Welcome to our fourth edition of Shuffle Sundays and the first of 2013! For those just tuning in, this is a song drop of relatively older songs from my massive library of tunes that I may have forgotten about over the past several months or years. I simply hit “shuffle” in my iTunes library and came up with some tracks for you to check out. In case you missed them you can visit Volume One, Volume Two, and Volume Three at any time. Also make sure to check out our Best of 2012 posts which you can get to on the right panel.
First up today is a song by Signal Path called “Is It Real”. Signal Path are an electronic trio that have spliced technology with raw instrumentalism and the group is comprised of Ryan Burnett: Guitar/Production, Damon Metzner: Acoustic Drums, and Matt Schumacher: Bass. They saw their start in the mountains of Montana in 2001 and now call Denver their home. I first learned of them in college and loved what I heard, as I was just getting into the sounds of similar guys in STS9 and Pretty Lights. While I’m not completely up to date with Signal Path’s current catalogue, I was a huge fan of their LP Clash which “Is It Real” comes from. It reminds me a lot of old school Bassnectar, with a Hip-Hop beat and some glitchy electro effects.
Signal Path – Is It Real | Download the full album for free
Next up is perhaps one of my favorite electronic songs of all time off easily one of my favorite electronic albums of all time: The Prodigy‘s “Narayan” off 1997’s The Fat of the Land. This album was the third effort by the trio and as of 2012 it has sold over 10 million copies world-wide. You know how certain songs can bring you back to a time and place? Well “Narayan” is one of those tracks, bringing me back to my days in middle school when I would carry a discman around with me. Having received The Fat of the Land as a birthday present during the fifth or sixth grade and hearing The Prodigy all over Boston rock radio, it was easy for me to keep the album on heavy rotation during my down time at school (often in the computer lab). This Break Beats song clocks in just under 10 minutes yet still manages to hold my attention the entire time. If only artists still made tracks like this today…
Also, check out how crazy it was for them to produce one of their greatest hits “Smack My Bitch Up” with this YouTube video.
The Prodigy – Narayan | Purchase on Beatport
On the deeper and funkier side of things is Russ Yallop‘s “Crossroads”, remixed by Fur Coat. I am by no means an expert in Deep House and this song was originally recommended to me by a friend who considers it her favorite genre these days. Russ Yallop is a British underground House producer and Fur Coat are a Venezuelan production/DJ duo of the same sort. Having given the “Crossroads” original mix a listen, I can tell Fur Coat spruced it up, giving it a cleaner and more upbeat sound while managing to keep the vocals ever-present (which I thought was an essential element of the original). I’m really into the bass line of this tune and if this is the first you’re hearing of the song or the two artists involved, I’d recommend you explore deeper (no pun intended).
Russ Yallop – Crossroads (Fur Coat Remix) | Purchase on Beatport
Ever heard of Skrillex? Wait, who? Oh yeah, this guy. Well you probably know a lot about Sonny Moore and you probably either love or hate his music. And you may have heard his most recent EP, The Leaving EP. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites was Skrillex’s 2010 release and while it was his second studio effort, it was a huge reason he has reached superstar status. Bare Noize are a London-based Dubstep duo that remixed Skrillex’s Electro-House/Dubstep track “Kill Everybody” and made it a true hard-hitting Dubstep track that still sounds very much like Skrillex may have produced it himself. Being a drummer for most of my life, I’m a big fan of how the drums came out in this track, complete with double bass kick drum hits and plenty of cymbals. And of course we get to hear the famous pitched-up Skrillex vocal samples.
Skrillex – Kill Everybody (Bare Noize Remix) | Purchase on Beatport
Last up is one of my favorite Jack Beats productions called “Get Down”, which I had the pleasure of hearing live during Holy Ship (although only Beni G was present from the duo). Released back in 2009, this track is an Electro-House/Fidget-House gem with the sounds of Jack Beats that made them stick out in a crowd of many many House music producers: WOBBLES. If you checked out our post on The Careless EP you’d know exactly what I’m talking about (or if you’ve heard any of the other Jack Beats productions out there). These guys do something different and if that’s what you’re looking for I’d highly recommend digging into their collections.
Jack Beats – Get Down | Purchase on Beatport
**Shuffle Sunday Volume 4 Zipped Up!**