Vitalic Return!

Techno maverick, Vitalic, will release his eagerly anticipated album, ‘Rave Age’ on October 22nd through Different Recordings. Renowned for his blistering, sought after productions, Vitalic will up the ante with an incendiary, brand new live show coming to a venue near you later this year.

Mixed by legendary production wizard, Stephane Alf Briat, known for his work with Air and Phoenix, ‘Rave Age’ is a ballsy, firecracker of an album that showcases not just a passion for big room, electro smashers and electronica, but a broad set of influences that stretch from punk and film soundtracks to disco and indie dance.

Showcasing a myriad of talent roped in to give this album added punch, it features the vocal efforts of Joe Reeves (Shit Disco) on ‘Fade Away’ and ‘Next I’m Ready’. French starlets Owlle and Rebeka Warrior (Sexy Sushi) appear on ‘Under Your Sun’ and ‘La Mort Sur Le Dancefloor’. Mickael Karkousse from Belgium electro rockers, Goose, lends his skills to ‘Rave Kids Go’.

Download: No More Sleep
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autoKratz Return

autoKratz has kicked off the new year with no only their return but with the Opposite of Love EP.

Remixes come from Les Petits Pilous (Boys Noize), NT89 (Southern Fried) + Joe & Will Ask? (MOS).

It's the first single taken from the band's second album Self Help for Beginners, which is set for release in March 2011, and follows 2009's acclaimed Kitsuné debut Animal which spawned the worldwide smashes 'Stay the Same' and 'Always More'.

It will be the first release on Bad Life, a new imprint being launched for 2011.

Download: autoKratz - Opposite of Love (North Lights ft. Perseus Remix) (via Mediafire)

Beni Why You Do This?

Trying to wrap your mind around Beni is like trying to get a grip on a ghost. He's an energy flash, a light that never burns out, a juvenile joker and an ageless oracle. He's a man that has lived a thousand lives, a connoisseur and a curator, an aesthete and the ultimate modern artist.

A lifetime of inspiration and two and a half years in the making, Beni's forthcoming debut album was written and recorded in various studios and bedrooms in Sydney, New York, LA, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and Barcelona; at various airports and hotels along the way; on countless flights; on trains between Hiroshima, Osaka and Kyoto, and in a rickety-ass farmhouse in the French countryside.

The result is Beni's singular vision of dance music filtered through life and love, and a soundtrack to a journey with no end in sight. It's an attempt to capture the atmosphere of house music's infancy in Chicago and New York. Marshall Jefferson, Larry Levan, Francois K, Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles: for Beni, this is where it all began.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for the first single from the album, It's A Bubble, backed with a slew of white-hot remixes and released early 2011. In the meantime enjoy his most recent mixtape...

Download: December Stadium Mix

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Don't Be Glum It's Grum

Graeme Shepherd aka Grum shouldn’t need any introduction. But with a list of working credits that reads like a laundry list of everyone who is everyone in the dance community since the release of his last single, Can’t Shake That Feeling, in April, introductions are not necessary.

Returning with his own brand of sun-kissed ‘cosmic-electro’, Grum proves once again that he cares little about the critiques. Serving only to the good-times with a release of the brilliant but carefree single, Through The Night.

Future disco donned out in stonewash and shoulder pads. Through The Night, unashamedly 80s, is as much a well-penned song – Hall & Oates anybody? – as it is big-room floorfiller; All vamped up synths, rising riffs and driving electro-bass.

Download: Through The Night (Beaumont Remix)
Download: Through The Night (Perseus Remix)
Watch: Can't Shake This Feeling (potentially the video of 2010)

Will Eastman Is Feelin It

Washington DC club hero Will Eastman is at it again! Some may know Eastman from his Bliss (having their 10 year anniversary this year) and Blisspop parties in DC which are now hosted at his very own club, U Street Music Hall, that he owns with label mate Jesse Tittsworth.

His Feelin' from late last year gets a brand new set of house and club remixes in Feelin' (Part Deux). The release features a new vocal version with remixes by Dillon Francis, T&A's Nacey, Ara & Kenny Summit, Chris Burns and Gavin Holland. The original release was on Fatboy Slim's Beatport Top Ten and has been getting huge support from Donald Glaude, Chris Santiago, Play Paul, Bang Gang DJs, AC Slater, The Glamour, Oh Snap!, Acid Jacks & Ursula 1000 and many other DJs including your grand mom.

Download: Feelin' (Nacey Remix)

Nicolas Chenard Is From Outer Space

For its 20th release, Absolut Freak Records is proud to present the much expected "From Outer Space" by Nicolas Chenard

Known for Thriller Express and its remix by John Lord Fonda in 2006, the first signed artist of the label is back with a magical project that goes by the name of From Outer Space and features a very special cover made by The Zonders.

Made up of five tracks, the EP starts with "Parallelism", an ultimate tribute to the rave anthems, with its massive spacey disco loop and strings. Already a classic! On "Do Not Educate", he rocks with his GameBoy and shows his taste for 8-bit synthesis. Then, "The Path" reveals his singular melodic genius. The introduction takes you on a fantasy journey with hypnotic organ and flutes, before rolling an electro monster with killer pads. On the flip, the crew from the South of France Electroluxe Family gives a monumental remix of "Parallelism", with a perfect shady introduction and a baroque concerto in the break. Rounding the record out is the stunning french band Racontage offers a new demonstration of their amazing skills (after their EP on the AF18), with a huge remix of "Do Not Educate".

Download: She's Calling

Plump DJ's Get A Bit Plumper...

A quick post before I head off to work...short sweet and loud...

The Plump DJs announce the launch of Grand Hotel, a new brand to develop a forward thinking platform for new electronic dance music, their own productions and those of other inspiring artists worldwide

The first two tracks "Boomer" and "Water Born Computer Virus" available now on Beatport and then there's "Get A Grip"...download that below.

Download: Dirty Super Car - Get A Grip (Maximilian Remix)

Per Qx's New Blood

Big Love continues it's New Blood EP series to push more fresh DJ/Producer talent with the introduction of Per QX.

Per QX is from Stockholm but moved to east London about 9 years ago. He releases tracks on Roger Sanchez's Stealth records. He's been busy remixing Laidback Luke, Lady Gaga, Deadmaus Feat Mellefresh, Tomcraft, Princess Superstar and The Young Punx this year.

Any club kid who’s happy to spend their weekend standing in line at an old East London strip bar between the local bearded tranny and the Hoxton fashionista crew will be familiar with DJ & Producer Per QX.

As the promoter of one of the most acclaimed underground club nights in recent years GutterSlut, he presents a regular cacophony of electro, techno and mash up that’s captured the imagination of Londoners to the point of frenzy. The club’s ‘GutterBall’ party was reviewed as the best UK Club event in December 2009 by Mixmag.

His reach doesn’t stop there however – he’s played house and electro parties in over 30 countries, as well as appearing as a guest on Ministry Radio’s Saturday Sessions, Peter Rahaufer’s Star 69 radio show, and Larry Tee’s ‘Super Disco Party Machine’ in the US. This year he's played at Glastonbury for the first time, and is making several trips over to the White Isle…well, it would be rude not to.

Download: Zombie Technic
Download: Sweet Pepa
Download: Blow My Trumpet

Download more at Beatport

Eric Sharp, Bass Cadet & Thunder Cats

Eric Sharp’s ascent to the forefront of dance music can only be described as meteoric. From working countless dance floors into frenzies at clubs, bars, and parties across the US and the globe to producing some of San Francisco’s most epic parties with his crew Rock It Science, Eric’s seemingly endless energy and dedication is simply contagious. Mr. Sharp has already achieved great success as a DJ and promoter alike, keeping everyone dancing until the sun comes up.

One of the most versatile DJ’s around, Eric Sharp is known to play anything from Deep and Funky House to Dirty Acid Techno to pumping Chicago beats to Baile Funk to Baltimore Club Jams to Wobbly Fidget House to French & Italian Electro and everything in between. Inspired by jocks like Derrick Carter and Diplo who take their crowds on a musical journey, Eric always gives people what they need while still managing to keep them guessing and begging for more.

This is especially evident on his new single Thunder Cats. Eric Sharp & Bass Cadet go to the outer reaches of audio space exploration and zoom back into orbit delivering a monster of a club whomper with this single.

Download: Thunder Cats (Sick Boy Remix)
Download: Thunder Cats (Lj's Thunder Puss)

Have I Got NEUS For You

Based in Corsica, France NEUS (New Experimental for Universal Sound) came together soon after Gael Guidicelli came up with the name in 2007.

Around that time Gael went from experimenting with acoustic and electronic music to moving forward with the idea of actually making music that integrated both sounds. He started by heavily producing and recording his own acoustic samples and layering them into a natural style of electronic music that made for interesting listening.

Call it minimal, emotronic, ambient, hard electro or call it whatever you like, NEUS's versatility, accuracy and improvisation is what keeps the music fresh. You can hear this on not only his original works but his remixes as well. Sliced, diced, chopped, but still somehow organic the songs he comes up with almost seem like their breathing (see the remix below...it's timed like a gasp for air). He may not have quite lived up to his recording name, but there can be no doubt that Gael is continuing to experiment and toss ideas around in a never ending quest for that universal sound.

Download: Orchestra of Insomnia
Download: Breakbot - Iron Zombie (NEUS Remix)
(both downloads are via Mediafire)

Aresenal Gets Estupendo (and I forget how to spell)

Launching into summer with the force of the FA Cup are Arsenal, not Arsène Wenger’s troupe of Gunners, but Belgium’s finest purveyors of multicoloured, versatile worldly pop.

With the first of two singles (one titled, one not) , out now, Arsenal is going to be all over the pitch with tunes being fired from all corners. That first single entitled, Estupendo, is a catchy little number with hints of 80s synthpop, including a chorus that’s equally catchy as breezy and a stupendously addictive hook that's been remixed into the twilight zone by a host of artists including Kid Gloves, Compuphonic and Gui Borrato.

It's a single that has Summer Anthem written all over it and Brazilian button pusher Gui Borrato (below) makes this tune a summer night staple a month before the season. Keeping most of the vocals (courtesy of Scott Mason from Chicago indiepopsters Office) intact Gui performs his trademark minimalistic, feverish bleeps for a bouncy yet easygoing makeover. The result is a tune that digs so deep that you can see China on the other side of it. It's a brilliant tune that for some strange reason has me thinking of XPress2.

Download: Estupendo (Gui Borrato Remix)

Man of Mystery...Rektchordz

Sometimes you don't get a lot of information about an artist. Sometimes you get two sentences, like below, and the music does the talking. Sometimes it doesn't work out and some times it does work out, in Rektchordz case it does, as the guy is an epic talent and knows how to construct a tune and a half (check the link to the Calvin Harris remix below). If that wasn't enough, the guy also knows how to spin as well.

Rektchordz (aka Jamie Smithson) has been a busy boy! Aside from penning a massive new single 'Speaker Bump' for his primary home, U&A Recordings which is due out in the first week of April with remixes from The Loops of Fury, Pete Jordan and dubstep hero Vaski, he's also just launched a brand new Website.

So that's it...that's the pitch and while it's not a lot, the mix below pretty much writes his biography for him.

Download: Filthy Inspiration Sessions 2

Visit HERE for the Calvin Harris Remix (email required)

DJ Jem Has A Hangover

It's kind of funny...a friend at work and I were talking about The Hangover a couple of weeks ago, and it was all centered around the whole Wolfpack scene. I mean the scene is hilarious and somewhere in the back of my head I knew someone somewhere would sample this bit of the movie.

It was only a matter of time.

Straight out of Chitown, DJ Jem has done just that and although this has been around the block the last couple of days, it so deserves to be posted. It's an instant classic that will leave you confused whether or not to dance or laugh your ass off.

Download: Hangover - Strippers and Cocaine (DJ JEM Remix)

Westside Is The Bestside

Founded in the eighties, Westside Music was an early champion of Euro-club music, which in turn had a big influence on the American House scene. Artists on the label include Moskwa TV, Microchip League, Celebrate The Nun, Camouflage, Project One, and the Best Beats series. Many of Westside's releases entered the Billboard dance charts and other worldwide Dance charts, including some crossover hits that landed on more mainstream charts during the labels peak.

Production began in Germany in 1984, when label co-founder Achim Völker realized that there was a need for music that was made for DJs and clubgoers who frequented the massive discotechs that were so popular at that time. Now TwentyTen, Westside's follow-up label, is still hard at work promoting these electro classics-- not just in Germany and Europe, but across the world, thanks to its international appeal.

Download: MCL - Short Wave Symphony
Download: Jay Maroni - Everybody Dance
Download: Moskwa TV - Moskwa Electric
Download: Central Unit - Santiago