If you haven’t already given this bright canadian star a listen, then you definitely should start with his new album “Songs About Dancing and Drugs”. It is a fascinating journey into a reflective mind in a superficial world. I stumbled upon Jeremy Shaw’s one man project over a year ago and have been wondering when he would release an album. His track “Fight Sounds pt. 1″ was what got me hooked, but unfortunately his EP “Pre-Earthquake Anthem” didn’t live up to my expectations. With the release of his first full length album, my concerns over wether “Fight Sounds pt. 1″ was just a lucky punch was put to shame. This album is just as complex as it is simple. As deep as it is shallow. So far one of the best albums of 2009.
Circlesquare – Hey You Guys
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Circlesquare – Ten To One
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Circlesquare – Timely
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Video for “Dancers”
Buy “Songs About Dancing and Drugs” on iTunes or Amazon
Over at bandbase.dk they have a project called MixToVerdener. The goal is to see what happens when contemporary musicians get to play with classical music. I was asked to be a part of the project and I ended up with a song called “When You’re Ready, Let Go”. It’s a gloomy song with a heavy bassline.
Bjørn Svin made a track for the project as well and the whole deal is available or download at mixtoverdener.dk. Enjoy.
When You’re Ready, Let Go
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You know, there are good things about garageband and there are bad things. The good must be, that everyone has easy access to be a recording artist and express themselves with music. The bad must be that the soundscapes suddenly gets very limited. There a only so many beats and loops in Apples famous production software and there is just enough content, so people don’t feel inclined to expand their sample library. But maybe that’s the point.
Take for instance this beat:
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Now this beat is called “Electronic Drum Beat 02″ and has a sister with the surname “03″ that features an additional hihat rhythm. Personally, I have heard this beat in several songs over the past two years , and I think that maybe the fact that this is the only electronic beat in garageband that approaches cool, is to blame for this. A few songs that feature “Electronic Drum Beat 02″ and possibly “03″:
Rye Rye with MIA – Tic Toc
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A little harder to spot but I know it is for fact.
As In Rebekka Maria – She Lion
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And a remix of mine, where I used the beat that was already on the song. And the beat was…you guessed it…
Disoriented Am I – I Recognized Us (SuperTroels Remix)
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There are probably a ton more out there, and If you know of any other songs using this beat, please post it in the comments.
I am not judging anyone who uses the beat. I just find it funny that, the sound popular music has in a certain period, is so influenced by what technologies we have at our disposal. A very good example of this is the TR-808 drum-machine. This little (5 kilos actually) piece of equipment – limited in it’s sound as it might be – helped form techno and electro-hiphop and is still used in both hiphop, techno and house today. A machine that is over 25 years old, and very limited as opposed to modern drum-machines, is still sought after and can easily range at $8-900, if in good condition. The TR-808 and it’s younger brother the TR-909, had an enormous impact on electronic music, and therefore still has it’s relevance today.
If you don’t know what the TR-808 sounds like here’s a sample pack you can check out. It’s not the same as the real thing, but it gives you the general idea.
Maybe the “Electronic Drum Beat 02″ has it’s place in musical history. Maybe musicians in thirty or forty years time will use the beat as a historical reference much like many crunk artist are using the TR-808 today.
What do you think? Do we have any equivalents to the TR-808, the TR-909 or other relics, that will prove their worth as classic instruments in the future?
My remix of The William Blakes’ philosophic ear-catcher “Science Is Religion” has been submitted to iTunes. It’s hot and steaming and ready for your download. Amen.
I’ve entered the Dum remix competition on dancetracksdigital.com and I would very much like to win it, so I need you to go cast your vote on my remix. Competition ends tomorrow so hurry up. Thank you.
The new album is coming along great. I am writing new material and trying to find out which way I want to go on this second release of mine. I have been very much into minimal and house lately and I am trying to find a hybrid between that stuff and the more melodic tunes that I like to do so much. A lot of my hours are spent in front of the computer.
I “accidentally” made a remix of one my new songs, and I thought that I’d share it with you guys. The tune is called “Nothing Comes To Those Who Wait”. The remix is somewhat dark and gloomy, but it’ll surely get you dancing, though. Hope you like it.
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Here’s some mighty fine video from the show that James Braun and myself did last friday. We couldn’t afford the full hollywood production so the video is a bit static at times but you catch the drift. Tracklist is:
1. Veto – Unite (James Braun remix)
2. Supertroels – Special Is What Special Does
3. James Braun – The Shakers
4. Supertroels – Effort
5. Tomski * Fredboy: Cereal (James Braun remix)
6. Supertroels – Pieces
7. Supertroels – Gritty
8. James Braun – Spanish Fly
9. James Braun – Spanish Fly (postlude)
10. Suspekt- Sut den op fra slap (Supertroels remix)
11. James Braun – Pop Your Funk
