Polymorphic

ELECTRONIC/ TECHNO/ HOUSE
Artist: Polymorphic
Album: Rock On EP
Tracks: “Rock On,” “Scream”
Street Date: December 1, 2009
Label: Coco Machete


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If you’re a fan of Steve Aoki, the Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, etc., you’ll most likely enjoy Polymorphic, too. And if you don’t, well that’s too bad!

The Moscow-based artist recently released a new EP, Rock On, featuring three new tracks – “Rock On,” “Scream,” and “Move Faster.” The EP also includes an awesome remix of “Rock On” by Marseille. Most tracks are darkly aggressive and maybe even scary at times – but that’s not surprising. Polymorphic said in a MySpace blog post, “As the days get darker so shall the music, ... there’s only one thing we can really say about the last two tracks… they are scary … ‘Scream’ WILL make you ‘Move Faster.’”

Holy mackerel! NO, but seriously they’re not kidding. This music isn’t for the faint of heart… or hearing. I can clearly imagine myself getting trampled by a crowd of rave-goers and then exploding on the floor (with my glow stick fading out slowly by my side).

But don’t worry about that because you can listen to Polymorphic in the safety of your own home. Check their MySpace out!

Pal Joey

HOUSE
Artist: Pal Joey
Album: NYC Darlings
Tracks: “Flight 801” & “Party Time”
Street Date: November 11, 2009
Label: Pal Joey


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Apologies for the late Pal Joey blog posting, but it goes to show you that there was so much to information to consider and process about the artist/record label, especially since Pal Joey is considered as a great house legend and pioneer and influencer of all music after the 1980s.

From upbeat, funky electro to low-key trance, the artist demonstrates creative shifts and changes in the nuances of making enjoyable music. Pal Joey has worked with and produced albums for artists such as BQE, Lascivious, Paul Violet, Brio, Beautiful People, Dreamhouse, Soho, and Birdhouse (just to name a few).

Pal Joey’s new album NYC Darlings is a collection of ear-catching tracks – good for winding down and chillaxing. We hope Pal Joey continues to collaborate with other artists and release new stuff soon!

For more information, visit Pal Joey's website.

Conya Compilation

ELECTRONIC/ HOUSE
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Broaden Your Horizons Pt. 1 & 2
Tracks: Edmund “Electronic Love,” Copy/Paste “Caravan 2”
Street Date: November 17, 2009
Label: Conya Records/ Clubstar


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Alright, so when you think of German electronic/house/trance music, you probably think of really intense beats, rhythms, and bass, with a super deep and creepy German guy singing in a low monotone. Or we’re just exaggerating because an electro-Rammstein comes to mind at first thought.

This is not the case for the first ever Conya Compilation, Broaden Your Horizons Pt. 1 & 2! Originally founded in 2002, the record label wanted to focus on tribal house music however its made a shift to soulish, groovy deep electro-house dance music crafted by some of the best foreign house artists including Jay Tripwire, Manuel Tur, Jay West, Gianluca Pighi, Haldo, Sebastian Davidson, and Brazilian Soul Crew. Part 1 of Broaden Your Horizons, “The Soulful Rub,” mostly consists of laidback soul that you can still definitely dance to. Part 2 of the compilation, “The Deeper Club,” focuses on the deeper house and electronic side of Conya Records. The purchase of either part comes with a DJ mix of the tracks by Henri Kohn who compiled Broaden Your Horizons.

No, this ain’t yo run-of-the-mill compilation, but it’s a diverse collection of super good European/Canadian/Russian electronic music – and no it’s not reminiscent of an electro-Rammstein at all, just in case that thought is still in your head. Although that would probably be interesting too!

Arcane Trickster

ELECTRONIC
Artist: Arcane Trickster
Album: Eidola
Tracks: "Dope On A Rope,” “Zombie Shuffle (day mix)”
Street Date: November 10, 2009
Label: Tempest Records


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Arcane Trickster is the love baby birthed by producer Damiano Verna of Tempest Records and Christopher Innes. To give a brief and perhaps concise idea of what type of electronic music the two produce, imagine yourself riding a super funky roller coaster elevator-craft through outer-space, traveling through a mangled up montage of old film and audio clips, seeing neon-colored aliens techno dance around you in circles, and spiraling out of control into a nearby nebula:



Pretty awesome, right?!


Arcane Trickster is not your typical electro-pop band that AA-clad youngsters are fawning over these days. The two seem to bring out a darker tone in their music, especially in “Hex,” in which one of the back beat/rhythm sounds very reminiscent of the Prodigy’s “Smack My B***h Up.”

Mogi Grumbles

ELECTRONIC/ HOUSE/ POP
Artist: Mogi Grumbles
Album:The Black Box Set
Tracks: "M.W.T.F.," "Missed Connections"
Street Date: October 27, 2009
Label: Moodgadget Records


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Correct us if we're mistaken but Mogi Grumbles could possibly be the hippest thing to come out of Michigan since... cars... when they were first invented.

Apparently in the current state of pop culture, it's standard for songs to last a total of 3 or 4, maybe even 5 minutes (if you're like, U2 or something). As a result people are all antsy now when they hear a track lasting 5+ minutes... and we think that's absurd! People used to sit through hours of operas and junk a few centuries ago and now most people can't even sit through a 5 minute track without fidgeting for their iPods.


The California Aggie arts editor put it in good enough terms in the paper yesterday. "Give anyone an album with five or six minute tracks and people will either faint or fall asleep with boredom." This has a high probability of being true, but we're willing to give people the benefit of the doubt... for now.

Now how is this relevant to Mogi Grumbles? Well, every track off the Black Box Set is designated as an EP and lasts about 2-3 times longer than your average MGMT song (no offense beebs!). Supposedly this is Mogi's way of making fun of the electronic genre, which has inherently taken a strong liking to short singles.

The point is, there's absolutely nothing wrong with long tracks! The double digits may look intimidating at first but it could end up being that much better (or at least better than you expected), and this is definitely the case for Mogi Grumbles' Black Box Set.

Check out his remixes and updates on his MySpace!

The Emergency

ELECTRONIC/ POP
Artist: The Emergency
Album: Dreams That Money Can Buy
Tracks: "Fire in You," "Stars Explode"
Street Date: October 23, 2009
Label: Metal Postcard Records


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EMERGENCY: You need to listen to this album.

The Emergency, based in Melbourne, Australia, has been rubbing shoulders with super awesome electro-pop acts such as Cut Copy, The Presets, Architecture in Helsinki, A.R.E. Weapons, Glass Candy, and Midnight Juggernauts for quite some years now. More importantly, they've released plenty of that gooey, head-bobbing, body-movin', booty-shakin', synth-drenched music that everybody has been mega craving more of lately... but a few years ago in 2001ish! Super hipster status. It's like when Discovery covered and released Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" on their LP like 2 seconds before Michael Jackson passed away - except not that intense at all.

During the past few years, vocalist/keyboardist Milo and Morgan the gadgeteer have been in the studio cranking out some vinyl singles and remixes. Ubes cool! However, word on the street is that cassette tapes are making a comeback (vinyl's apparently too vintage now), so get on that Emergency!
Dreams That Money Can Buy is the duo's second studio album and features Sydney-based artist Catcall and Outrun's bassist Mark O'Keeffe. The new record was completely recorded and produced in their own studio allowing them the DIY creative license that may not have been available elsewhere.

Hit up their MySpace for more details on their various releases and new music!

Amtrak

ELECTRONIC/ DIRTY
Artist: Amtrak
Album: Dirty Dancing
Track: “Mmm Cake”, “Fit to Hit”
Street date: September 22, 2009
Label: Audio Reconnaissance


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Indianapolis-based label and distributor Audio Reconnaissance is sending out its head recruit, Amtrak, to scout out the electronic scene this fall with Amtrak’s LP, Dirty Dancing. Amtrak is the relatively new project of Morehead, Kentucky DJ, Caleb Cornett (Amtrak began in 2005). Amtrak’s debut EP in 2007, “In Transit”, generated national attention, leading him to gigs with artists such as The Ben Ishmael Revival, The Glitch Clique, and Surreal Estate. One blogger who attended Amtrak’s performances at the Indiana Electronic & Experimental Music Exposition in March wrote, “his late-night vibe was refined and lush.”

Dirty Dancing is smart and trendy, able to provide the perfect setting for anything from posh clubs and lounges to smaller get togethers. Of course, an hour-long ride on Amtrak would be appropriate as well… har har.

Check out “Mmm Cake” and “Fit to Hit." One is delicious and the other can beat up your annoying neighbors.

^ Poser Amtrak

The real Amtrak says: Mmm... cake!

Other notables at Audio Reconnaissance include Dreadnots, Old Ovelus, Twilight Sentinels, Smear, and the Glick Clique.