Kill The Noise 'Black Magic' EP Review 22:32

The latest EP to emerge from powerhouse OWSLA Records is the long-awaited follow up to Jake Stanczak’s ‘Kill Kill Kill’ EP last November. This young American producer has shown the world that he is a true force to be reckoned with, and easily ranks amongst the biggest names in the electronic dance scene. So, how does ‘Black Magic’ stack up? In one day, the album became the top dance album on the iTunes charts in both the US and Canada, and, as of writing this, is climbing the top 10 in the UK. Of course, it would be almost rude not to take the top spot on the Beatport new releases chart too, and top the album charts for dubstep, drum and bass and electro house along with it. To say this EP is big is something of an understatement. 

The EP opens with its title track, ‘Black Magic’, a drumstep successor to the imaginatively-named ‘Kill The Noise (Part I)’ on the first EP. Spine-tingling choral chanting leads into one of the filthiest drops in recent history, a thick, chugging bassline, padded out with KTN’s signature razor-sharp synths, and even occasional maniacal laughter echoing away in the background. From an audio nerd’s perspective, this track really showcases just how good Jake’s mastering really is, with warm, deep bass and aggressively clear (but never overstated) highs cutting cleanly through the mix. Stick this one up high on your stereo to give it a real workout.

Like Skrillex, Knife Party, Zomboy and Rusko to name a few, KTN has also jumped on the reggae/dub bandwagon with ‘Jump Ya Body’. Don’t get me wrong. This is by no means a bad thing. Imagine a track traditional reggae-style synth sounds and steel drums, with an infectious hook. Now pile it high with snarling bass and high-energy vocals and you’re probably about halfway there. This one’s pretty much guaranteed to go over big on dancefloors.

‘Rockers’ takes the EP back into more familiar electro house territory. Nothing too innovative here, with KTN sticking to his tried and tested formula for hard-hitting electro. Fans of Zomboy might notice some familiar themes here too from the recent ‘Vancouver Beatdown’. Nonetheless, there’s a lot to like here, with glitched-out samples, and some sparkling synth licks. 

‘Mosh It Up’ takes the listener back to something which might have once been dubstep. But, with an absolutely frantic build-up, and an insistent double-time rhythm, this short track is pretty much the ultimate DJ tool to get a crowd going, a platform to launch from into an insane drop. Expect to see this one get rinsed at every rave for the next few months. 

Another of the biggest names in the scene, Feed Me, collaborates on ‘Thumbs Up’, a midtempo/moombahton banger very reminiscent of Feed Me’s ‘One-Click Headshot’, even down to its use of an YouTube clip as its lead sample, ‘Thumbs Up for Rock and Roll!’. But, while this kid’s message might have been adorable in its original context, this sample unfortunately mostly serves to be intensely annoying here. Moombahton tracks tend to be quite difficult on the ears of many listeners, and this one probably won’t be winning over any new followers. While intensely funky, this one is still the album’s weakest point, and a lot of wasted potential, especially given the strength of Feed Me & KTN’s previous collaborations.

Fortunately, ‘Saturn’ turns everything around yet again, striking a stunning balance between progressive and electro house, and the evocative vocals of collaborator Minxx. Growling riffs take over during the breakdowns, before giving way to haunting piano and echoing synths. And, the piano stays in place for ‘To Be Continued…’, which is definitely the most unusual piece of the album, a piano cover of ‘Kill The Noise (Part I)’. Not even a single kick drum strays into this one, nor a single modulated bassline. Whether this is all part of Jake’s great master plan, or he simply bought a piano and wanted to play around with it is a mystery. What is certain is that this is a curious and rather beautiful end to the EP, and will inevitably be put to excellent use by remix artists around the world over the next few months. 

So, where does this leave us? ‘Black Magic’ is certainly among the hottest releases right now, and one of the year’s dance music highlights. Between this and ‘Kill Kill Kill’, no-one should be in any doubt as to the fact that KTN is one of the most terrifyingly talented producers on the planet. The big names had better hope he leaves a bit of space at the top for them, because this guy is showing no signs of stopping any time soon. 

Rating – 4.5/5

2012 Thus Far - Big Things in EDM 20:28

It’s been a while.

While the electronic dance music scene has been pumping out hundreds of club bangers, this blog has been gathering dust in a quiet corner of the internet. But rather than make excuses about work schedules and personal commitments, let’s take a look back at what’s been tearing up clubland over the past few months, and have a think about where dance music might be headed next. And what better way to do this than by picking out a few album releases which have been the defining moments of the year? 

(Don’t answer that, because I’m going to do it anyway.)

Arguably, the first major release of the year came at the end of January, with Moguai’s second album, entitled Mpire. This German producer’s classic progressive sound saw some changes, with a movement towards electro house, evident on the album’s title track, jammed with big build-ups and buzzing synths. While the album had its high points, with the airy synths of ‘Smyles’, the gorgeous vocals of ‘Invisible’ and the trancey ‘Out of Nowhere’, many of its tracks fell down on simply not having enough to make them memorable, fading reasonably pleasantly into the background. Unfortunately, for many of the releases in progressive house in recent months, this has been the norm, with rather Avicii-inspired breakdowns and synth sections, perhaps topped off with some piano samples. Amid the explosive proliferation of new genres in 2012, progressive house seems to have fared worst of all. 

But, while Moguai’s album was something of a disappointment, barely a week later, a surprise came in the form of ‘Feed Me’s Escape From Electric Mountain’. Not content with dominating electro house and dubstep, the ever-talented Jon Gooch delivered a slice of drum and bass, in the form of his fist-pumping collaboration with Hadouken, entitled ‘Trapdoor’. Not content with that, he also took the tempo down with the  explosive 110bpm ‘One Click Headshot’, featuring the vocal talents of the YouTube phenomenon FPS Doug. And perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the stunning progressive banger, ‘Relocation’, whose haunting synths and spine-tingling drop lead to the very real possibility of this becoming one of the greatest tracks of the year.

While progressive house seems to have hit something of a dead end, there is plenty of innovation in the electro house scene. Fresh talent such as Porter Robinson and Zedd, as well as veteran producers like Wolfgang Gartner are unleashing a steady stream of new tracks. There is still plenty of room for new blood, however, as demonstrated by the relatively unknown James Egbert, and his innovative ‘In The Beginning’ EP, featuring 6 new electro house monsters, jammed with drum rollouts, glitched-out vocals, razor-sharp synths and contorted basslines. Falling somewhere between Klaypex and Mord Fustang, this young producer is one to watch out for.

Meanwhile, dubstep has been taking over. Of course, the endless Skrillex debates rage on, taking over the comments on what seems to be every single EDM track on YouTube. These aren’t likely to stop any time soon either, with the rumoured ‘Voltage’ EP in the works. For the rest of us though, who long since realised the best course of action is to shut up and enjoy the music, dubstep seems to be where the real excitement is, with assimilation of aspects of just about every other genre known to mankind. A perfect example of the changes in the heavy dubstep scene is ‘Vitamin D’, the debut album of Canadian basshead DatsiK. Theis album veers recklessly off into drum and bass with the strings-laden ‘Syndrome’, old-school turntablism with Z-Trip on ‘Double Trouble’, 110bpm on ‘Light The Fuse’ and full-blown heavy metal on ‘Evilution’ which features the talents of  KoRn and Infected Mushroom. Vitamin D demonstrates how many artists are no longer limiting themselves to a particular sub-genre, and instead applying their talents elsewhere. Of course, while Dim Mak and Rottun records have, as ever, been delivering on form, it would be an oversight to neglect to mention the immense talents of the Never Say Die crew. Their recent showcase, distributed by UKF, brings together the best of international talent at the noble art of dancefloor demolition. Compiled by the insanely-talented Brit himself, SKisM, this album includes the ‘Belgian prodigy’, Eptic, the maniacal Zomboy, and the acclaimed Skeptiks among others, the compilation perfectly epitomises the gleeful mayhem of heavy dubstep, brostep, or however you want to classify it. What we can all agree on is that it’s here, it’s big, and it’s definitely going to let anyone ignore it any time soon.

One of this year’s albums which has prompted the most discussion is the full-length second album by dubstep pioneer, Rusko. Most articles recently about this 27-year old producer have focussed on his ‘beef’ with deadmau5. As is typical of Mixmag in particular, this seems to have been blown out of all proportion. What they seem to have ignored is that Rusko has delivered one of the freshest pieces of electronica in months. Rusko’s signature style is all over this album, most likely some function of his remarkable drug and alcohol intake of late. But, the album doesn’t suffer as a result – it features fiendishly catchy bangers, such as ‘Skanker’ and the glitzy commercial tracks ‘Pressure’ and ‘Dirty Sexy’, the latter of which could easily be mistaken as featuring the vocal talents of none other than Rihanna. The album rounds off with the piano-laden ‘M357’, which brings everything to a close on a mellower note. But ‘Songs’ does not limit itself to tracks such as these, however, with Rusko riding another of the upcoming dubstep trends, namely that of reggae. While purists will perhaps take objection to Skrillex and Damian Marley’s controversial ‘Make It Bun Dem’, there’s far less to dislike here, with the chill vibe of the phenomenal ‘Love No More’ and ‘Mek More Green’.  Expect to see more tracks like this as the year goes on – the irresistible groove of reggae-influenced tracks is likely to appeal to a good few more dubstep producers yet.

Of course, a mention has to be given to EDM’s biggest names of all, where things have generally been a bit quieter of late. Mixmag’s number one DJ of all time, Tiesto, has released some new material on the eagerly-anticipated second instalment of his Club Life collection. In places, this compilation has notes of sheer brilliance, with the sparkling ‘Chasing Summers’ and the heavily remixed collaboration with Wolfgang Gartner, ‘We Own the Night’. But, in others, tracks which have been done to death let the side down somewhat, such as Tiesto’s own played-out ‘Maximal Crazy’, the predictable Axwell mix of ‘In My Mind’ and the remix of Coldplay’s rather nauseating track ‘Paradise’. Meanwhile, deadmau5 has been gradually releasing singles and Soundcloud demos, with some remix work on ‘Cthulhu Sleeps’, a space-inspired piece ‘Closer’, and the newly-released ‘There Might Be Coffee’. Of course, it just wouldn’t be right for us to go a few months without a deadmau5 release dominating the top of the Beatport charts, and sure enough, ‘The Veldt’ did just that, and will likely find its way onto an album soon. One of the more unusual projects this year was the ‘mau5hax’ project in March, which sought to hunt down some of the best undiscovered talent in the scene. While ‘Fractals’ and ‘Titty Sprinkles’ sunk without a trace, mau5trap has sought to make the most of their findings with the ‘We Are Friends’ compilation, featuring 9 new tracks. There are generally more hits than misses, with James Nije’s intricate electro banger ‘Room Modes’, and Born Freak’s mellow ‘Cocktail Bar’. Sadly, a few tracks seem to lack originality. I wonder if deadmau5 noticed that ‘Buddygirrl’ has more or less handed him his own tune ‘Jaded’ back in the form of the progressive ‘Fly’? And of course, a nod has to be given to Skrillex and friends on OWSLA Records, which has been graced with more chart monsters courtesy of Zedd,  Nick Thayer’s ‘Like Boom’ EP, and Dillon Francis’ three-track ‘Something, Something, Awesome’, and its bizarrely joyful  downtempo moombahton. OWSLA also generously gave out the aptly-entitled ‘Free Treats Vol. II’, which had something to keep everyone happy, from the thunderous electro house of ‘Brohammer’ and ‘Shot of Bruschotti’ right through to the dark, Magnetic Man-esque ‘Alone Time’ and ‘Chess Fight’. This innovative label are still a force to be reckoned with, picking out the cream of the crop when it comes to electronica, having just released the staggering ‘Careless’ EP by Jack Beats, which brings in Dillon Francis, Takura, Diplo & Example, reason enough in itself to give it a try. 

So there we have it. 2012 has already been quite a year for music, and is showing no signs of slowing. With DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs poll nearing its close, and plenty of new albums on the horizon, we are at an exciting time in dance music. As the distinctions between genres seem to become ever-more blurred, and influences become wider, EDM seems to be going in a direction none of us really can predict. One thing’s for sure though – we’re in for one hell of a ride.