London Grammar - Hell To The Liars (Kolsch Remix)

One of my favourite albums of the year (electronic or otherwise) is London Grammar's follow up to their sensational debut, If You Wait. Truth Is A Beautiful Thing features several sublime songs built around the breathtaking vocals of Hannah Reid, and the production of Dan Rathman and Dot Major. Of course their silence was broken with the resplendent single "Rooting For You," but as time wore on, I found myself falling more and more in love with the hair-raising, "Hell To The Liars." So it should come as no surprise that when a clip of Kolsch playing his remix at Glastonbury appeared on the internet, I lost it.

I've written here before about the absolutely incredible library Rune Reilly Kolsch has to his name, and there's no questioning the quality of this latest installment. The atmosphere is unmistakably Kolsch's, featuring his standard thumping bass and brilliant slow burning builds. But it's not just a massive magnitude that makes Kolsch so captivating, it's his ability to weave magical melodies so seamlessly into his epic productions. Hannah's vocals lead the track, but the bed Kolsch has built is no mere mat, it's a marvel of its own. While both the acapella and the instrumental could stand on their own, this is a clear case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Sheer and absolute brilliance shines throughout the nearly 13 minutes of magic. Stream below or download from your favourite outlet here.FOLLOW KOLSCH: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
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Holyman - Freaknik

House, at least in my mind, will always be the essence behind electronic dance music. There's just something so primal about a chunky, 4x4 rhythm, that cuts right to the core. That's exactly the case here with Holyman's latest release, "Freaknik." There's no way to ignore the explosive groove, or the power of the preacher, as the diabolic dance tune chugs along. Holyman has imbued the bass with an incredible bite, forcing your feet into action. While the power of "Freaknik" can possess, it's not at all evil, in fact, like much of house, it's delightfully divine, as though handed down from the heavens. When the drop hits it's like being doused in holy water, you feel it in your heart and soul. So if you want a good old slice of house heaven, be sure to pick up "Freaknik," from Beatport, Traxsource, Spotify, or below.FOLLOW HOLYMAN: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

2017's Inaugural Electronic Music Awards (Preview)

I've written about the Grammys and Junos before, focusing on their electronic categories, but always lament the lack of coverage they get, as both opt to announce those winners on their side shows. I've since wondered whether we should care about these award shows at all, since they so often leave a bad taste in our mouths (fans and artists alike). Everyone one knows about the DJ Mag Top 100 lists and the controversies they entail, particularly the so called "DJ" list that in the end is a popularity contest among producers, not DJs. Perhaps as a protest, two new award shows have arisen: The Goldie Awards (backed by A-Trak and THUMP, focusing on DJ and Beat Battles) and The Electronic Music Awards (backed by Paul Oakenfold and TV4, showcasing all that is electronic music). For the purposes of this post, I'll focus on the latter as the anticipation grows in the 3 weeks prior to the event.

Originally announced in January of 2016, as the Electronic Music Awards and Foundation Show, and set for broadcast on FOX, this seemed as large and legitimate as anyone could possibly hope. However in the following months the event was postponed for more than a year, renamed and relegated to a Twitter broadcast. The previously 7 categories have grown to 11, and the winners will be announced live September 21st starting at 7:47 PM PDT. So now let's take a look at those categories and their nominees. Note that I won't be making predictions today, but merely digging into the categories and nominations themselves. See the image below or find the direct link to the noms here.

As you can plainly see, the list of names here is absolutely packed with powerhouse producers, deserving DJs, and awesome artists. The organizers have done a good job of separating categories from Producer of the Year to DJ of the Year, and Live Act of the Year. However I wonder about the New Artist of the Year category, as arguably every act has been big since early 2016, if not before then. But since this is the first edition, I'll give them a little leeway in what new means.

Looking through this list it's clear that the same people who would argue that award shows are mainstream, could easily make that argument again here. There are no names that I'm unfamiliar with. It's absolutely jam packed with big names, but at least to their credit those big names come from all over the place. It's not just top 40 radio wannabes or techno titans. There's deep house, hip hop, electro and of course, what continues to be the style of the moment, future bass.

As always I wonder about how these names were chosen, and further how the winners will be decided. The official statement is that "nominees and winners are voted on by sixty-seven members who were selected to represent all aspects of the electronic music community, in a two-round voting process." But who selected these members? And how well are they balanced? Now, I don't mean to claim that there's collusion or foul play, I just always advocate for more transparency. And no matter what people will bitch and moan about this or that. The positive (and value of any award show) is to showcase worthy talent. Sure you can claim that some of these artists need no more showcasing, but their impact is undeniable, and ought to be recognized as such. Now back to those categories.