Monstercat - 9 Year Anniversary

Wednesday marks the ninth anniversary of Monstercat's creation and the celebrations have already begun with today's release of a six-pack of classic 90s covers. Leading the way is Pixel Terror who punch up a complextro version of Darude's "Sandstorm." As wild as the original is, this new version turns things up to 11: twisting the tempo up and down, adding extra headbanging heaviness and setting our expectations on fire with a throbbing psychedelic undertone. Turning the calendar back 90 months, the next 90s classic is Snap! "Rhythm Is A Dancer." Here Pegboard Nerds tap Tia Simone to recreate the iconic vocals as they make like Pixel Terror and electrify the original with bombastic bass kicks and thumping synths that thrust the Eurodance classic into a Mortal Kombat-esque fight club.

Showing that this EP is not just a collection of amped up covers, Grant's guitar guides Alice Deejay's "Better Off Alone" to a bouncy and feels laden future bass place. While that still slaps, Half An Orange's Saxsquatch-led cover of "Around The World" takes the cake as the most chill track of the EP. Perfect for a sunset, the playfulness of this cover fills it with hope and an incredible ease of enjoyment. Picking the energy back up, in spite of the original's creation as a comedown track, Rameses B brings an extra sparkle and a jolt of DnB to Robert Miles' captivating 1995 affair "Children." In a way this is both the closest to and furthest from the original as the melody and progression remains almost entirely intact, while the new ripping DnB direction casts it in a different light. And I think it is because of this counter-intuitive fact, that I find it to be my favourite of the EP.

Finally, the anniversary release is wrapped with perhaps the least well known track of the bunch Signum's "Coming On Strong." Stonebank and EMEL thrust the 1999 trance cut into hardcore territory, absolutely pulverizing it with ravey synths and thumping bass while keeping just enough of its buoyant trance energy underneath. While I haven't been much for hardcore in years, I can say that this will leave you fist pumping your way back to the beginning of the EP for another round of nostalgia-laced fun. Stream the Monstercat 9 Year Anniversary below and get it from your favourite online retailer here.FOLLOW MONSTERCAT: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

San Holo, Haywyre and Grabbitz at The Hoxton

Last night three Monstercat artists hit the stage at The Hoxton. First up was Grabbitz who dropped his new collaboration with Pegboard Nerds "All Alone" as I first entered the club. I was late arriving and unfortunately missed the majority of his set, I did however catch his track "Better With Time" and his finale "Float Away," while he high-fived, shook hands and fist bumped his appreciative fans. You can hear each of the above tracks, in the playlist below: Crowd interaction was certainly one of the themes of the night, as following his set, San Holo joined the crowd for an impromptu meet and greet. Throughout his set, as you'll see in the videos below, many people in the crowd were trying to grab him, get his attention and make requests showing him their phone. He certainly seemed to oblige many of these ravenous fans, both with his incredible tracks selection and professional mixing. The video (below) of the beginning of his set will help to establish the atmosphere. Even better imagery of the incredible hype that San Holo's set induced, with this guy going crazy. His tracklist featured all of his most well known productions, "We Rise" and "Fly" in the videos above, as well as "BWU," "Donkey Kong," "Victory," "Hiding" and "New Sky," but the biggest ovations came when he dropped his Don't Touch The Classics remixes "Ride Wit Me" and "Ms. Jackson," which followed "The Next Episode" in the video below. He complimented his already swirl and sparkle ridden set with Flosstradamus' Jack U, Post Malone mashup, Rustie's "Big Catzz" and his forthcoming official remix of DJ Snake's "Middle." Once again I've compiled a playlist of many of the tracks he dropped last night, below. Finally it was Haywyre's turn to take the stage, and boy did he ever deliver. It was an unbelievable sensory experience, watching his fingers flying over his keyboard, and the incredible visual display behind him. Of course this is without mentioning his obvious talent and artistry. It was absolutely mesmerizing watching him move from track to track so flawlessly pouring his heart and soul into his performance. Adding a couple of covers, including Daft Punk's "Robot Rock" and Oliver Nelson's remix of "All Cried Out," he was able to bolster his massive library. He played his tracks "Do You Don't You," "Impulse," "Moment," "Memory," "Endlessly," "Back And Forth" "Crimson" and "All We Need." Once again you can attempt to relive the night with the playlist below, although it won't be able to hold up to the energy of his incredible live performance. SUPPORT GRABBITZ: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
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