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.

A Farewell To Jams | The Killabits

Unfortunately, a good thing cannot last forever. We, as human beings, are perpetually doomed to fruitlessly attempt to claim a stake in this world in order leave our own unique, everlasting imprint on humanity after we are gone. However, our efforts will ALWAYS be in vain. I will never forget the image painted by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the famous English Romantic poet, in his famous work titled Ozymandias. 

Mr. Shelley writes: (Play clip below to hear poem):

Ozymandias “I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

The concept Percy is referring to in the above reading by Breaking Bad’s Michael Cranston (so badass btw) is such that, no matter what we do, we will always be forgotten. Much like how the relentless winds of the desert had eroded the seemingly omnipresent statue of the Egyptian king Ozymadias down to his ankles, the reader is supposed to find irony in the statement, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Because, as we are told in the next line, “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay/ Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare/ The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Despite the king’s best efforts to construct physical, tangible objects to stand in his memory, he could never fathom the extend of time in which they would eventually disappear by a slow and inevitable decay.

So, before this next group of talented musicians passes by in the sands of time, give a listen to their final remix of a song called “Different Stars.” After all, they will always live on in our memories. That is enough for me.

The duo had this to say about their final release:

“Hey ya’ll, I’m sure many of you have noticed we haven’t released any music or played out in a long time. As a group Biz and I have gone in different directions (while remaining friends) and have been unsure of the fate of the group for about a year now. This was one of the last tracks we worked on as The Killabits- a remix for a song we loved called “Different Stars”. Its a pretty meaningful song to us in a lot of ways (and is my fav piece of music we’ve ever written together) and over the time we’ve taken to think about where we wanted to go the opportunity came up to get this approved to be an official release. After deciding we no longer wanted to work on music as a group, we felt it would be a great way to close out our catalog and a perfect way to bring closure to something we put our lives into and cared deeply about for such a long time.

We want to thank all of you for supporting us, coming to our shows, and sharing our music with your friends. The memories will last us a lifetime and we are infinitely thankful for the experience. We know from some of the messages over the last year that to many of you our music was a big part of getting you into the dance scene and a big part of your lives and I can’t describe what it means to us to know how many people we reached with our music. We’ll be forever thankful.

It would really help us a lot if you could take the time to share this post to get this message and song spread to as many people as possible.”

Without further ado, here you go.

The Top 5 EPs of This (1/3) Year

These are never easy. Besides dealing with the inevitable bickering that occurs between the FTWubz crew members, I get a lot of shit from my sixty year old mother actually. She likes that super grimy shit, you know? The kind of music you get down and ultra dirty to. She’s really into free love these days. Look her up.

However, I’m probably going to get a frying pan upside the head for this next list…maybe the LAXX will save me.

5. LAXX – Step One [Never Say Die]

Going hard in the paint, err…I mean studio.

4. Various Artists – Prophication Remix EP [Mau5trap]

Giant remixes to an even bigger EP from last year.

3. Kill Paris – Foreplay EP [OWSLA]

Thank you for another awkward music boner KP.

2. Seven Lions – Worlds Apart [Casablanca Records]

You kidding me, Seven Lions? You’re not of this Earth.

1. Galantis – Galantis EP [Big Beat Records]

Christian Karlsson of Miike Snow and Linus Eklow aka Style Of Eye = Galantis

Honorable Mention: Barely Alive – Lost In The Internet EP [Disciple]

Just about every producer and their mother have attempted to remix a piece of Barely Alive’s latest masterpiece.