TRXD’s latest, “Vice,” is largely based on a familiar duality that is reflected by its musical composition as well as its lyrical content. The release’s bouncing rhythm and striking melodies are immediate indicators of the track’s quality, drawing listeners in with its vibe. That’s where Norwegian vocalist Caroline Ailin comes in, describing the repeated attraction
Back in September, Mat Zo released his standalone drum and bass track, “Vice.” The track blended Mat Zo’s signature sound across genre and tempo. Filtered-down half-time sections, pitched-up vocal runs, three unique builds and drops, and immaculate synth lines made “Vice” a true example of how much of a virtuoso the Mad Zoo head truly is. Despite the display of skill that is “Vice,” Mat Zo has never been one to leave things alone. The vocals in the original came from an unfinished but great clip called “Stoned Clip 1.wav,” which can still be found on SoundCloud.
“Vice” was released under Mat Zo instead of his drum and bass alias, MRSA, and now it’s clear why. He knew he’d be playing around with this track for a minute, as well as playing it live. The VIP mix has the same atmospheric build as the original — an 8-bit, synth wave, fueled by the city-at-night feeling. The bass bends, and the energy builds and breaks down in more and more unique ways. “Vice – VIP” is polished, reworked, and truly exceptional. It’s even the exact same length at 6 minutes and 53 seconds.
Viceland’s original short What Would Diplo Do?, starring James Van Der Beek as Diplo and Dillon Francis as Diplo’s friend Jasper, is now streaming on Hulu. The show, which had also been streaming on Viceland for free prior to the Hulu addition, premiered last August as a hilarious tongue-in-cheek series offering a glimpse of “the life” of the superstar DJ.
In the time since the show’s aired, the Dawson’s Creek alum’s grade A impersonation has even seen great success on Twitter. James Van Der Beek’s @_diplo_Twitter handle has gone on to entertain an entire industry with witty criticism and clever comebacks.
Finnish artist Darude struck gold with “Sandstorm” in 2000, the lead single off of his debut studio album, Before the Storm, that would go on to not only garner platinum certification, but to become one of the most easily identifiable electronic tracks ever produced. The iconic 16 note melody has become fodder for memes and fan videos on the Internet, a testament to the song’s longevity in the 17 years since its release.
Darude describes “Sandstorm’s” foundation in a recent interview with VICE, noting that he was “more of a club goer” prior to his introduction to music production in 1996/1997. Darude credits the clubs as the sources of the “spark” that would lead him to eventually begin producing music: “There was many a night where I went to the club, come 3:30 when people started to be kicked out, I basically ran home, turned on my computer, and started making music, having just heard something I’d really liked.” This experience led to creation of his signature sound.
The 16 note melody that has since come to define “Sandstorm” arose as a product of Darude’s experimentation, created on an Atari SD two-years prior to “Sandstorm’s” finishing. When Darude presented the bones of “Sandstorm” to record producer Jaakko Salovaara, the track quickly reached completion, requiring only two-days of studio based brainstorming. The interview offers an in depth look at the production behind what would then be, and what has since remained a landmark release.
“Sandstorm” may very well be one of the most iconic songs in the history of dance music. Ever since its release in 1999, Darude’s “Sandstorm” has been one of the most played songs. “Sandstorm” received another wave of attention once the song reached the meme culture with the ever-so-popular “dudududu” phrase. In the video by
The most important day of every week: New Music Friday. As each week brings a succession of new music from some of electronic music’s biggest artists, here’s a selection of tracks that shouldn’t be missed.
Slander and Sullivan King team up for a mercilessly heavy-hitting dubstep collaboration, “Welcome to the Fire.”
Lookas and Krewella light up New Music Friday with a stunning, emotion-packed collaboration on Monstercat.
One-hit wonders are a common phenomenon in the music business, and most of them have a fan base that insists their other songs are just as good. It’s rarer, though, to see a well established band break through with a surprise pop hit more than a decade into its career, “She Don’t Use Jelly” style. More »
Dillon Francis has had a fruitful Thursday. Not only has made his debut as a male model via Flaunt but tonight he will be making an extended cameo on VICELAND’s show, ‘What Would Diplo Do’. Dillon Francis: Male Model When we first heard the news that Dillon would be doing a full photo shoot for
Vice Media created Thump in 2013 as an outlet dedicated toward quality dance music journalism. It’s since become a highly respected player within the electronic community at large for its clever content and well-rounded music curation.
Alas, it appears the saying “all good things must come to an end” applies in the website’s case, as Vice has chosen to shut it down as part of a company-wide restructuring which saw the layoff of 2% of its staff. About 60 employees in total were cut from the company, with electronic music the stories related to dance culture now being absorbed into the fold of Vice’s primary outlet.
Thump ended its run with plenty of wit in the form of a “final post” that paid homage to Arca1000000’s intriguing taste in boots, per a Tweet from one of the site’s editors, Michelle Lhooq.