Chemical Brothers feat. Beck - Wide Open (Kolsch Remix)

I've been of both Kolsch and Chemical Brothers for a quite some time. Both have been firmly implanted in popular consciousness for the past year, with the Brothers triumphant return via their album Born In The Echoes and Kolsch's sophomore album 1983. The Chemical Brothers have an knack for crafting brilliant and subtle house tracks that wind up spanning multiple genres through the many remixes they inspire. My personal favourite example of this comes in the form of "Go" which has three tremendous remixes, seen after the break. It would only stand to reason that Kolsch, who has some killer remixes to his name (also after the break) would be able to take the Chemical Brothers track "Wide Open" with Beck on vocals and send it into another stratosphere.

Throwback Thursday: La Roux - Quicksand (Boy 8-Bit Remix) [Review]

This is the first in my TBT series, in which I'll review the most influential tracks from my past. What better place to start than with the most played track in my iTunes, my favourite track of all-time and arguably the most influential for me in many ways. Flashback to 2009 when I was still just learning about the vastness of the world electronic music (not yet called EDM). I had just returned to school after summer break, armed with a new secret weapon, Fake Blood; thanks to my guru who had shown me Fake Blood's killer remixes (Any Way You Choose To Give It, I Want Your Soul, Stuck On Repeat). I then showed my friends at school and we agreed to go see Fake Blood when he came to town. And unbelievably he was coming just a couple months later, with the biggest crew I've ever seen at Sound Academy; Aeroplane, Annie Mac, Boy 8-Bit, Calvin Harris, Fake Blood, Laidback Luke, Nero, Toddla T, and to top it off locals Zeds Dead and my boy Meech. Since it would be a waste to go only to see Fake Blood, I set out to familiarize myself with the rest of the lineup and the one that immediately caught my ear, was Boy 8-Bit. His combination of video game inspired sounds and progressive and playful electro style was everything I wanted in a producer. I was lucky enough to find a discography torrent, complete with a large number of mixes he had done for various radio shows. I was particularly enamored with the following video in which Annie Mac gives the first play to Boy 8-Bit's remix of La Roux, Quicksand.

Grandtheft - Quit This City EP (Review)

This past Friday (October 30th), Grandtheft finally released his much anticipated Quit This City EP on Diplo's Mad Decent label. Ever since his performance at Bestival on Toronto Island this summer, it was clear that Grandtheft was sitting on a bunch of unreleased gems, the first of which he premiered via a recap video. Of course, I've been a fan of both Grandtheft and Sleepy Tom for years now, so the thought of these two working together was something I could have only dreamt of. When I first saw the video I immediately reposted it on my friend's wall with the caption "best collab ever?" I think we have our answer. These guys are incapable of disappointment.

While "Hold On" was the lead single, and standout track from the EP, the second single and title track is simply amazing. With flawless vocals laid-down by Lowell and the combination of atmospheric synths, Grandtheft's inimitable drums and badman bass stylings all wrapped around seemingly biographical lyrics, "Quit This City" is a picture perfect illustration of the ethos and sound of this brilliant release from one of Canada's biggest and brightest DJ/Producers. Enjoy the video for Quit This City below.