If you've only heard Moby's radio singles, try your best to pretend you've forgotten them. Moby's roots are in old classic big beat music that fills rave parties, and he can KILL IT at the decks, which I can testify from the New Year's party at Brooklyn's Studio B in '08. This week's XLR8R podcast is to remind (or teach) you just that. Whether you need something to kickstart you at work (I have been treading in nap mode since my four-taco binge at lunch), get you to survive the drive home (though beats this blazing often make me more impatient in Chicago highway traffic), dancing in your living room while trying to cook or do chores (guilty as charged...), or actually entertain friends who like to rave during the week (if so, please invite me over soon), hop over to XLR8R and stream or download this. I know I'll be listening to this mix more than once to get me pumped for Deadmau5 at Soldier Field this Friday night.
If you're new at XLR8R, they feature weekly podcasts. Each podcast is originally and exclusively mixed for XLR8R usually by a premiere DJ/team, and long enough to fill a CD. I love grabbing one of these when I need a new background for running, working, anything where I want a fresh consistent beat.
If you know me, you know I listen to bands, specifically LPs more than anything else. Ever since my senior year college I have followed the indie music scene closely (mainly through Pitchfork like most everyone else), and have since maintained an incessant habit of following every band and LP that garners attention in those circles. But in my last year in grad school I finally got turned on to live DJ music after getting to know an experienced DJ in Pittsburgh and going to some killer shows (in NY and Detroit, not so much Pittsburgh ;). I discovered XLR8R when I came to Chicago in 2008. I was unemployed and didn't know a whole lot of people, especially anyone really into music, and so I'd spend time at record stores and magazine stands, and I think I randomly saw a print issue of XLR8R before I found their website. I was attracted by the fact that they focus on electronic music. They follow some bands and emcees, but it is primarily DJs and producers as their culture is that of the dance party scene. Although I was turned onto many new artists, simply reading about music only gets you so far, and I was finding it much harder to find material from many of their featured artists. So discovering the weekly podcast as well as daily MP3s (~three every day) turned out to be an exciting thing for me. It was a way for me to get in tune to the DJ world as well as keep my interest in shows alive at a time when I wasn't going to many live shows since I was new to the city and was trying to focus on getting a job before going out and partying hard.
Even though now I am still mainly a band/LP consumer, XLR8R is still my primary source for electronic music and DJ news. Hell, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been the first of everyone I know to discover Major Lazer. So if you're looking for a source of electronic/hip-hop focused music, with a penchant for the dance party scene and an ear to styles from around the globe, check out the XLR8R website from time to time. You just might start dancing in your cube.
No comments:
Post a Comment