the martin brothers remixed.

(photo by the amazing san fran photographer merkley)

christian and justin martin (the martin brothers) and dirty bird records decided to have a remix contest. i'm not usually too keen on those cause everyone under the moon gets the parts and gets to run wild with them like chickens with their heads cut off. but i guess when its not posted on all the major blogs and has strict professional judgement criteria (tightness, sound quality, releasability and original use of samples) then you get a better quality result.

fellow blogger and dj member of a quite prestigious family, lazaro casanova, and miami musicmaker jay-you take a well-aimed stab at the track. i won't dare use the words 'tribal' or 'jungle' due to the negative connotations with old rave music, but i love love love the way that the elephant trumpeting bleeds in and out of actual trumpets layered over the drums and percussion. they throw in some feel-good 'almost-elevator-music' on top of it all, but somehow make it work..

the martin brothers - dum (casanova & jay-you animales remix)

and i can't believe that this submission from norrit came straight out of lawrence, kansas (audion you better watch your back!!!). he chopped up and crumbled some filtered female vocals over the bubbly instrumentals and shotguns.

the martin brothers - dum (norrit's shotgun remix)

i'm a bit sad that neither of these won (check the winners and decide for yourself), but now at least we have two great remixes to give away for free! read more!

santiago + bushido.

the blog world isn't too familiar with santiago and bushido, but that should all be changing real soon. these chicago self-proclaimed 'jackin house' producers are helping blur the line and draw the two worlds of house and electro music closer together. they share a roster with the likes of hijack, crookers, andy george and heavyfeet on potty mouth music to form a family that is really pushing and cultivating this hybrid genre.

a little fidget, a little house a lot of bass.

robosonic - kaputt in hollywood (santiago & bushido remix)

don't be put off by the vocals in this one. once they disappear halfway thru the track the bass may just make you think that you're listening to a d.i.m. track.

troyden - flowers (santiago & bushido remix)

this one has been ruling the bigrooms all over the country and has trickled down into other savvy dj playlists thanks in part to the collab with deadmau5.

kaskade featuring deadmau5 - move for me (santiago & bushido remix) read more!

dj orgasmic + teki latex.

does fashion inspire music? music inspire fashion? which came first; the musical chicken or the fashionable egg? regardless of the argument, the two find themselves constantly intertwined as recently showcased by the set justice threw together for the dior fashion show for paris fashion week.

here is yet another example of symbiotic mutualism. orgasmic had the idea to create a song to go with that micro collection french graphist akroe did for the clothing line sixpack, since orgasmic was the main model for the lookbook and he called teki latex to lay down some vocals. the song is all about the fashion industry. for all those that aren't fluent in french, he talks about how lower classes and street culture get inspired by the classic high class looks and high fashion. oh ya, and how girls should always wear high heels. 

orgasmic & teki latex - sixpack anthem (la tête dans les étoiles) read more!

lauren flax.

the lovely and talented new york staple lauren flax is back with a new single. she enlisted sia of zero 7 fame to inject some soulful vocals and a giant team of remixers including junior sanchez, larry tee, alexander technique, angel alanis, dre skull, dances with white girls and lauren herself.

lauren flax ft sia - you've changed

the only place you can find all the releases is exclusively on beatport for the next two weeks, but they'll soon be everywhere, released on alexander technique's label djs are not rock stars. (wait, they're not?) read more!

p e a c e fire + grum.

"trespassion, sky embossed and wet
grass in between our toes, a true fragility
immortal dance in soil cycles
caught to be free

felt so authentically in mind and energy-cast of birthed body
drainage of divinity in national clouds, planet pacts
brimming with urgent emptiness
treading light within

no one
but all, to be."

p e a c e fire - sapphire
p e a c e fire - sapphire (grum edit)

we love p e a c e fire. we love grum. read more!

larry tee.

tastemaker larry tee is currently putting the finishing touches on his upcoming album 'club badd', due some time this winter. after his recent hit singles 'licky' and 'i love you' you should already be all excited about it by now but just in case you've got bad taste or have been living under a rock, the man himself hooked us up with another treat for y'all!

he teamed up with christopher just to create 'get your grind on', a nine minutes track featuring a lot of style switches coming together like the pieces of a puzzle and ending up with a huge epic dancefloor stormer. i was totally stunned when i first heard it and it totally reminds me of the first wave of sample-heavy tracks like 'pump up the volume' by marrs. so while we are waiting for the album, pump up the volume and get your grind on!

larry tee featuring christopher just - get your grind on

our friends at bigstereo have got an all new larry tee mix up right here, featuring a whole lot of unreleased tracks by the man himself, including collaborations with scene stars such as santogold, princess superstar, roxy cottontail, amanda lepore and jeffree star. be sure to check it out! read more!

niyi.

niyi is part of the same london-based clique as m.i.a, his club nights started the whole 'new rave' phenomenon and his best friend runs cassette playa, so i guess it's clear that we're dealing with a true underground innovator right here.

i immediately got all hooked on 'amelia', a super-catchy funky house track, bringing back memories of classics like 'i luv u baby' by the original because of the great piano chords. easily my favorite track these days, so glad to hear something completely different and timeless as this!

niyi - amelia

niyi has an album scheduled for early 2009 and his new single is available on itunes. head to hus myspace to show him some love and to get ahold of remix packages and more tunes! even more niyi can be found over at our friends from palms out and the fader. read more!

kid sister.

america's freshest labels mad decent and fool's gold join forces, having chicago's kid sister team up with david banner for this new (yet belated) diplo produced bbq-flavoured summer jam to prove yet again that hip hop's not dead at all. now i am even more excited about her upcoming album 'dream date' (due end of november on downtown), forcing me to quote nu shooz: "i can't wait".

kid sister - family reunion

go and add kid sister on myspace already if you haven't yet. shouts to the forkcast team over at pitchfork for putting this up! read more!

aston shuffle.

australian producer duo aston shuffle go by the names of mikah and vance and when i first heard their bootleg remix of the cosmos (tom middleton) classic 'take me with you' over at our friends fluokids, i was totally blasted away. i love how they chopped it up, made it a lot more banging and yet managed to keep the beautiful vibe of the original anyway. been listening to this on repeat everywhere i go ever since the weekend, so it is about time i post it on here.

cosmos - take me with you (aston shuffle bootleg)

then i went on and did some research on aston shuffle, coming across their single 'for everyone' and the remix by uk (fidget) house producers stupid fresh who combined the retro synths and vocoders (yeah!) of the original with a percussion-heavy shuffled fidget groove and deep bass, making it a perfect track for a style switch in your set.

aston shuffle - for everyone (stupid fresh remix)

and to make up for the fact that 'for everyone' was released last year and i am only giving it to you now, here is a brandnew remix by aston shuffle in a wonky breaks-influenced electro house vibe. some of the vocals from the original tune by fellow australian outfit nu coalition are not really my style and the harmonica doesn't make it easier for me but it's quality nonetheless and i am sure some of you guys will appreciate this!

nu coalition - born for the nightlife (aston shuffle remix)

show aston shuffle some myspace love! read more!

80kidz.

for some reason i have never given 80kidz a fair chance before. maybe because their name reminds me of one of the worst places on the internet or because i think writing words with 'z' instead of 's' is quite uncool in general, but that's probably why some people tend to think i am a superficial, arrogant elitist bastard. anyway, the 'kidz' are from japan and have already scored official remixes for autokratz and the raveonettes, so i had a feeling that i've got to check them out once more!

they hooked me up with the title track of their current ep 'life begins at eighty' (all details on their myspace) and although i wanted to keep the distortion amount low on discodust lately, i can't resist this time. sure, this is heavily inspired by justice, mstrkrft and you know all their names anyway. but this track is just so banging, uplifting, funky and musical all at once that i had to post it. and even if it's just for old times' sake - i don't see why i shouldn't like this just because they came a bit late to the game - at least they are not releasing a track called 'summertime' although it's already freezing cold out there, right? play this fucking loud!

80kidz - life begins at eighty

keep an eye on 80kidz and i've got a feeling there's a lot more good music on the rise in japan. read more!

little boots interview.

another week, another interview. this time i got the pleasure of sitting down with miss victoria little boots as she as in town for the nocturnal festival alongside so me, a1 bassline and craze. we bypassed the usual 'how did you get your name' and got into the good stuff, but here's the basics on her if you don't already know:

name origin: from an old movie, caligula (which is latin for 'little boots')
bigtime producers: her first single 'stuck on repeat' was produced by joe goddard of hot chip
musical heroes: kylie minogue, alexander robotnick
label: she turned down releasing 'stuck on repeat' on kitsuné to retain control over her song
previous music: band called dead disco
favorite footwear: stilettos
sponsored by: tenori-on
fake blood: remixed 'stuck on repeat' but she won't say his real identity

so out of all the places in the world why did you decide to come to los angeles the last time to write?

it wasn't like "oh i want to come to somewhere. i think i'll go to la because it has palm trees and it's warm." this is my fifth trip out here because greg kurstin does my production and he's based from here. he's in the bird and the bee and produces loads of british stuff like kylie, lily allen and peaches.

how did being out here affect what you wrote about?

i originally came out here with my old band. the third time we came they had to leave early so i was here nearly a month abandoned by myself in a strange city. i was kindof left here and told to keep writing. it was a bit of a head-fuck. i stayed to write and it kindof freaked me out. i had an apartment and a car and didn't know anyone. i ended up having an amazing time, met loads of people and had loads of fun. it's always hit or miss. normally when i come, i'm here to write and record which places so much pressure on the trip. you've got two weeks to write a hit track and it's emotionally exhausting. a lot of nights i stay in my hotel, write and not go out. at first i didn't think it affected my songs but a lot of them are about being in a new place or feeling like an outsider. i think quite a lot of that has come from here being thrown into a pressurized situation. but now i've got loads of friends and know what i'm doing.

so how did you come up with your whole initial marketing strategy? i remember when you first dropped your new song to the blogs and it was all 'secretive'. no one really knew anything about you and you didn't have any photos up on your myspace.

ya it's real silly because i've never thought of it as a marketing strategy. definitely nothing that planned. everything comes from my silly imagination. it's horrible that people think it's a strategy.

fake blood is another person who uses that tactic. it drove bloggers crazy for so long.

have you seen that blog 'who is fake blood'? it's silly when people go around saying "i'm a secret". a lot of people do because they're old and not cool, which i can understand a little bit more. but if they do it to get attention, it's silly.

more people are taking that approach recently so have you ever considered that maybe you'd started a trend?

yeah, quite a few people have taken that approach. even all the stupid youtube stuff i do is just me having fun in my pyjamas in my bedroom. but i'd hate for people to think that it's some sort of calculated thing. i didn't keep it a secret on purpose, but i just didn't put any pictures up. that just shows how much relevance visual reference is. even when i had bloody pictures up people thought it was someone else with a vocalist. no one would ever consider that i wrote and helped produce it. initially i had no idea how the song would do so it was partly to get pure reactions to the song without prejudice or people thinking "oh it's her from so and so." i also just didn't want my band to find out. i never said 'this is a secret thing' which i notice that some people are doing now.

it's like they say "i'm a secret and i'm not going to tell you who i am." it's so stupid. like "hello, i'm a secret". obviously not genuine. but everyone was telling me that i was getting on loads of blogs. at the time i didn't even know much was a blog was, i just knew that they existed. i didn't think anyone would notice that i had a myspace. the visual side is very important to me. i have a creative team and we try to make it like a whole little fantasy world filled with crystals, unicorns, lazers and kittens.

i think it makes you more personable/relatable. the videos let the world see the real you hanging out in your bedroom making music. everyone else focuses on proper performance videos.

i started my youtube videos as a joke. anything you start getting reactions on means you've made some sort of connection. i think if it was contrived, it wouldn't work. some pr company wanted to turn it into a show with guests, but that's not what it's about. it's about me sitting in my bedroom in my pyjamas, not about cashing in on it. there's a lot of different things that i do and each one is an extension of my personality. i have the blog, the music, myspace, mixtapes, djing, live shows. it's my own little world.

how did you learn how to dj?

i moved to london in february of this year and was scared as hell. someone told me to dj at a little pub down the road with like two cds. eventually i got a residency and then got on a dj tour with some bands. i've literally had to learn from doing it on the job. i think it's weird that people book you because they like your track, not based on your dj skills because six months ago i couldn't mix and still got loads of bookings. i think it's all about what you play and not how you make it blend together so much. i do loads of dj'ing now. i mean someone flew me all the way to los angeles to play this big festival. i have mixtapes now and decks at home to practice on. it's made me learn a lot more about dance music and the relevance of a remix. i never really understood remixes before and i always thought that remixes were boring. but now i understand and it's given me insight into how to make my music.

well someone knew what they were doing when they enlisted fake blood and toddla t to remix your first single.

yes, when you play them out it's just massive. if i had heard that song, i would've thought that it was cool, but wouldnt really get it. if i was in a club i would probably dance to it loads and be like "what's this song?". but if i had just downloaded it at home, i probably wouldn't play it in my bedroom. now my perspective has changed and i can appreciate a remix a bit more.

who did the most recent remix of 'stuck on repeat'? i don't think it has any vocals on it yet...

oh, it's probably the alexander robotnick remix. he's one of my alltime heroes because he's the godfather of italo. he has given the remix to me as a gift because he'd loved the song so much. how amazing is that? he sent me messages saying "you're a true musician in this world of bullshit." i was blown away. he's like 60 odd years old and can still make something really fresh. it's going to be on the uk vinyl release.

i know you grew up in kind of a 'white trash' area in blackpool. how is it going back there now? is it still the same people stuck where you left them?

it's supposed to be the vegas of england, but it's not. really small and really really shit. people just go out to fight and be naked and take drugs and be horrible. it's really working class. it's a weird place to grow up. you grow up really cynical and don't take things at face value. no one even knows what a blog or hype machine is, so it's a great reality check when i go back. i don't want to make music that's cool right now and for the intention of people posting them on blogs. i want to make music that people in the local shop will buy. it's so different from london.

how did you end up where you are musically when you came from such a working class background which i'm sure was filled with nothing but cheesy pop/dance music?

it's definitely very mainstream and bad dance music on the radio. it sounds ten years old and hasn't progressed at all. i just think that london can get in this bubble of thought and be super concerned about being in vice magazine and getting on blogs and talking about industry people at your gigs. i don't give a shit about being cool like that. that whole scene scares me. i've just been on such a musical journey my entire life. i've been in so many bands and done so many different things. i never settle on one sound and i'm constantly changing. i didn't really fit in when i was younger because i was always geeky and playing piano at home. that made me a bit of an outsidery person. then i went to high school and got into punk rock because i felt like an outsider and it felt like a rebellion. when i went to university i was in an indie band. and when i was 18 i bought my first synth and have been collecting them ever since. it opened up a whole new world of music possibilities. it's all a natural progression and everything feeds into each other. i still like some of the cheesy stuff they still like in blackpool. the minute you think you're better than everyone and have better taste. londoners think that they're the tastemakers and can't imagine that anyone else is capable of selecting and listening to good music, but they can.

so everyone is asking about 'the boy is mine' cover? is it going to materialize?

really? i mentioned it in one thing and then loads of people started asking. it was my idea and i wanted to do it with my friend anita from thecocknbullkid. the producer of 'wiley – wearing my rolex' got in contact with me to do a track and i thought that we should do this one with him, but my friend went off the idea. maybe i can get someone else to do it.

i was looking at your blog and you were at an airport when you realized that you had left your passport at home. you said that it wasn't a problem because you were registered on twat.com. i looked it up because i thought perhaps it was some sort of security bank you could register with, but it was nothing but porn. care to indulge?

hahaha. i meant it like "i'm such a twat". you know like 'dickhead.com' cause i do such stupid things all the time. i have to stop it cause i always say things in my blog that i say all the time that no one else will understand. stupid abbreviations like 'spaz.com' i forget that anyone reads it. there's loads of pictures of me drunk on there. i think no one reads it and that i'm just writing it in my bedroom. people comment like 'so i saw you were at so and so last weekend' and i wonder how they know. and they tell me 'um, it was posted on your blog, you know.'

how was playing creamfields? were you super nervous?

it's like a chavs festival. like loads of tacky people on ecstasy. everyone was wasted and i was playing embarrassing songs, but it was really fun. glastonbury was possibly even more massive than creamfields. it's an amazing feeling to have 2,000 people dancing to what you're playing. i was on the annie mac stage which was great cause im going on her tour a little bit.

so what are you going to play at nocturnal?

it's weird with dj'ing because i always end up playing stuff that i don't like. you want to make people dance and you want to make a good time. i like pop and disco, but you just can't dance to it and play it at huge parties. you can at fashion-y parties, but not big gigs. i've got really into 'nightcrawlers - push the feeling on'. i'm probably out of date. i probably need to go on some blogs and get some new stuff.

its funny because there's something about the uk because they seem to get everything press-wise sent to them before the rest of the world. so you just have to find the right connections and you won't have to rely on music from blogs.

is it too late? as soon as it's on a blog is it too late?

haha, no! i'm just saying that there's more exclusive resources out there for you.

ya, i'm on a dj promo list and we do get stuff before the blogs. i just always degenerate to four months ago when i downloaded everything. it's quite weird playing in america and figuring out what works. some songs that are really big back at home just don't go over well here. la djs kind of have attention deficit disorder. they literally play only the chorus and you don't have enough time to get into the song. i'm so used to playing 8 minute songs. i can't even comprehend playing a song shorter than that because you miss all the buildups. i'll try to play a good mix of uk stuff that people haven't heard. it probably won't go down very well, but oh well.

well, her set at nocturnal went over perfectly. she played surprisingly hard stuff and held her own with the big boys. it's definitely a boys game, but some girls know the rules.

don't forget to pick up her new ep 'arecibo' which features 'stuck on repeat' with the fake blood remix, as well as 'meddle' on the b side. iam sound has it all ready and waiting for you! read more!

walter meego + van she tech.

so i just left some of my hard-earned money over at beatport, just to get a proper version of the van she tech remix of 'forever' by walter meego, just to see it posted on ohh! crapp... while checking google reader a while later. oh crap indeed, y'all!

anyway, this gem being good to post made me start some research, leading me to bigstereo and chromewaves who both posted the original 'girls' by walter meego a while ago and as i have only ever paid attention to remixes of their tracks so far, i have to say that these guys are quite good and got some real good and catchy electric light orchestra style songwriting going on.

back to the van she tech remix though. i agree with what ohh! crapp... says, their shinichi osawa remix was quite of a letdown but this one is more than making up for that, so maybe we can just blame the original tune. don't get me wrong, i am not saying any bad things about van she tech, it is just that they have always been nothing but godlike to me. before i started my own blog, you saw me checking fluokids for new remixes of them every day because they were my personal number one producers.

and actually i am still in grief that they never got the attention that justice or simian mobile disco got for their remixes back in the day because seriously, every single van she tech production back then killed it - i'd even go as far as saying that their version of "gravity's rainbow" by klaxons is the best track of 'the old days' and i'd still play it out today.

but enough drunken nostalgia for now, let's pretend we are all glad to move on and make sure to check out both these tracks!

walter meego - forever (van she tech remix)
walter meego - girls

if you like those, be as cool as i am and buy it on beatport. but as you broke leechers won't do that anyway, at least head over to myspace, add walter meego and van she tech and make them feel loved!

update: enough free leech of 'girls', if you want more from walter meego, head over to amazon, itunes or insound. read more!

cut copy + run hide survive.

now for something new from one of the biggest names in this game we're playing, australian disco saviors cut copy (pictured above) come through again with an epic remix for uk indie rockers kaiser chiefs. yeah i know what you think, they aren't really one of my favorite bands either. but at least the guys or their label have excellent choice in remixers. after yuksek, cut copy sprinkle some of their cosmic magic on 'never miss a beat' and this is definitely one of the biggest remixes of the year.

cut copy provide a driving percussion-heavy rhythm with that always so irresistable disco hihat on the off-beat, a deep classic dance bassline, lots of blurred bleeps and filter sweeps and the ultimate climax is the classic house piano dropping in after two thirds of the track. this whole new context makes the vocals sound all eighties new wave, guaranteed to make all your prejudices against the kaiser chiefs go away. in short, this sounds very dfa and is nothing but epic. enjoy another discodust first in 320 kbps!

kaiser chiefs - never miss a beat (cut copy remix)

if you prefer it a bit harder, we've got this covered as well. our friends over at put the needle on the record unearthed another top notch 'never miss a beat' remix, done by sheffield-based dj and production duo run hide survive which is just as epic and reminds me of soulwax. 'fucking a' banger!

kaiser chiefs - never miss a beat (run hide survive remix)

kaiser chiefs definitely deserve some myspace love for these selections. and needless to say that you'll have to add run hide survive and cut copy as well! read more!

cryptonites + kap10kurt.

discodust favorites cryptonites, one of the first acts we ever supported massively back in the days, hooked us up with a few of their most recent productions.

first of all, they finished a new remix for australian indie-new wavers grafton primary who you probably remember from miami horror's remix of their track 'i can cook'. cryptonites turned their new single 'she knows it' into a driving electro house stomper that you shouldn't miss. additionally, we've also got a remix of the same track by kap10kurt (pictured above) which is a bit more mellow and spacey. enjoy both of them!

grafton primary - she knows it (cryptonites remix)
grafton primary - she knows it (kap10kurt remix)

and as promised, we've got some more cryptonites goodness for you. 'revolver disco' was originally only produced as an intro and gimmick for their live-sets but was now given to the blogs as they received a lot of requests about it. the track is a rather downtempo banger which sounds like they put justice and sebastian in a blender, meaning: yes, the ed banger influences are obvious on this one, nobody denying that. but it works.

cryptonites - revolver disco

the furious finish comes with the proper final release version of 'hands of god', the track that first brought cryptonites on the map. it was featured on their debut ep but they passed it to me for blogging now because too many dj's out there are still playing out the early version. so everyone update this tune in your archives and play this one out from now on!

cryptonites - hands of god

show cryptonites, kap10kurt and grafton primary some myspace love! read more!

designer drugs + the bang gang.

this mariah carey remix by discodust favorites designer drugs has been on a couple of blogs out there already but it's just too good, so you'll get it on here as well. this was their entry to an official remix contest for mariah's new single "i'll be lovin' u long time" and while i saw it high up in the top 5 for a while, it unfortunately didn't win. needless to say that this will be the real winner on the floors out there though. best designer drugs production in a while, i say.

mariah carey - i'll be lovin' u (designer drugs remix)

and as we are talking about drugs anyway, here's another recent favorite of mine: it's almost unbelievable but the bang gang deejays actually manage to breathe some new life into 'drugs in my body' by thieves like us. i was so sick of that song and couldn't stand it any more but this remix is pure gold. very close to the bag raiders signature sound, the bang gang deejays turn the original into one hard and real melodic banger with a great classic house piano part right in the middle of the tune. pure beauty, once again released on kitsuné.

thieves like us - drugs in my body (the bang gang deejays remix)

more addictive music coming soon. in the meantime show designer drugs and the bang gang deejays some love! read more!

codebreaker + kathy diamond.

not sure how familiar any of you are with codebreaker. you may recognize their track 'exiled' that miami horror remixed last year.

well, this milwaukee disco/funk duo are back with a new single (out on disco demolition records) and enlisted the ever-so-vocally-talented kathy diamond. you probably recognize her voice from the hercules and love affair remix of aeroplane's track, 'whispers' (or the original which is just as good). she delivers once again and layers her velvety smooth lyrics all over the song. light the fire!

codebreaker featuring kathy diamond - fire

don't forget to check out 'r.i.m.l.', the other track from the single on the codebreaker myspace. read more!

on the move.

dreamhost decided to ditch us for various random reasons, even though i had to put up with lots of problems on their servers in the past, and as i just finished moving all the files over to our new home over at the lovely joyent last night, you might experience some problems accessing files and images today, depending on your dns server. everything should be back to normal soon.

stay tuned for some actual major changes and an all new discodust, hopefully up and running until end of the week. as i am quite stressed out in my day-job already, i am extremely thankful for all kind of moral support, love letters, fan sextapes and all other pretty things you can think of. and no worries, we ain't going nowhere.

please watch this space for further announcements. much love. read more!

mansion.

it's not too early to post about mansion again is it? nevermind the fact that ever since aleks posted them last week i've got these two on repeat on my ipod, in my car, i've been sending their tracks to everyone i know and pretty much spreading the gospel of mansion. i think they've struck a chord with me because they're taking the current hard/banger sound and polishing it up with house-y pianos and strings. and boy, do they clean up well.

this track is a little more mellow than the last three tracks, but i see it as more of an homage to house music with the vocal sample of the notorious eddie amador track 'house music'.

we're still waiting to get our little paws on mansion's next track 'gasaida', but you can listen to it now on their myspace.

mansion - 99 sudbury

pianos + claps + a good bassline + chopped up vocal sample = <3!

mansion - of montreal

also, i threw a huge chunk of mansion tracks on this weeks discodust radio show on thehype.fm which airs today at 8pm and 12am EST. read more!

in flagranti + holy ghost!

if there is one constant in my life, it's the fact that i am obsessed with in flagranti; the 70's imagery, the disco samples. it always gives me the bit of musical cleansing my soul needs when it had too much distortion.

well, throw in holy ghost! covering in flagranti and releasing it on kitsuné and you have some sort of wonderful trifecta. actually, if all these new yorkers stick together and get dfa records involved, it might just be the holy trinity. nevertheless, here's an amazing song by an amazing group covered by another equally amazing group. close your eyes and just let go.

in flagranti - business acumen (holy ghost! cover version) read more!

electric youth.

'the next generation; it's electric.' - okay, tell me i'm not the only one who remembers that debbie gibson song. it's entirely possible that electric youth could have taken their name from that song, or maybe my cheesy fantasies are over taking again.

every bit contagiously cheery, austin and browyn, aka electric youth, started off as middle school sweethearts (high school sweethearts is so passé) and nine years later have gone from puppy love to synthesized lust. and the creative comfort level between this 80's synth-pop power duo is unmistakable.

browyn's seductive vocals mixed with austin's brilliant production (take 'replay' where the breakdown comes after the bridge) these kids really have it down and amazingly are still unsigned. a cover can be just an obvious update of the same song, and whether that song is good or bad is irrelevant; it's the same tired song. don't believe the hype. when a band actually knows what they're doing like electric youth does, a cover has the possibility of becoming an artistic interpretation. and then comes the real art, to reassemble the sounds in such a way as to inspire a new audience while keeping the integrity and, in 'faces' case, celebrating that gorgeous 80's italo sound.

check out these amazing demos from electric youth and a remix by valerie's very own minitel rose who have already recognized their greatness!

electric youth - faces 08 (demo)
electric youth - replay (demo)
electric youth - replay (minitel rose remix)

and for god's sake give these adorable canadians some myspace love! read more!

acid girls.

i've recently been speculating as to why the acid girls are as underrecognized as they are. while they don't have a weekly output of remixes like most of the blogosphere, they do have a solid body of distinct tracks showcasing their unique taste. is it possible for a group to be too unique and therefore fall between the genre cracks? i'm not quite sure but i speculate this might be a clue to the puzzle.

the guys themselves couldn't even give me more descriptive words than 'techno' or 'weird electro' when i asked them to elaborate on themselves. anyone that knows greg or jamie knows that they definitely have their own distinct musical taste as showcased in their most recent mixtape below. their selection during dj sets ranges from exclusive tracks from friends to obscure techno/deep techno/minimal/progressive/etc. your average club-goer might only be able to name two songs, but it definitely won't suppress the urge to dance.

maybe it was the 6 months they spent in berlin working on music that influenced their tastes so much or perhaps it was the dissatisfaction with the normal range of tracks that most los angeles djs were playing that pushed them to constantly search for something more. and maybe that 'something more' is to forage the way in a new category i can only describe as 'avant-garde techno'. feel free to correct me and the acid girls if you can think of a more accurate genre fit.

that being said, guys, i think you should forget about the blog push for your music... head for the ministry of sound!

the sisters of transistors - the don (acid girls grey disco remix)
acid girls - stupid games
acid girls - this is who i am and this is what i want mix read more!

felix cartal interview.

no matter where i am in the world, it never ceases to amaze me how i always manage to cross paths with someone in the music world. this time it was felix cartal. i ran into him playing a show in my little hometown of san diego. i wasn't too familiar with him, so i had to get the dirt on this english major from vancouver in his pumas and his striped cardigan over his striped tee about his love for ghetto-tech, playing for random crowds and what life is like in one of the most visible musical families at the moment.

but first, i'll cover the basics for you guys so i don't have to ask him redundant questions:

name: felix = parent's 2nd choice of name. cartal = mom's maiden name.
best gig ever: glasgow
early years: played in a band that will remain nameless (unless you can sleuth my first blog post ever)
tween pop singers: remixed ashlee simpson and hillary duff
family: under same management as mstrkrft, la riots, laz, the bloody beetroots. ok and now on with the show...

felix cartal: are you recording this? oh wow.

miss toats: ya i have to get all your dirty little secrets on record so i don't forget anything. how do you think the show went? it's hard to know what to expect from san diego.

the soundsystem was complete shit, but the crowd was awesome. the speakers were already blown when i got here, but i tried to see if i could blow them more. and i think i did. i think the show was well done.

i think its always a good sign when i see two girls with hoop earrings, ponytails and shiny heels grinding to electronic music.

anytime i see girls grind i feel like i've accomplished something.

i saw in another interview that you love ghettotech. so then namedrop some tracks for me…

oh i do love ghettotech. one of my best ghettotech experiences was when jesse (from mstrkrft) played an afterparty in vancouver. it was the first time i had met him. he played like five of my songs in a row and then he played ghettotech for the next hour. people were so bummed that he didn't play any mstrkrft. it was shitty for everyone else because they were expecting something different, but i had a good time. the other time was when i saw a-trak play in glasgow and mehdi couldn't show up due to some family emergency. so he had to play for an extra hour and just played ghettotech for the last 45 minutes of his set. i've been pre-drinking to this shit for the last year and was blown away that someone finally has respect enough to play it out to a crowd of unsuspecting fans.

ok then drop me some names. i wanna hear your favorite tracks.

dj deeon - da dik suk. dj assault - yo relatives. have you seen the flash video online for it? there's like a whole flash animation that goes with it. its embarrassingly awesome. and dj funk... you know, i wont even bother saying the obvious cliché ones.

so from ghettotech to popmusic, i've seen that you have dabbled in remixing some tween pop divas (ashlee simpson, hillary duff). not many people are daring to go that direction and play with cheesy 'pop' besides you and teki latex.

ya i totally related to him when he said 'this record is for everyone who understands that britney spears and aphex twin are the same thing.' my favorite thing about remixing pop vocals are that they are produced so well. you don't have to edit the vocal tracks at all. they're all crisp and perfect. they've done all the work for you and autotuned that shit.

so where's your katy perry remix?

someone told me to do that before the track came out. and i was like 'whatever'. i think i've moved on. the end. dead issue.

fair enough. so which came first for you, dj'ing or producing?

i started djing becausec i was producing. and i heard my tracks in clubs before i ever dj'ed. and that was a huge indication that i should start dj'ing.

well, it's also a good way to keep busy and get some money inbetween producing. so you're happy with ableton? don't even wanna dabble in serato/more hands on approach? there's so many critics of only laptop dj's complaining that it's boring to watch.

it's probably the fact that i've never used serato, im not really into learning. i'm comfortable with the computer b/c that's what i've been producing on. and from there i can show my passion with what i've been doing. if you use a program that is super basic and you have no flow to your tracks, it's going to show and people aren't gonna be into you. use whatever you're comfortable that shows off your taste and your style. if you have good selection and put it together right, people will be into it no matter what you use.

so then can you think of anyone who has caught your ear recently?

i've been listening to a lot of alter ego. their stuff is wonky and circusy. i'll listen to them and think 'it's the cheesiest shit I've ever heard in my life' but then ill realize its incredible with an underground vibe to it. maybe its b/c they've been around for a while but i find that theyre still relevant. obviously i have mstrkrft, la riots, laz, beetroots influencing me. they're around and are supporting me so obviously that's going to have some effect, but family aside its mostly been a lot of alter ego.

where do you find your sound developing... into more fidget, house, bassline?

i'd say its closest to my 'venganza' remix. sortof like that wonky sound. my new tracks are sounding a bit different than my past songs. i think the fact that i named one of them 'skeleton' is working more in reverse that i wanted it to. sortof a halloween vibe that i didn't intend for it. i usually name my tracks of where i am in life at the time. 'montreal dreams' i produced right after i came back from montreal. it corresponds with what i feel at the time. i'm sortof pissed that it seems like a spooky halloween track. it's eerie, but i don't think its eerier than any of my other tracks. i don't think it's a gimmicky track, but the name is a bit condescending and misleading.

as a dj who tours alot, you must come across so many different dj's and producers. in your opinion, who do you think is pushing the genre forward in electronic music?

fukkk off. he has kindof an oldschool vibe (early 90's) with an edge to it. he's like straight techno without being too melody based. i can't really incorporate a lot of music if it's overpowered by a melody and i think his is just right. i love the justice album, for example, but i find half of it unplayable because of the melodies. but fukkk off has that edge. he has that rave/4 to the floor sound that i could throw anywhere in my set and make it work.

i feel like laz is a few steps ahead of most people, too. he's pushing things in a different direction, perhaps even into a different genre than what is expected from you guys. most dj's that you would see playing at the same clubs don't start playing songs from his set until usually months later.

he's always had a strong mindset of what he's doing so anything you get from him is going to be quality. he might be playing minimal, but he's playing it well. he's always showing me new shit that's inspiring me too. if people criticize him for that, i don't think they're ready for that. he's not playing that grimey party music anymore, but he's introducing that whole crowd to a different sound.

are you and your whole 'undocumented management' family planning on producing anything together (like machines don't care) or working on any projects?

i don't know if we're gonna produce together, but we're gonna tour together for the mstrkrft 'fist of god' tour along with la riots, congorock, laz, beetroots. it's all family and that's the way it should be.

and last, whats the best thing a groupie's ever said to you?

umm... [declined to answer]

hmm, no one seems to like answering this question. good news groupies, your secrets are safe with your favorite djs! who would'a thought. well that seems good enough for our first 'getting to know you' session with felix. expect to hear alot from this guy in the near future as he's got the means and talent to make some seismic music waves.

also, don't forget to check out my little phone chat with felix where he introduces his new song, 'skeleton' on this week's show on thehype.fm. it airs on tuesday! read more!

justin faust + damage remixes.

our first feature on justin faust was one of the most popular posts recently, we received countless comments and messages asking for more. and before i even got around to hit him up about new tracks, i just got a mail from justin faust with links to three new remixes. must be my lucky day or something. (on a sunday? no way!)

first up is his latest remix, for australian collective bmx (pictured above and previous feature on them over here), as with all those upcoming remixes, justin faust stays true his style which means you're in for dreamy and playful retro disco music (hell yeah, i still haven't found a good genre name). and as this is the perfect occasion, i'll also throw in the remix of 'theme to bmx' by australian upcoming producer damage which is more on the harder yet funky side of things.

bmx - theme to bmx (justin faust remix)
bmx - theme to bmx (damage's 'hey' remix)

and as promised, here are two more remixes by justin faust, one for 'forever' by dvas (previous post including the original track over here) and his remix for 'harder better faster stronger' by daft punk which puts the quite played out original in a real fresh and mellow feelgood context and was explicitly requested by a reader in the comments, so here you go!

dvas - forever (justin faust remix)
daft punk - harder better faster stronger (justin faust remix)

show justin faust, bmx and damage some myspace love! read more!

le castle vania + computer club.

i have been waiting for someone to bring some real techstep and neurofunk flavour down to the bpm ranges of electro bangers for ages. the proxy started it and finally someone is taking it to the next level!

discodust regulars le castle vania and computer club just dropped the most hard hitting banger for this year so far by giving the konflict classic 'messiah', one of the most successful drum & bass tracks ever, a more than worthy update and complete rework, leaving me all stunned.

for the production heads: this has absolutely no samples of the original, everything was done from scratch, even the vocal. for full effect, le castle vania and computer club provided both a full length dj version as well as a shorter radio edit. now get going and enjoy another premiere on discodust in full 320 kbps!

le castle vania & computer club - the messiah
le castle vania & computer club - the messiah (radio edit)

watch out for more tracks like this dropping on always never, the label run by le castle vania and start stalking him and computer club on myspace. read more!

sharkslayer.

sharkslayer is a new project by nenis from top billin and dj push-ups. after they started off with an official remix for curses!, they unleashed a couple of original tracks in the past few weeks and seriously, all of them are straight bangers combining the best of both worlds from fidget and electro house.

all the arrangements clearly show that nenis, the experienced club dj he is, knows what works on the floors and besides that all sharkslayer tunes are mixed down in a way that gives them a lot of pressure. i had serious problems deciding on what to post, as i love every single track they did, but here are the ones that i am feeling the most right now. make sure to get the whole package in 320 kbps excellence.

sharkslayer - so sincere
sharkslayer - i'll be around
sharkslayer - cold as ice

watch out for much more from sharkslayer soon, show them some myspace love, and all you labels out there better hit them up for releases and remixes right now! read more!

beeds + hostage.

beeds aka absolute chancer, dj and promoter from edinburgh, teamed up with discodust resident hostage, locked inside a room with all sort of liquor where they ended up with this insane bassline-inspired monster of a track, giving the term 'wobble' a whole new meaning. drag and drop this right into your peaktime folder.

beeds & hostage - evil 'kin evil!!.2

evil, fucking, evil! show beeds and hostage some love - it's not like you're getting bangers like this for free any day. read more!

yuksek.

i have been dying to get my hands on 'i like to play' by yuksek ever since i heard brodinski drop it in one of his sets waaaaaaay back in february (decades in blog years). well, yuksek is finally ready to let it go, naturally because he's ready to release the 'tonite' ep that it's on.

yuksek - i like to play

yuksek is one of the most consistent producers around. he tends to stay away from trends and flex his versatility on everyone from van she to primary 1 to chromeo to mika to ghostface killah. it's not too bass-y, not too distorted, not too indie, it's just right. should we start calling him goldilocks?

kaiser chiefs - never miss a beat (yuksek remix)

hot off the heels of his ghostface killah remix, he's keepin it wu-tang and reworking u-god and making it work in his own unique way... chopping and pitching up the vocals, injecting a solid bassline and leaving his own french touch all over it.

u-god - ugodzilla (yuksek remix)

he's not even afraid to touch a track by french pop princess, alizee. or maybe he is and that's why he used his alter ego.

alizee - fifty/sixty (rolf honey remix) read more!

memory cassette.

new myspace message from weird tapes. "prince had vanity 6, i've got memory cassette" - downloading. listening. lo-fi bedroom disco? twee discotronics? loving it! enjoy!

memory cassette - sleep on the roof
memory cassette - surfin
memory cassette - listen to the vacuum
memory cassette - milkey wave goodbye

add weird tapes. read weird tapes. read more!

bobmo.

oh gawd my hands hurt because i've had to sit on them for almost a month and a half to keep myself from posting this remix by bobmo of a malente and dex track.

sure, it may start off with the 'oh-so-familiar' fidget distortion, but when the buildup comes and the beat sneaks in, you forget all about that (and he actually toned down the distortion a bit from the original). then in come the house vocals and the second buildup and you move the song directly into your setlist... how can you resist?

malente & dex - hyperactive (bobmo remix)

snag the other remixes by bird peterson and riva starr over here. and here's an 'oldie' but goodie that never actually got old.

bobmo - rock the

c'mon kids, go give institubes the love they deserve! read more!

plugs + heartbreak.

uk four-piece plugs follow up their debut single 'that number' with new single 'imaginary friend' which is one sweet catchy song which is taking bedroom pop cuteness straight to the clubs. and even better, the upcoming ep also features a remix by discodust favorites heartbreak who just can't do any wrong right now.

plugs - body heat (heartbreak remix)
plugs - imaginary friend

show plugs and heartbreak some myspace love and watch out for the 'imaginary friend ep' dropping on people in the sky on november 24th.

UPDATE: the first version of the remix i put up had a slight glitch. just edited it out myself. enjoy! read more!

gloves + treasure fingers.

gloves (yama from damn arms) hooked me up with two new remixes he did for van she and the death set. both are getting an official release soon but as modular and bang gang 12 inches are just like so cool, they cleared them for the blogs.

while the death set remix is in fact several months old and sounds a lot like the early gloves originals, meaning rather rave-based, the van she remix is the one that makes me melt being all lovely and naive retro disco in a french house vibe. gloves is definitely one to watch, if you didn't realize that by now.

van she - changes (gloves remix)
the death set - listen to this collision (gloves remix)

in related news, treasure fingers also got busy on the death set and gave them his trademark disco funk treatment, including lots and lots of the best thing ever: vocoders! shouts to my friend travis from bigstereo for this.

the death set - negative thinking (treasure fingers remix)

UPDATE: while i am at it, i have just found this on panda toes. merci.

big gipp - hot (treasure fingers remix)

show gloves and treasure fingers some myspace love! read more!

jupiter + metronomy.

discodust favorites jupiter strike back once again and come through with a great uplifting, all disco-funked up and very danceable remix of 'heartbreaker' by metronomy. for some reason i have almost completely ignored metronomy in the past (as i filed it under 'music that needs more than a minute to get into') but if jupiter are remixing them, they must be good (and i already know that they are, no need for your annoying comments).

anyway, about time to get the disco party going and break some hearts the jupiter way! note that this is 320 kbps, straight from the source.

metronomy - heartbreaker (jupiter remix)

and while looking for something additional to go with this, i've found another 'heartbreaker' remix in my stash, french house mastermind kris menace is delivering another dreamy yet epic masterpiece. i can't decide which remix i like better but who says that i have to pick one anyway? i love both of them. (and isn't that part of what heartbreakers do anyway?)

metronomy - heartbreaker (kris menace remix)

show jupiter, kris menace and of course metronomy some love on myspace! i am out for tonight, breaking hearts! read more!

mansion + mstrkrft.

mansion are a new and upcoming production team from toronto. they scored an official remix for 'bounce' by mstrkrft and while i thought the track was quite played out and i couldn't hear it any more, mansion took it to a whole new level by adding some classic house flavour to it, complete with piano chords, organs and a shuffled pumping groove. play it loud!

mstrkrft - bounce (mansion remix)

and as that track has been on a few blogs already and had me longing for more, i hit mansion up and they sent me two original tunes as well which you definitely have to check out as well. both are heavier than the 'bounce' remix and are somewhere in between electro house, fidget and rave and will definitely get the crowd going!

mansion - break back
mansion - stab

i expect big things to come from these guys and hope they'll keep in touch. now go and show mansion some discodust-flavoured myspace love! read more!

college + anoraak.

[artwork by the zonders] college from our beloved valerie collective finally has a record out now. free danger released 'teenage color' as a split 7-inch with 'cool feeling' by fellow valerie members the outrunners on the flipside.

in order to celebrate this, college hooked us up with a few new tracks - two remixes by maethelvin and stephen falken from the outrunners as well as a live version of his track 'the light of your dress' featuring anoraak on the bass. enjoy!

college - the light of your dress (live)
college - teenage color (maethelvin remix)
college - the scarlett empress (stephen falken remix)

anoraak has some exciting news too. endless summer recordings is releasing his ep 'nightdrive with you' on september 10th and it is already available from rough trade. besides that, he keeps on putting out new material and hooked us up with this brandnew remix for the asphalt duchess signed band sh** browne. awesome as always!

sh** browne - dmd (anoraak sunset mix)

watch out for more anoraak, college and valerie. like the college album 'secret diary' that will be out in mid november! read more!

small.

now small is something that reminds me of german teenage rock i used to hear like 5-8 years ago. i guess it's the voices or the simplified pop lyrics. but who knows, maybe i've just been experiencing too much teenage scum last weekend, i really can't tell.

on the other hand they have this australian approach towards cheesy stadium electro rock, which i really fancy. it makes me wanna see a million fists with sweat bands and all kind of skinny humans with high ideals. andreas asingh, rune kielsgaard and jacob funch could be the next big thing hailing from denmark, where pop music is still meant to pop music. but with a modern touch as van she, midnight juggernauts, cut copy and such.

small - comic girl
small - sunshine lover

just give these two tracks a try, get desperate and show the three scandinavians some fuzzy myspace loving. (for the record: bigstereo and ohh! crapp... were first!) read more!

lorenz rhode.

this ain't no brick house. following suit, german based producer lorenz rhode strikes up some electro house infused with funk. remixing for the likes of eric prydz and tom jones, lorenz rhode could easily seem vegas cheese, but thats hardly the case.

the chick 2000 'love tonight' remix spreads it's wings embracing basslines to die for and signaling the skies for computer inspired sounds, which only adds the utmost depth to the album. french house sound, german boy, diplomats anyone?

keep a look out for more but in the meantime check out the synthesized funk styling of lorenz rhode:

chick 2000 - love tonight (lorenz rhode remix)

check our previous post on lorenz rhode for more greatness and love goes out to ohh! crapp... for having this one up first! read more!

justin faust.

let's play house. german house. which, i must say, is just sexier. in a style gaining popularity from such artists as fred falke and alan braxe, comes justin faust. when you're raised around music it becomes more than just a pastime or a hobby; it becomes a lifestyle.

justin faust was born into beats in 1976 the son of a composer and producer, so he's no stranger to a music studio. since 1992, he has been producing house records on a variety of labels including the dub-inspired netlabel thinner and the steve bug founded forum dessous recordings.

his music, which blends harmonic disco, distorted synth, 'dreamwave' and catchy keys, all add elements that could incite you to fall happily asleep or raise your hands up in ecstasy on the dancefloor depending on your mood. justin faust encourages you to not think, just dance!

add justin faust on myspace and check out this track or you'll rage vendetta on yourself:

justin faust - revenge read more!