Fridays are always the best day of the week, both for new music releases and for live shows. This week is no different, and is perhaps the best Friday of the year, in large part thanks to the highly anticipated debut EP,
New Laces, from
Pusher, and hometown heroes,
Loud Luxury taking the stage at
UNIUN. Below you'll find some of the releases I'm dead excited about and will be playing a ton this weekend.
New Laces is a true artistic masterpiece, the first three tracks "
Clear," "
Tell You," and "
Shake Down," are all in the conversation for my track of the year. Not only do they range in styles, but they showcase three different vocalists, for which
Pusher so perfectly works around their lyrics. Add to that three more tracks with an additional three vocalists and you've got album that surely marks the official 'startup' of what promises to be a phenomenal career. Make no mistake,
Pusher has been on my radar ever since I heard his remix of
Ryn Weaver's "
OctaHate," but
New Laces will propel
Pusher into the ears and hearts of music fans worldwide. I for one am anxiously awaiting his next live set, fingers crossed that he headlines a Toronto show soon, so he can really show off his awesome mixing style.
From
Point Point's
Record Record imprint comes,
DZZ's debut EP
Wishes. Bright and bleepy, the three originals and additional remix from
Maxo, flow from a fluorescent factory of feels. A combination of
Porter Robinson sentimentality and
Cashmere Cat creativity, the shower of sparkles that is the 8-bit, lullaby-esque beauty of
Wishes guarantees good feelings all around.
I think it's safe to say my favourite label is
Monstercat, thanks to the consistent quality they pump out, not to mention they're the home of one of my favourite artists,
Stephen Walking. Of course they also enjoy producers,
Conro,
Tristam and
Aero Chord. The latter,
Aero Chord, has
Monstercat's latest release, "
The 90s," which is a delicious depiction of future bass.
Aero Chord offers up bounding bass and the soaring soundtrack-esque synths that make that decade so delightful.
A close second in the race for my favourite label is
AC Slater's
Night Bass. The carefully curated content they release is always awesome, and
Kry Wolf's
Temper certainly fits the billing. Ballsy, big and bouncy the three track EP is everything we've come to expect from the duo. Fear not the dark of
Night Bass as
Kry Wolf are armed with a "
Flashlight" that will have you in "
Wavves" of ecstasy.
Toronto's own
Shaun Frank is riding some kind of high lately, having released massive records with
The Chainsmokers,
DVBBS and
Oliver Heldens. "
Let You Get Away" is however a solo production, and one without frequent collaborator,
Delaney Jane. But once again,
Shaun Frank fills our speakers with an undeniably awesome production. The man simply knows how to produce, especially around vocals.
Another Canadian that's been on a tear lately, is Vancouver's own,
Vanic. His latest, "
Samurai" showcases his sharp ear for production, slicing and dicing synths around Katy Tiz's vocals, proving
Vanic is not just a flash in the pan talent, but a true heavy hitter that can swing with the best.
There's something about this
Vera production that just captures my attention. Perfect for
Pelican Fly, the cool Copenhagen producer pits big bass against raucous, rapturous wild sounds that remind me of
RL Grime, Toto's "
Africa" and
Dem Slackers' remix of "
Fifty What." I for one cannot wait to hear what else
Vera has in store for us with the rest of her debut EP, scheduled to be released September 23rd.
NGHTMRE is fresh off his killer collab "
Need You" with
Dillon Francis, yet may have just dropped an even deeper, darker and more dangerous death star of sorts. The veteran presence of
Zeds Dead on "
Frontlines" propels
NGHTMRE into another stratosphere, likely launching this track into even more DJ sets and onto even more radio stations.
Why not finish with a fire free download from Winnipeg, the city with perhaps the highest number of producers, per capita. Released on
Kardoso's
LUXE label,
CCIV &
PRZM have found a number of their tracks on
Bump In The Hump, and you better believe "
Mindmelt" will get a spin on
Radio Humber as well. Whenever these two match up, the resulting track is pure power, and "
Mindmelt" is just that. The bass is big enough to cause a concussion and make your brain bleed, but in a good way.
