Hello from ayu. Spring is in full force in Cali right now which means time for some trance of course, hehe.
Here’s an update from our friend Rubix. It’s called Disco Electronique. I absolutely dig this track; I love the contrast of the sick electro noise with the mellow melody… if you like it it’s available on iTunes and Beatport.
Also reminding everyone to stay tuned to A State Of Trance because ASOT 450 is going to be on April 1, 2010! It should be tasty.
And if you really love electronic music (which I know you do) you MUST go to etd.POP. Gareth Emery, Boys Noize, Armin, Infected Mushroom, LA Riots… delish. $68 after fees from eventbrite (I prefer EB over TicketMaster. sadly I got owned by ticketbastard before I realized it.)
This week’s elecTONIC post is from FCK, a.k.a. Evan Mason. It covers the present trend toward more electronic music elements in popular music.
Most DJs you will not find at the forefront of mainstream dance music, i.e. pop/rap/hip-hop; that is, music that elecTONIC is NOT about. Maybe that’s part of the reason we like electronic dance music so much. Anyway. Meet David Guetta. Most recently, he’s become very visible recently over his newest album, One Love, and most notably the single Sexy Bitch (feat. Akon). (Others who listen to top 40 stations might also know it as the family friendly ‘Sexy Chick.’) Said family friendly version in fact is listed as #34 on the billboard top 100 for the week of October 17. I’m not going to link it.
A respected DJ making pop. WTF mate? David Guetta also was one of the main producers for The Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D., including I Gotta Feeling. (‘The Black Eyed Peas’ were formerly known as ‘The Peas’ until Chuck Norris heard their music.) Indeed, he does a sweet remix called Boom Boom Guetta. I’m actually quite a fan of electronic pop remixes, and this is a good one; not coincidentally, it’s a lot more of an electronic tune than Sexy Chick.
The question is, how should we feel about this? Sexy Chick has only fleeting elements of more typical electronic dance music. It’s even quite a reach from the likes of Armin van Buren’s and Tësto’s vocal trance. On one hand, it’s getting more people to listen to edm. On the other, it isn’t really edm. You’ll notice that purists will often have this debate about almost any art form which some artist popularizes, whether it’s film, visual art, music, literature or anything else.
I have this to say about it: I like it more than other pop/rap/hip-hop, but I definitely prefer the sound of deadmau5 or Boys Noize. If Sexy Chick plays, I’m happy to dance to it as it has a great beat, but it’s not part of any of my ‘listening’ playlists. Even if this music isn’t that electronic, it fills a niche.
What about Guetta’s other work? After all, he made it to #5 on djmag’s top 100 dj’s 2008. (Voting is over for 2009 but be sure to check the results and vote in the future!) While Guetta is classified as a house DJ, his music is pretty similar to the other top djs; that is, the trance artists Armin van Buren, Tiësto, and Paul van Dyke. Guetta’s staple is more pop sounding synths and vocals. For example, When Love Takes Over:
Also, his other most famous work which I’m quite a fan of, Love is Gone:
Love is Gone comes from the 2007 studio album Pop Life, a good listen if you’re into vocal trance or house. Also check out Guetta’s remix of Who’s Your Daddy on Benny Benassi’s Rock ‘N’ Rave.
