Current Music Infatuations and/or Obsessions

February 5, 2011

     Having finally replaced my laptop after several months (in addition to purchasing a Traktor S4), I've been able to get back to deejaying. It's nice to return to my favorite hobby, but with the extended time away from the craft - and having lost my entire music collection - I'm pretty far behind where I'd like to be. I'm being forced to rapidly rebuild my music collection in hopes of a quick rebound that will lead to gigs in the near future. The rebuilding process has been fun, though, and it's led me to discover a lot of great music over an array of genres. Here are some of the best:


Girl Unit (Night Slugs)

     I've been preaching Girl Unit via Twitter since the middle of last year - and I'm sure you're all tired of it - but I truly cannot get enough of him. People have had a hard time labeling the sound, mostly settling for UK Funky. Really, I find his music to be broader than that, as it explores juke, ghetto, rap, dubstep, house, grime and garage. A current staple of my sets.

Oriol (Planet Mu)

     I wrote a piece on Oriol in the November issue of XLR8R, and ever since I got the assignment, I've been in love with this guy's sound. He's got some classical education in his background, which really lends to the overall complexity of his jazzy, laid-back electronic music. The entire album Night & Day is really great and I would suggest it to anyone, regardless if they're fans of electronic music. He also just contributed a mix for XLR8R.

Teengirl Fantasy (Merok / True Panther)

     Teengirl Fantasy is probably one of the less accessible artists I've been listening to, but their debut LP, 7AM, was one of my favorites of 2010. There's a bunch of R&B and house influence in their tracks, both of which manifest themselves in the above video. The vocal sample is so great.

Adulture

     Adulture is a local Chicago producer who I had the opportunity to interview and "commission" (read: unpaid) a mix for Chicagoist. He's a guy deeply connected with his house roots, and his music shows that. I think he's one of the top young producers the city has, and I think it's only a matter of time before he blows up on the dance scene.

xxxy (Fortified Audio)

     Xxxy is among the elite in the "futurestep" phenomenon, of which the aforementioned Girl Unit also belongs. Xxxy is more dubstep-focused however, and is more akin to Joy Orbison or even James Blake. Like most producers in his field, xxxy takes powerful vocal samples and infuses them into his dissonant, dark music. I sort of equate him as a dance version of Burial.

     There are a lot more artists whom I haven't named, but I wanted to lend these suggestions for those looking to hear some new, fresh music. I hope you enjoy.