Concert Wrap-Up: Feed Me & Mord Fustang @ Boston’s Royale Nightclub 2.4.13

Recognize this picture? Well you should, because although I took it last week it’s reminiscent of Feed Me‘s last U.S. tour (and yes that was also called the Feed Me With Teeth tour). If you need a reminder check out our photos from April 2012, which is the last time Feed Me (Jon Gooch) last visited Boston’s Royale Nightclub.

By the time last Monday night’s show (2.4.13, the first show of back-to-back nights in Boston) wrapped up at Royale I felt like I had a slight case of déjà vu – at least due to Feed Me’s set. As already stated, Mr. Gooch was using the exact same stage setup he had on his tour less than one year ago (and I’m almost positive he was wearing the same t-shirt as last year), which begs the question why should I come out to see you this time around if the title of your tour seems to be the main draw (the “With Teeth” part)? Having seen him on more than just one occasion I also know he has a tendency to play sets comprised of greater than 90% of his own songs. Sure, I’m a HUGE fan of Feed Me’s productions, as you can tell by reading my review of his most recent release Death By Robot EP, but I also knew exactly what to expect during this show and I don’t like knowing what to expect from a DJ. Feed Me is an extremely talented producer, DJ, and artist and the mixing was flawless during his set. But when DJs play mostly their own productions it leaves for very few surprises, save for the order in which they play their songs and/or the unveiling of some unreleased material. One of the things I value most in live DJ sets is the ability of the DJ to surprise me and to introduce me to music I hadn’t heard previously. Again: I love Feed Me’s music, but having only been around for a few years, he doesn’t exactly have a deep collection of tunes to dig in to and I felt like he was just zipping through his material for the hour and a half he spun.

Another artist who mostly stuck to his own stuff was the tour opener Mord Fustang, who is hands-down one of my favorite producers. His set, musically, excited me much more than Feed Me’s. That’s probably because if I had to choose either of these producer’s music to listen to it would be Mord’s. Here was my problem, however, with Mord Fustang’s relatively short set (only an hour??): he had absolutely no stage/lighting show. Fustang played on a dark stage that housed his DJ setup on top of a fold-up table with a black tablecloth over it. You have to figure that with Feed Me’s incredibly elaborate “Teeth” stage setup, Mord Fustang would at least get some kind of way to show off too, but he merely let his DJing do the talking. I did like bopping around to Mord Fustang’s set but I’m not sure I’ll ever see him play a better one than he did at Electric Zoo 2012.

So I think I need to back up here…

The Finding Nemo Mix by MMIBTY Co-Founder GBallz

On Friday during Winter Storm Nemo (I still can’t believe we’re naming every single storm now…) I decided to record a new mix. Given the fact that I have been really into Deep House and Tech House recently, and the fact that I had the pleasure of seeing Jacques Greene throw down an awesome set Thursday night at the Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge, I thought I’d take the mix in a Deep and funky direction. Depending on how familiar you are with songs off the beaten path, you may recognize some of the tracks but there’s a good chance you won’t know all of them. A lot of the songs are new within the last few months and almost all of them are from 2012 and 2013, with a surprise throwback to close out the set.

I really think you’ll like what you hear as the feedback has been great so far. Check it out and let me know what you think! Tracklist after the jump

Mord Fustang Releases Taito

All I can say is that it has been awhile since Champloo was released, so when rumors surfaced of a new Mord Fustang track needless to say I got a little excited. This funky beat has your number before you even gave it out, your hooked for better or worse. A pulsating throb enters your bloodstream as Mord builds the beat into an iconic anthem before dropping into a plethora of funk almost halfway into the track. This song is downright fun, nothing but smiles come from this one. I can see this as a permanent fixture on my playlist for the immediate feature.

Mord Fustang – Taito (Original Mix) | Beatport

Feed Me’s Death By Robot EP

You may have missed it but yesterday Jon Gooch, better known by his fans as Feed Me , dropped a three-song EP called Death By Robot on Mau5trap Records. I get excited anytime Feed Me releases new music because he is one of my favorite Electro-House artists out there. He is extremely talented in his production skills and his sound is incredibly unique. Oh yeah, and all the artwork you’ve ever seen associated with Feed Me was done by him with no shortage of intricate detail.

Death By Robot may be a relatively short effort, but what the EP lacks in length it makes up for in size. That is, the tracks are BIG. Two of the songs, “Death By Robot” and “Dialup Days”, clock in under four minutes and even though they are short they are fully developed. “Gravel” is probably the biggest banger of the EP, clocking in at 5:30. Around the two minute mark we’re treated to a hard-hitting Feed Me-esque Electro drop that just feels so right. A minute later the feel of the song changes to an off-beat Trap/Dubstep style pattern, eventually returning to its Electro-House foundation. I love the use of talk box in “Death By Robot” and “Dialup Days” is probably the funkiest tune of the three, with a fun bounce to it and typical “Feed Me sounds”. It may not be a crazy Electro song, but not all of them have to be, right?

Feed Me is on tour with the awesome Mord Fustang this winter so make sure to get to one of his shows. He comes to Boston for two nights at Royale: February 4th and 5th.

Go pick up the EP at Beatport!

Feed Me – Death By Robot
Feed Me – Gravel
Feed Me – Dialup Days

2012 In Review: Electro-House

If I had to pick one category of dance music to listen to for the rest of my life it would probably be Electro-House. Nothing gets me ready to party quite like some hard-hitting bass, deep four-on-the-floor kick drums, wobbles, chain saw buzz attacks, and if there’s still time maybe some female vocals or melodic synths layered on top. But let’s stick with those first four to begin with. Our list for this year’s best of Electro-House speaks for itself. We chose songs that we both enjoyed, but that were also popular among fans of the heavier side of House music. I think you’ll recognize a majority of the songs, but with any list there may be a few surprises. We were treated to gems by juggernauts in Wolfgang Gartner, Sander van Doorn, and Tommy Trash, but we also had the pleasure of witnessing some break-out action by guys like Torro Torro, Firebeatz, and John Dahlback. Check the list and let us know what you think! In no particular order…

**GET THE FULL ZIP PACKAGE HERE!**

And here are all 10 songs mixed together for your listening pleasure!

Shuffle Sunday Vol. 2 Featuring Designer Drugs, edIT, Mord Fustang, Gramatik, and Chromeo

In case you missed Volume 1, here’s a little info about our newest segment Shuffle Sundays: So bhanna came up with this concept a little while ago but of course waited way too long to get it started. The idea behind Shuffle Sunday is this: whoever is running the post any given week will simply go through their iTunes on shuffle, sorting through all sorts of tracks spanning genres, older and newer, and find stuff we’ve never posted before or that we haven’t posted in a long time. We sift through a lot of music on a weekly basis and a lot of it ends up falling through the cracks. So the point here is to introduce you (and us) to some tracks that may have slipped under the radar and reintroduce us to some old classics. Sound off on our Facebook page if you really like it!

Back during my senior year of college (2010) I was just starting to really get into Electronic and Dance Music, but I didn’t necessarily have a favorite artist or know what direction to go in with my downloading and listening choices. When I was in Australia the year before, I had downloaded compilations such as Ministry of Sound Sessions and Clubbers Guide which proved to be great resources for all kinds of new music, mostly in the House realm. In a similar fashion, I had stumbled across the NYC-based Designer Drugs who are a prevalent force in the Dance Music world, but if you only pay attention to the mainstream you may not have heard of them. Their sound is grimy and unique and I’d probably most closely relate it to sounds of the Jack Beats. They released a remix compilation in 2010 and this week I rediscovered their remix of Treasure Fingers‘ “Cross the Dancefloor”. The original is a funky Nu-Disco tune and the Designer Drugs remix keeps some of that funk and adds a layer of grime to it. Check it.

Treasure Fingers – Cross the Dancefloor (Designer Drugs Remix)

In a complete musical 180, the next song I shuffled to was edIT’s “Laundry”. For those new to the program, edIT is a member of the Glitch Mob but he has released some of his own solo material. I had no idea who the Glitch Mob were until my first year at Electric Zoo in 2010. In an effort to become more familiar with them I had downloaded a discography of the group and each of their members. “Laundry” comes from the album Crying Over Pros for no Reason which was released in 2004 – a time at which I referred to all dance music as “Techno”, as most casual listeners do. The tune is very chilled-out and stays true to edIT’s Glitch-style roots. This is certainly nothing you’ll hear on the dance floor but it is a beautiful piece of work that you can tell had a lot of work put into it.

edIT – Laundry

*Click thru for a few more tracks and the ZIP package!*

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