Monstercat 017 – Ascension Ascends the Label Even Further

Over the past two years, I have watched this next label transform from the likes of a promising, transgenre EDM collective (with loads of potential) into the fierce jungle feline you see before you today.

Monstercat is most certainly where it’s at when discussing labels that have set the tone for the next few years of electronic dance music releases.

How, you ask?

Well, that next part is a bit tricky.

To begin, this Vancouver-based music label has elucidated talents from some of the most unheard of, eclectic groups of musicians in all of dance music. Not only have they championed said undiscovered artists onto the scene, but these new talents have proceeded to swell their fair share of waves in this vastly expanding ocean we affectionately refer to as the “EDM-o-sphere.” A quick glance at the “current roster” on the official Monstercat web page will reveal a staggering number of widely popular producers you may not have necessarily associated with MCat.

7 Minutes Dead, Astronaut, Au5, Braken, Case & Point, Direct, DotEXE, Dzeko & Torres, Droptek, Falcon Funk, Favright, Fractal, Haywyre, Hellburg, Insan3lik3, Krewella, Lets Be Friends, Mr Fijiwiji, Noisestorm, PIXL, Pegboard Nerds, Project 46, Rameses B, Razihel, Rogue, Soulero, Splitbreed, Stephen Walking, Throttle, Tristam, Tut Tut Child, Varien and Vicetone.

(Just to name a few of my favorites.)

However, words will only get me so far. You need to HEAR what I mean.

Without hesitation, the fat cats over at MC have released their 17th compilation LP to date. So far, “Monstercat 017 – Ascension” has garnered attention from every corner of the EDM world, making this their most supported album to date! With a four-hour laundry list of tracks, fantastic production quality throughout, and loads of prodigal EDM producers on top of it all, Monstercat presents to you a release that will only serve to exacerbate their stranglehold on the EDM industry.

Keep it up boys and girls.

Mat Zo and Kill The Noise Present: Kill The Zo

Well eat my foot and call me Sally!

Honestly, I never thought these next three words would ever be uttered in sequence, let alone be actualized into a serious collaboration between two of my favorite, yet, in their own regard, entirely different EDM producers.

Kill

The

Zo

That’s right. You heard me correctly.

In what may be one of the strangest electronic dance music alliances I have ever seen, Matan Zohar, aka Mat Zo and Jake Stanczak of Kill The Noise have officially joined forces and dropped their premier release as a single entity. Appropriately titled “Part 1,” this next five minute, enigmatic composition is soon to be the talk of the electronic dance music community (and not solely because of who produced it).

How do I know this?

Tossing aside the obvious notion that these two producers’ prior endeavors and resulting fame will greatly aid in the success of this menagerie of strange bedfellows, it’s the track’s jaw-dropping uniqueness that speaks the loudest toward its merit. There’s simply no point in classifying it. Just open your ears to the future.

Now, I’m not saying this is what every EDM musician will be on after they hear it, but, you bet your ass we will be hearing a bevy of follow-up releases from these two.

Taking you around the world in a freshly constructed, incredibly complex, multi-cultural, electronic dance music flying machine, I warmly welcome to the scene, Kill The Zo.

http://killthezo.com/

A Change of Pace…No, Literally [Slowed Reaktion Time]

Matt Mayo of Bedfordshire, Britain (UK) is perhaps one of the most intriguing new producers I have had the privilege of stumbling upon. Besides producing some of the most emotive Drum and Bass jams I have ever heard, I strongly admire the maxim or motto Reaktion has synthesized to describe his production method and overall attitude towards life. “EZ,” presumably pronounced “easy”, has an enigmatic definition of sorts, but I think the word applies best when listening to Matt’s music.

According to Reaktion’s SoundCloud, “ez” can mean anything and everything. However, Matt finds the exact definition can be found most appropriately in an ancient Greek saying, “σιγά, σιγά” or “slowly, slowly.” When considering giving a listen to these next few tracks off “Ephemera,” the latest EP release from Reaktion, you absolutely MUST: “take your time, relax, and keep it cool.”

You know how we do, real “ez.”

In an EDM world where almost every other producer is concerned with delivering a “fat drop” onto their audience, Matt Mayo of Reaktion offers fans a change of pace. Each track off “Ephemera EP” comes with a slow, progressive, and introspective build that lightly floats the listener across a whimsical, highly piano-infused drum and bass dream-state. This EP fits perfectly for a late night studying cram session or even a reflective cruise home after a wild night of raging.

I hope you enjoy the “Ephemera EP” by Reaktion.