Send Project Aspect to Wakarusa!

Our good friend Project Aspect, aka Jay Jaramillo, is one of Denver's most talented producers. His style embodies aspects of glitch, dubstep, crunk, and soul. He is part of the Mile High Sound Movement with the likes of Fisk (Fresh2Death), Frequent-C, and Unlimited Gravity and recently won Ableton Colorado's P.A. Battle in Denver competing against some heavy hitters. He was recently nominated to go to Lincoln, Nebraska and compete for a spot at Wakarusa Music Festival. Every time we spin with Jay it is such a pleasure, so help out a friend and help out the Colorado electronic scene as a whole by clicking the link below and voting 5 stars for Project Aspect's 2011 Winter Promo Mix! 

Click Here and Vote for Project Aspect

PROJECT ASPECT 2011 LIVE WINTER PROMO MIX by ProJect Aspect

THiCK ARTIST OF THE WEEK:

NaDaDrop

With a style ranging from swing-influenced fidget house to skrillexesque thrash-step, Fabien Cabrol, aka NaDaDrop is one of the most talented and versatile producers we've come across in some time. Hailing from the Toulouse region of Paris, NaDaDrop is a heavy hitting up-and-comer who should be on the mainstream European electronic circuit in no time. Little information is available on this artist as far as labels/touring/associates go, but what he lacks in his biography he makes up for in a plethora of well-produced, complex, and genre-jumping productions, all available for free download on his soundcloud.


Happy Krew Against The World by Nadadrop

Prohibition by Nadadrop

Dead C∆T Bounce Feat A Girl & A Gun - Deadhouse (Nadadrop remix) by Nadadrop

THiCK CHiCK'S AFTER PARTY SCHEDULE FOR SNOWBALL

Thursday March 3rd 

w/ VibeSquaD & Mo Rockin

Where: Agave in Avon, CO

Buy Tickets Here!

Friday March 4th

w/ 12th Planet, Frequent C, and American Royalty

Where: Paddy's in Eagle Vail

Buy Tickets Here!

THiCK ARTIST OF THE WEEK:

Monsters of Graveyard 

Monsters of Graveyard is an brand new up-and-coming electronic duo hailing from Kuldiga, Latvia. Their sound embodies the heart of electro house with many dutch and progressive influences. We originally found these guys because of their Defunct! remix of "Check the Method" and quickly learned that their high energy, pounding electro style goes far beyond this single remix. Their first EP entitled "Dirty Orchestra + Remixes" will be debuted this year on the new european label "Filthy Beats Records". With no further ado, here are some MoG bangers that are sure to get the party started:

Defunct! feat. Mr. Eyez - Check The Method (Monsters Of Graveyard remix)[PREVIEW][256 kbps] by Monsters Of Graveyard

Monsters Of Graveyard - Strong Chilly (Original mix) by Monsters Of Graveyard

THiCK ARTIST OF THE WEEK:

Crizzly, aka Chris Marshall is a young and upcoming dubstep producer out of San Antonio, Texas. I noticed that several big name bass-oriented artists were following him online so I decided to check him out. His facebook and soundcloud biographies say it all:

"One time i was conceived at a Garth Brooks Concert in Ohio and then I made some techno music."

"What is Crizzly?? It's me ya dingus! I started making music when i was a month old."

Here are two of his fire dubstep remixes:


Lost Woods (Crizzly Remix) [DL In Description] by Crizzly

Whip My Hair (Crizzly Remix) [DL In Description] by Crizzly

All his music is available for free download here. So check check him out, and look for him blowing up blogs and line-ups nation-wide in the near future. 

New Black Eyed Peas Song rips off Deadmau5?

The song in question:

 <-Black Eyed Peas - The Time (dirty bit)

from HouseMusicEssentials.com:
"Well Deadmau5 probably won’t sue the Black Eyed Peas because he doesn’t really give a shit if they sampled the beat from one of his tracks, but either way people need to learn how to sample properly. If you sample someone else, you either cover it up really well so it is almost unnoticeable or you pay the original producer. The Black Eyed Peas, the smart fellows that they are, decided to use the same hihat and arrangement as Medina- You & I (Deadmau5 Remix) which was so noticeable that the clever Mau5 picked up on it very quickly after some fans pointed it out:


“i’ve been getting a few tweets on and off about Black Eyed Peas’s new single “The Time” that more or less said… heyy sounds like you ish… So… i went and checked it out, at first listen… i was like… naaahhh i mean, it’s cool for what it is and all that… and doesnt really sound much like me at all. but then i heard a highhat… and something just clicked.”

I find this hilarious, a lot of producers sample, I mean the foundation of house music is essentially stealing sounds from other songs. Many tracks today have samples from some of the first house tracks, which is just awesome. But when someone like the Black Eyed Peas use the exact same beat as Deadmau5′ track, its bound to lead to some sort of controversy:

“This isnt calling the black eyed peas out at all. i rather enjoy that minimal bit of the tune… (however the 80′s remake vocals can fuck off and die) This is just another interesting factoid i keep finding about sampling and electronic music… which is clearley prevalent and welcomed (when used properly) in this genre of music no doubt!”

He basically just laughed it off and said fuck it, which is why I respect Deadmau5. He is big enough that this probably happens on a daily basis with much smaller producers. He opened both tracks up in Ableton and compared waveforms, which further proved that they sampled his track:

Deadmau5's live reaction:

THiCK Thoughts:

Deadmau5 is the 13-year-old girl of the online electronic world. No one can say he's not a talented producer, he has absolutely innovated house music and has been on top of the game for years. But he needs to delete his twitter, facebook, and pretty much any non-music oriented application on his computer and stop bitching, starting fan feuds, and talking shit to other producers via the internet.

As far as the logistics of Will I Am "stealing" or "sampling" his song.... naw, not legitimate. Not legitimate for the following reasons:

1.) The Ableton waveforms shown in the article are percussion one-shot hits (of a kick drum and high hat). First off, under close examination i don't think they're the same waveforms. Granted they're not exactly the same because of different warping/effects/intensity levels, but I still don't think they're the same mathematically-equivalent waveforms. And second, Deadmau5 released a percussion package (Deadmau5 XFer or something like that) online, at loopmasters I think, and its available for purchase. Its pretty expensive, but its chalked full of every kind of analog and effected percussion hits. However, once this package is legally purchased, the consumer then has rights to use and distribute such sounds in productions. Should this actually ever go to court, a lawyer could argue either of these points and get the case thrown away.

2.) This is electronic music, particularly 4 on the 4 house music. It all uses a variety of similar synths and beat textures. When songs do not have lyrics, are produced in similar programs, and use similar instruments and effects, guess what?....you're gonna run across plenty of very similar sounding songs. Besides this point, maybe it is a straight sample - for electronic music (and hip-hop and pop) sampling is becoming an extremely prevalent part of making catchy productions. So even if the B.E.P.'s did take a straight sample (which it doesn't sound like to me), Deadmau5 should be flattered, not all cocky about it. I think he's just pissed that the Black Eyed Peas song is making serious money (used in 2 commercials already) and starting to incorporate more traditional house influence into their main-stream productions.

Feel free to comment up with your thoughts. I've just been a little salty towards deadmau5 recently, and this article gave me an opportunity to rant.

The Run-Down: NYE 2011 in Colorado

So needless to say, Colorado has quickly become one of North America's major hubs for Electronic music. So when I was making plans for New Years Eve this year, I found myself with a variety of dank options to choose from. Heres a lay out of all the major ones to consider and some information about each (comment up if you feel I've left anything out):

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Buy Tickets Here!

First and foremost, the most anticipated event of New Years is Sound Tribe Sector 9 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. Their NYE show will be the last of a 3-show run they will be playing at the Fillmore that week. Tickets are pricey and are always highly sought after due to the magnitude of energy, lights, and music that goes down at these shows. Also, Tipper (a personal favorite) is opening for the NYE show and will be sure to get the night off to a bouncy start. If you can't catch STS9 on New Years, be sure to catch them in one of their two precursor shows at the Fillmore with openers Mimosa (12/29) and Emancipator (12/30), or head to one of the many official after parties taking place in Denver that week. 

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Looking for a little more bass/grime than STS9 this year? Look no further. Denver's up-and-coming advocate of bass-specific events, Impact, is presenting a very special night at City Hall in Denver with headliner Eoto. Eoto (Micheal Travis and Jason Hann of String Cheese Incident) is world renowned for their fusion of dubstep with live instrumentals and sampling. None of their live sets are prerecorded, which means there's no telling what to expect from this show (except that it will be epic). Accompanying Eoto are some of the newest and biggest names in bass-based electronic music. Dieselboy, Liquid Stranger, and Heyoka are all well known, widely acclaimed acts. Even more intriguing are two of this year's newest glitch/dubstep Soundcloud sensations, NastyNasty and Nit Grit. These two may be the determining factor for my decision, as well as some local Boulder talent (jansten and spectre) who are sure to throw it down to get the night started. 

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If you're sticking around Boulder this year, this is the event you're going to want to attend (unless you wanna see Rose Hill Drive perform a White Stripes album at the fox??) Our buddies over at This Song Is Sick are presenting Crystal Castles at the Boulder Theater. For those who haven't seen Crystal Castles live, its definitely something you need to see at some point in your life. Their unique style is highlighted by their unmatched energy levels during live sets. Opening for C.C. is the denver-based experimental power punk band, The Chain Gang of 1974, as well as an artist we at ThickBeats have been following extensively, Pictureplane. Recently gaining a lot of acclaim for his unique "witch house"-style productions as well as his large-scale after hours parties in Denver's rave warehouse, Rhinoceropolis, Pictureplane has been the talk of many blogs, notably Pitchfork earlier this year. 

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If you're planning on being in the mountains for NYE this year, absolutely hit up Emancipator at three20south in Breckenridge. This show will be the biggest event going on in the mountains (DJ Davey Gold will also be at Samana Lounge in Vail if thats where you're gonna be at). Three20South is one of our favorite venues to play at, and it is as intimate as it is action-packed. Emancipator is one of the youngest, most innovative DJ/Producers in the game right now. Tickets to this show are cheap ($15) and the opening acts are really solid: Phutureprimitive and our buddy, Raw Russ (elm and oak).  

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I've been trying to keep Ft. Collins more in mind lately, and that being said, it seems that if you're in Fort Collins this year for NYE, Michal Menert at the Aggie is gonna be the spot to be at. This FoCo native has a downtempo style similar to that of Pretty Lights, but a little more glitch/hip-hop influenced. Chicago-based Prepschool, who I just checked out, will be opening and have a cool turntablism prettylights meets alexB kind of a style. So if your around, be sure to check this out. Tickets are cheap ($15). 

Not on the 31st, but worthy of mention:

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Zeds Dead, the dubstep duo who exploded on the scene this year, will be playing two days prior to New Years Eve at Cervantes in Denver. The show is cheap ($20) and Zeds Dead is a leading force in new innovative dubstep remixes and original productions. Opening for them is one of Denver's most prominent dubstep artists, and personal friend, Coult 45. So if you're looking for a nice appetizer to your New Year's Eve weekend be sure to check out this bass-banging Dubsteptacular! 

Vote here and see what everyone else is doing:

What are you doing for NYE 2011?
	STS9 @ Fillmore
	Eoto @ City Hall
	Crystal Castles @ Boulder Theater
	Emancipator @ Three20South
	Michal Menert @ Aggie
	Zeds Dead @ Cervantes
pollcode.com free polls

WELCOME BACK SHOW WITH PROJECT ASPECT

CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO THE EVENT ON FACEBOOK

This saturday we're playing a very special event at Bacaro to welcome all the students back from break. If you haven't heard of Project Aspect yet, this show is a must see. He's a denver-based producer/DJ who's new, innovative sound embodies aspects of glitch, dubstep, hip hop and bassline. Check out some of his recent tracks here:

Put This World on Hold by ProJect Aspect

Where's the Jar to my Lid? by ProJect Aspect

Chromeo on Letterman

THiCK ARTIST OF THE WEEK:

Minnesota

Minnesota, aka Christian Bauhofer, is a DJ and producer from Santa Cruz, California. He started spinning Hip Hop but has now moved to spinning Dubstep and Glitch. Minnesota is a founding member of the production company Vital SC, and is also associated with Mal Label, Gruntworthy, and SC Dubstep. Minnesota has been billed with a diverse range of some of the world’s top bass music producers including Flying Lotus, Rusko, Benny Benassi, Ghostland Observatory, RJD2, Datsik, Excision, Skrillex and many more. He has also hosted sold out shows at The Catalyst, Motiv, and the 418 project in Santa Cruz. Minnesota has several release’s coming out in the near future including tunes on Mal Label and Gruntworty compilations as well as an EP coming on Tycho records in January 2011.


Look for Minnesota to blowing up the nation-wide dubstep scene real soon, for now chew on these beats: 


Kitty Kat (Comment for 320 link) by Minnesota

Gotcha Money (ODB RMX) by Minnesota

If you're in the NBA, you probably rap...

Hip hop and basketball go together like spaghetti and meatballs, or like BMX and hardcore, or cigarettes and coffee. Regardless, its to be expected that many main stream rappers play basketball in their free time. But when you play in the NBA, and have a multi million dollar annual income, and you wanna rap.... well you rap. However terrible it may be, heres 8 predominant rappers spitting some "fire":

Jason Kidd

Gary Payton

Kevin Durant/Rashard Lewis

Chris Webber

Allen Iverson

SHAQ!

Kobe

Ron Artest (actually decent)

What's Grimey in the UK? Part II

Jamie xx

Earlier this month we here at THiCK BEATS told you about Night Slugs, whose single 'Wut' by Girl Unit might be the hottest track out of the UK right now, through our ongoing What's Grimey in the UK? series. Today, in Part II of our series, we are proud to introduce you to one of the most talented DJs/producers from across the pond right now.

Jamie xx (Jamie Smith) is the Mercury Prize winning producer behind one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2009, 'xx' by The xx. Over the past two years while working the MPC at The xx's live shows and producing tracks for the band, Jamie found time to make some music of his own. His first single, 'Far Nearer', debuted late last month on Xfm in the UK and should be available for purchase soon through Numbers records. The result is a Caribbean-steel-drum-laced 2step track that doesn't disappoint.

Jamie xx - Far Nearer (as heard on Xfm):

But Jamie's work outside of The xx doesn't end there. Yesterday Jamie released an excellent remix of Nosaj Thing's 'Fog'.

Nosaj Thing - Fog (Jamie xx Remix)

Earlier this year he released the 10th mix for Paris' famed Colette store.

Which you can download and listen to here.

And who can forget what was probably the best remix of last year, The xx remix of Florence and the Machine's 'You've Got the Love', which of course was produced by Jamie xx and features vocals from the rest of the band.
Florence and the Machine - You've Got the Love (Jamie xx Remix)

Until next time...

...keep it grimey massive!

THiCK ARTIST OF THE WEEK:

Jashko

(pronounced yash-ko)

From the Jashko fan page: 
"JASHKO was born during a ferocious lightning storm in 1987, on the eve the new year. Scholars would later say that his ear for the deepest, dirtiest electro and house music may very well have been developed that fateful night. For the last 22 years.... He has remained dormant while preparing to unleash his wrath upon the electro-house music scene. As he begins work on his first productions, many other artists have simply given up as they know they will be no match for his well-endowed beats. His expertly crafted mixes have been known to cause euphoria as well as several reported instances of spontaneous combustion. It is estimated that in the time it has taken you to read this artist bio, JASHKO has orbited the earth 3 times."

Blowing up on the Denver electronic scene is Josh Rosenholtz, aka Jashko. By day, he plays goalie for the Division 1 DU hockey team, but by night he takes Denver by storm, bombarding it with the dirtiest progressive and electro house beats you'll probably ever hear. Recently featured on ncaa.com, author Jen Gunnells highlights how Rosenholtz balances music with athletics and academics, and how Jashko is becoming a household name in the Denver electronic scene and around the DU and CU campuses. Jashko also produces an hour long "Nitty Gritty Podcast" every week, all available for free download on his podhoster.

November 11th, Jashko is joining forces with other prominent denver house artists (DJ Tozo, Fidget Factory, and others) to put on a free charity event at Cassleman's in Denver to benefit the initiative to end war in uganda. For more information on the event click here


To View Jashko's Facebook Fan page click here
For the Full NCAA.com article click here


Here are Jashko's two most recent "Nitty Gritty Podcasts" all of which are available for free download here

THiCK PARTIES:

this weekend we threw down for our girls' on 11th street, the result: good times! Heres a peek:

(Video Credit: Gabe's iPhone)

THiCK ARTIST OF THE WEEK:

Foamo 

Kye Gibbon, also known as Foamo, is a 22 year old producer from High Wycombe, UK. Since the age of 13 Foamo immersed himself in jungle/d’n’b, garage, dubstep and grime. With all these influences combined, he crafted his own category of house that often revolves around a big bassline and kinetic beats.

Foamo made his name at the beginning of 2008 with his first ever house track 'moving it over here', which immediately caught the attention of many big names, making it's way into Kissy Sell Out's radio show, and both MSTRKRFT's and Crookers essential mixes.

From there, Foamo produced more original tracks, and official remixes for a wide range of artists such as Mystery Jets, La Roux, Man Like Me, Diplo & Laidback Luke, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Beats and Drop The Lime.

Foamo also quickly made his name for his high energy DJ sets, which earned him a nomination for DJ mag's 'best british breakthrough DJ 2008' award, alongside the likes of Rusko and Alex Metric. He has also performed mixes on various BBC Radio 1 shows and has a busy schedule DJing in the UK & Europe, and has toured America, Australia and Asia. Foamo is also resident at the legendary Chew The Fat parties in London, and was also a resident at the massive Space club in Ibiza.

Here are some of Foamo's best bass-bangers:


Nas & Damian Marley - As We Enter (Foamo Remix) full download by Foamo

Drop The Lime - Devil's Eyes (Foamo Remix) by Foamo

Foamo is currently touring throughout Europe, but look for a possible spring U.S. tour.

New Flying Lotus video for "Kill Your Co-Workers"

Flying Lotus has a new video for the song "Kill Your Co-Worker" off of his recently released Pattern + Grid World EP. Like his earlier video for the song "Parisian Goldfish," this one is also pretty funny.

Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em (Kingdom Remix)

Kingdom, the NYC-based member of the Night Slugs set, just dropped a mbira backed remix of Sleigh Bells' "Tell 'Em" over at RCRD LBL and of course this is a must listen. Make sure you turn up the bass when you bump this tune. You can stream the track or download it for free here.

Diplo on the new Major Lazer album

Wesley Pentz aka world famous DJ/producer Diplo had a quick interview in the latest issue of Interview magazine. In it he discusses his origins, the progress that his label Mad Decent has made in the last year, why he likes to record in Jamaica, his recent BlackBerry commercial, and the next Major Lazer LP.

Read the interview in its entirety here. Enjoy!

Die Antwoord

In September of 2008, Johannesberg, South Africa native Waddy Jones made a prediction to the world about his future rap project:

“Die Antwoord will...be presented to the world as a wild and savage rap crew from the deep, dark, depths of Africa. Die Antwoord rap crew is going to perform live before the screening of Die Antwoord feature film at the Cannes Film Festival in the overseas. It’s gonna be hot.”

Two years later, Die Antwoord have yet to perform at Cannes for the opening of their film, but have taken the internet by storm with their Ali G-esque viral videos and Afrikaans infused rave-rap. Consisting of MC Ninja (Waddy Jones), singer-rapper Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and producer DJ Hi-Tek, Die Antwoord ("The Answer" in Afrikaans) has been the talk of the blog world since they dropped two music videos/mini-documentaries on YouTube back in January of this year.

"Zef Side"

"Enter the Ninja"

By the time February of this year came around Die Antwoord's viral videos had gained so much attention that major labels from around the world were lining up to offer them a deal. Ultimately, the group signed with Interscope Records and rereleased their debut full-length LP $O$ yesterday with new Diplo-produced track "Evil Boy" as the lead single:

Die Antwoord is currently touring the United States in support of the rerelease of their new album and according to Ninja they are working on their first full-length film giving us "the answer" to who the fuck these "Zef" spitting South Africans really are.

Who knows? Maybe we'll see them performing at Cannes sooner than we think.