of changing the world. The aura is hopeful, realistic, and as I said earlier, honest.

Matchstik is playing a show tonight at the Kress club in Hollywood. For more information on the show, go here. Hopefully I’ll be seeing a lot of you there, and you’ll be able to say that you “were there” when it all happened for him. Seriously, bet on it.

7

Forgiveness Rock Record is magnificent, except for its dodgy beginning. If I were part of the 1,458-piece group, I might petition that “World Sick” is unnecessarily long, scrap “Chase Scene” completely and replace it with a longer “Meet me in the Basement”, and maybe hide “Forced to Love” somewhere between tracks 7 and 12. Looking past the fact that I usually skip the first four songs, this is a record that really, really rocks. It’s not quite as go-to as You Forgot It In People or epic as their self-titled album, but it’s worth a damn. Although I’m saddened by the lack of Leslie Feist, “All to All” with Amy Millan of Stars is smooth and airy enough to tide me over.

Overall, although it’s still detectable in some places (especially in “Meet Me in the Basement”), Forgiveness Rock Record is a step away from Broken Social Scene’s traditional sound. It was supposedly written mostly by way of full-band jam sessions, oriented around forgiveness and finding resolutions to issues written about in past BSS songs. Although the songs seem more single-driven rather than retaining BSS’ familiar continuous flow of alt-rock melody, the upbeat songs are more fiery and the slow tunes even gentler than before. This prevented me from making a strong connection to the album as a whole piece, which I’m used to with BSS, but I like it regardless.

The band is currently touring, and I highly recommend you drop everything to go see them perform. I was lucky to catch their opening show in San Francisco and it was almost a transcendental experience. No bullshit. It was amazing.

Wavves fans, get excited! The San Diego band is set to release a new single titled “Post Acid,” the first off of their upcoming sophomore LP, King of the Beach, on June 9 on Mountain Dew’s Green Label Sound. The Green Label, which incorporates its artists’ music in Mountain Dew’s online marketing, has in the past helped launch the careers of acts like Chromeo and Neon Indian, so this could be a sweet opportunity for Wavves to elevate its popularity.

King of the Beach will be released on August 3 on Fat Possum.

Come back on June 9 for our complete review of “Post-Acid.”

9/10

Let me just say one thing right off the bat– In light of Cosmogramma, Steven Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus, is now peerless. His style is unmistakable, technically prodigious, remarkably well-honed, and as a result, virtually inimitable. Listen to the first fifteen seconds of “Clock Catcher” and it’s obvious; Ellison has placed himself in his own league with Cosmogramma.

Now, I acknowledge that this all may come off as hyperbole. After all, on the first few listens, Cosmogramma isn’t just puzzling, it’s weird. Flying Lotus’ known combination of vintage hip hop, video game samples and deliberately off-kilter percussion is even further refined here with use of a string orchestra, a liberal array of live instrumentation, and an avant-garde, experimentalist jazz pathos, likely derived from Ellison’s lineage to avant-jazz legend Alice Coltrane. Accordingly, don’t be surprised if parts of Cosmogramma sound close to unintelligible chaos the first few times you hear them. But after repeated spins, you start noticing things: The sheer groove of “German Haircut”, the bizarre, manic genius of “Pickled!”, the cinematic space-funk of “Zodiac Shit” and “Galaxy in Janaki”, and the countless melodies hidden beneath the Thom Yorke-featuring “…And the World Laughs With You” all prove Cosmogramma to be one of the most rewarding electronic releases in recent history. But what’s more important is that it’s obvious that Ellison invested ample time in making this record feel like the “space opera” he purports it to be: Whereas Flylo’s 2008 release Los Angeles’ arbitrary sequencing frequently makes it feel more like a mixtape than an album, Cosmogramma is effortlessly cohesive, making use of ambient transitions and string, percussion and bass guitar (Thundercat, Flylo’s bass collaborator here, is a fucking beast) motifs to produce a surprisingly movie-like whole. So in all, although Cosmogramma may be overwhelming to deal with at first, it really is worth the effort; it’s a potentially classic recording by a strikingly original artist.

7/10

Good Old War have come out with another great album: This self-titled album showcases both their growth and skill as musicians throughout. It incorporates more complex rhythms and riffs than their past work, all while adding an accordion to drummer Tim Arnold’s lineup of instruments (which already also includes keys and vocals). Their vocal melodies are still perfectly in tune, and here they actually take it beyond their usual Simon-and-Garfunkel-esque harmonies.

Songs like “My Own Sinking Ship” and “I Should Go” retain the same, catchy style that they brought out in their first album. The album also shows off not only Tim Arnold’s (arguably my favorite drummer of all time) drum skills, but his skills as a versatile musician and vocalist. On drums especially, he brings back the showing-off with rhythms and subtleties that drew me into his past work with Days Away as a kid.

But where it falls is in some of their new style: Some songs like “Sneaky Louise” are a bit too folksy and cute-sounding [for me at least] to take completely seriously. They just reminds me of the ex-hippie 40-year-old male nanny I had when I was growing up. The album also feels terribly short for having 12 full songs and 3 interludes. Luckily, it redeems itself in its new songs like “That’s Some Dream,” “Making My Life,” and “Get Some”: They all bring forth a new style, which clearly draws from their previous work, but adds in a classic folk sound with some slightly more complex, mature vocal melodies and compositions that keeps them at the front of my favorite musicians list, both as individuals and as a band.

It’s going to be difficult for Trent Reznor to shake the shadow of Nine Inch Nails; not to say that the self-titled debut EP by his new project, How To Destroy Angels, is undeserving of a nod. Reznor’s collaboration with recently-married Mariqueen Maandig and Atticus Ross sounds like a sequel to NIN’s 2008 release, The Slip. In this case though, the presence of Maandig and Ross adds a much appreciated trip-hop feel to a Reznor who has begun to shift towards a catchier dark ambiance. Still, its impossible not to hear The Downward Spiral on HTDA’s “Parasite” or the resemblance between NIN’s “Only” and “Fur Lined”.

All in all, Reznor has his stylistic equation down to a sport. Let’s hope he can reach the same success in the future, but through different means, for variance sake.

“Power”, the first track off of Kanye West’s upcoming album Good Ass Job (due out in September), leaked this past week. Listen to the stream below to hear the first new material by Kanye since 2008’s 808’s and Heartbreaks. The new album is expected to include a cluster-f*ck of featuring artists, ranging from Kanye protogé Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, Drake, Eminem, and possibly Nas.

Kanye West – Power by twink89