Alchemiist & Decion – Code Red (2012 Remix) – Preview by Decion
Alchemiist and Decion have restored my faith in (this kind of) Hard NRG recently with tunes like their Jigsaw remix, and this rework of Code Red might be their hardest tune so far. The breakdown just gets the balance right between building a dark atmosphere and leading us to the drop, while that pre-breakdown sequence is just awesome. Very promising signs for the final version, then.
Qygen – Moonlight Shower (Freeform Mix Remaster) by Qygen
I must admit that I completely forgot to post about Qygen’s new track a week or so back, but here it is for anyone who missed out until now. Moonlight Shower might be less obviously Freeform Goa than some other tunes on Qygen’s SoundCloud, but from the halfway point the track really hits its stride, once again with some fantastic melodies. The heavier kick might make this one a little easier to mix with ‘normal’ freeform, too.
Lock Us Up – Forthcoming Electronica Exposed by Kreatrix
A bit slow off the mark this week, but something really worth mentioning is the new batch of releases from Electronica Exposed. Depending on sales, they might not even be the last we hear from the label, so anyone into Shanty’s brand of Finnish (and sometimes Japanese)-tinged UK Freeform should really show some support (and the sale on past releases is definitely worth checking out, too).
Another reason to support EE’s latest efforts is that Electronic Exclusives 20 – Til Death Us Do Part includes the newest vocal track from Kreatrix, Lock Us Up. More of a bouncy freeform tune than the recent (and awesome) Time, this is still a very nicely produced track that hovers between a few different styles.
PlasmaDancer – NRGetic Romancer 7th Anniversary by FINRG Recordings
No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you – it’s my first recorded NRG/Freeform set for over two years (!). Many thanks to Guld for allowing this 7th Anniversary mix to go online, it’s now downloadable via the FINRG SoundCloud.
A quick look at the tracklist will show it’s a little different to (and slower than) my past sets, as we were working with a a few restrictions this time. The tunes are limited to artists who’ve played at NRGetic Romancer in the past seven years, and the track selection was split between me and Guld (any guesses as to who chose what?). It was quite a challenge to come up with a decent set before the deadline, but I’m fairly happy with the end result.
Anyway, I’m especially pleased with the first half, and there’s plenty of new material for NRG fans. I was struggling to fit things in towards the end of the set, but I quite like the Frozen Abyss – Ziggurat connection, followed of course by DJ One Hit Wonder’s remix of Hell’s Gate.
My next recorded set is on pause yet again, for reasons I’ll probably explain later in the week, but feel free to give this set a listen. Feedback’s very welcome, as always!
01. Proteus – Try Harder
02. Adam Lab 4 – Infernal Desire (Lab 4 Psycho Surgery remix)
03. DJ X Lab 4 – Captain Black
04. Jody 6 & ConfigSys Project – Japanese Ghost Train
05. Lab 4 – Concept of Love (Guld remix)
06. Guld – Hannya X (Android Lime remix)
07. Shanty vs Epyx & Cyrez – Frozen Abyss (Full Circle DJs remix)
08. Alek Szahala – Ziggurat
09. Zio – Hell’s Gate (PlasmaDancer remix)
10. Betwixt & Between – Tout est Bien (Sein zum Tode)
11. RR-ThermalForce – Al Megiddo
It’s always educational/awesome to see artists at work in their sequencers, and an Alek Szahala demonstration has been on the TYFTH wishlist for a long time now. Today’s the day, then, and the track in question is the recent FINRG release, Ziggurat.
Like Aryx’s excellent Galaxis video, this really gives a sense of what’s needed to make a quality track, and anyone with the slightest understanding of Reason will get a lot from Alek’s showcasing of the melody lines and synths. Many thanks to Alek for taking the time to put the video together, here’s hoping that it inspires a few more tunes into existence.
After the recent RaverRose talk, here’s a very old track that was given the demented synth treatment by Hase. He can make pretty much any tune sound amazing with his skill on the filters (I’m particularly thinking of his How Low remix from back in the day), and this is another example from around 2005…
Kreatrix – Time – Original (Krea-free) by Kreatrix
This is turning into a good week for releases, isn’t it? Something a little different, but one of my favourite freeform tunes so far this year, Kreatrix/Level 13’s Time is now available for free via the Kreatrix SoundCloud. Twisty synthed, 180bpm freeform isn’t a common sight these days, and this one is absolutely recommended.
The latest installment of Hardcore Syndrome is on the way (already on sale at Comic Market, it’ll be available elsewhere from the 26th), and freeform fans will immediately notice the standout track – Betwixt & Between’s Tout est Bien (Sein zum Tode). I’d like to hear the full version of Teranoid’s Back on Fear, but the rest of the tunes (understandably) look like they’re aimed squarely at the J-Core crew, and probably won’t be finding their way into freeform setlists anytime soon.
Qygen – L.E.D. Galaxy by Qygen
Towards the end of last night’s ustream set I threw in some of the ‘psycore’ I’d been promising, and most of it came from the extremely talented Qygen. The name might be familiar to a few people from his hardcore/freeform tracks, but it’s his recent Goa-influenced tunes that really caught my attention.
With tracks like Vast and LED Galaxy, he has done a fantastic (and really confident) job of transplanting old Goa atmosphere and melodies into a hardcore bpm. I can’t wait to hear some more material, but for now you can find a decent selection on Qygen’s SoundCloud.
Betwixt & Between – Surendrajit(2011 refix) by TOTAL DISCOMMUNICATION
Thanks to Ritsuenyu for spotting this new version of Surendrajit, uploaded a few hours ago. The most obvious improvement is the extra bass and a heavier kick, but the cleaned up synths also make a very noticeable difference. An improved version of one of my very favourite Betwixt tracks, this is obviously right up there as one of the releases of the year so far, and is freely available from the TOTAL DISCOMMUNICATION SoundCloud.