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house music

Album Review: Disclosure – Settle

by Rio Toro

 

disclosure-settle-1500x1500-1370291426

 

Disclosure: Settle

Similar Artists: Lone, Basement Jaxx, Sepalcure

Genre: House, House, and more House

Label: Interscope

 

I’ve never been one who enjoys listening to music in social settings. Most of this has to do with wanting to keep the music personal to me — almost like witnessing someone else’s reaction will inevitably tarnish the part of the music that I find to be special. It might sound like a phobia, but it’s more about me wanting to concentrate on the music and nothing else. Because of this predicament, headphones have always been my way of life, and i’m not entirely sure if I would listen to music if they didn’t exist. With them, I am in my own world, and my judgement is all internally based.

You could guess that I don’t particularly like clubs, and it is even rare that I will attend a concert and walk out with any kind of higher appreciation for the music. However, every once in a while an album arrives that simply must be listened to in large, club oriented settings to really hear it. An album that contains such a crazed amount of dance floor energy that it is unable to be contained between a pair of earbuds. Disclosure have made that album.

England house duo Disclosure, made up of siblings Guy and Howard Lawrence, are currently riding a wave of hype (and a few top charting singles to boot) resulting from the fiery, dance floor intensity of their debut album Settle. I’ll say it again, this is a really shitty headphones record; it’s not particularly subtle, and listening to it on repeat will do little to change your initial reaction (whatever that may be). It’s rooted in standard vocal house for sure, and there is nothing out of the ordinary in terms of sounds — but in terms of accessibility and overall quality, this stands out from much of the house music being produced in the 00’s – 10’s (maybe even since the fall of Basement Jaxx). To put it simply, Settle is not only commercial, it’s some of the most pop oriented house music I’ve ever heard. Depending on your relationship with pop music, this is either good, or bad news, and it will dictate the amount of enjoyment you get out of Settle.

This can largely be contributed to the representation of some of Britain’s hottest vocal talents (AlunaGeorge and Jessie Ware for starters) throughout the 14 tracks. While “White Noise” was the first track to be released off this album, probably any of the other (female led) ones could have been released instead, resulting in an equal effect. It’s not that the tracks sound all that similar — although some of them certainly do — but the whole album carries a sense of bravado that, like the acclaimed first single, has an appeal that is hard to deny.

Arguably the most notable aspect of the record is it’s perfect flow, which offers near constant gratification. While there isn’t a whole lot here that truly stands out, each track has its own pleasures, and the perfect sequencing means you will never have to hit the next button. The album starts off with “When a Fire Starts To Burn”, which is a true stroke of sampling genius, and the best possible starting off point. From there we hear a slew of other vocalist heavy tracks that take influence from Garage, 2 Step and even Dubstep. These guys are first and foremost bass producers, and they do a good job of resurfacing bass sounds in interesting ways throughout the album.

Like most pop music, there is a formula that carries Settle, but the performances are so exquisite that the experience feels imaginative despite it’s common tendencies. If it’s played in the right setting, it is a record that can even transcend its obvious shortcomings. Keep in mind, this isn’t anything people will be talking about years down the line — at times I wonder why people are even making such a big deal of it now — but if nothing else, Settle is a reaffirmation of the powers of dance music.

 

Track Listing:

1.) Intro

2.) When A Fire Starts To Burn*

3.) Latch (Feat. Sam Smith)

4.) F For You

5.) White Noise (Feat. AlunaGeorge)*

6.) Defeated No More (Feat. Ed Macfarlane)

7.) Stimulation

8.) Voices (Feat. Sasha Keable)

9.) Second Chance

10.) Grab Her!

11.) You & Me (Feat. Eliza Doolittle)*

12.) January (Feat. Jamie Woon)*

13.) Confess To Me (Feat. Jessie Ware)

14.) Help Me Lose My Mind (Feat. London Grammar)*

 

Album Highlight – *

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, OPINION, REVIEWS Tagged With: Album Review, disclosure, house music, music, settle

DJ DIRTY SOUTH ALBUM RELEASE; Art Design Contest

by Ryan Shea

Dirty South Contest
Dirty South Contest
Dirty South Design Contest

 

Talenthouse recording artist Dirty South just announced he will be releasing his first full-length studio album, Speed of Life.  This Serbian-Australian DJ/Producer has been on the house music circuit for a few years now and has racked up plenty of positive recognition and attention.  In 2008, he was nominated for a Grammy, in the Best Remixed Recording category for his  recording of, fellow Tech-House DJ, Kaskade’s Sorry, and then again, in the same category in 2011 for his collaboration with Axwell for the Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition.

Since his recording career began, Dirty South has been racking up merits from a number of respected house music sources.  He is well known in the acclaimed InTheMix 50 DJ Poll’s, voted “Most Popular Producer Nationally” in 2007 as well as ranking 2nd in the 2007 InTheMix 50 DJ Poll.  Let’s not forget that in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ poll every year since 2007.

 

So now that you know a little bit about this insanely talented DJ/Producer (just in case you) let me get to my point…In honor of his album release Dirty South is inviting artists to compete to design artwork for a limited edition tee-shirt that will be sold through his online store.  Having a design on an internationally sold clothing item is a great accomplishment for even the most seasoned artists, but even if you are just an aspiring artist or just have a talent for design and art this could be your open doorway!  Not only will the winner’s design be printed and sold, they will also receive a trip to VEGAS, a two night stay at The Wynn Las Vegas & Encore Resort, and a meet and greet with Dirty South himself.

To enter view Talenthouse‘s website at:

www.talenthouse.com/design-for-dirty-south

Winners will be announced March 5th and the deadline to submit is Tuesday February 26th!

I’m very honored to be the one to let you all know about this exciting opportunity and, as an art lover myself, look forward to voting and seeing the winning design!  And don’t forget the winner will be announced the same day as Dirty South’s album release!!

Filed Under: ARTS, BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, LIFESTYLE, MUSIC, NEW YORK, U.S., uncategorized Tagged With: 2013, album release, art, art contest, Australia, best dj, contest, design, design contest, dirty south, dj mag, fashion, free trip, grammy nominee, house music, international, kaskade, las vegas, phazing, recording, recording artist, talenthouse, techno, tee shirt, the wynn las vegas, thomas gold, tiesto, vegas, winner

Dance Music at the Grammy’s

by Ryan Shea

left

Dance music has come a long way in the past decade.  From music you could only hear at 5 am in NYC at clubs like Sound Factory and Crobar, to now being played out by commercialized mainstream radio.  Dance music is beats and vocals dubbed together by artists who can hear melodies where others do not.  Having said this, it is amazing to see these artists being honored, as musicians, at the Grammy awards.

The nominees for Best Dance Recording are all very talented DJ’s.  Avicii is a great DJ who brought dance music to the mainstream when Flo Rida remixed his song Levels.  Although he should be recognized for helping bring dance music to the forefront of American radio, I don’t think he deserves the Grammy this year.  The Best Dance Recording, in my opinion, belongs to Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin, Don’t you Worry Child.  This song mixes beautiful vocals and lyrics with genius melodies and beats.  Not only can you sing along to this track but you can also get lost in its atmosphere.  Swedish House Mafia is a trio of talented DJ’s and ingenious producers.  They mix just the right amount of commercial feel to get radio air time and still keep the respect of dance music lovers around the world.

The Grammy for the Best Dance/Electronica Album hands down belongs to Kaskade Fire and Ice.  Kaskade is one of the few American DJs and producers to draw followers around the world.  In 2011 Kaskade was voted America’s Best DJ 2011 by www.djtimes.com.  The Fire and Ice album peaked at #17 on the US Charts and #1 on the US Dance Charts.  Kaskade brings together different artists and other DJs in this album and still manages to keep his authentic sound.  The album includes two discs’ (Fire and Ice) which contain the same tracks but mixed in two completely different ways.  Fire is smooth and alluring, while Ice is loud and hard.  Although the same songs, each disc feels and sounds completely unique.  Kaskade deserves this award, in my opinion, and I believe will take home the Grammy this year.  Although the other albums in this category are all great none has the originality and range of skill like Kaskade Fire and Ice.

 

Filed Under: BREAKING NEWS, ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, OPINION Tagged With: avicii, dance, dance music, dj, dont you worry child song, edm, electro, fire and ice album, grammy, grammy awards, house music, kaskade, producers, review, shm, swedish house mafia, techno, techno music

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