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Performers in Electronic Music - May 2001May 21 '01 (Updated Jun 07 '01) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line This list does not necessarily include tracks that I like or highly recommend, but are those that are gaining popularity within the realm of digital music. Every month or so I will write about the electronica performers and tracks that seem to be on the rise. Some of the track may be a couple months old, due to the underground nature and limited radio play of electronica. This list does not necessarily include tracks that I like or highly recommend, but are those that are gaining popularity within the realm of digital music. Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice Have you seen the music video directed by Spike Jonze? If features the eternally creepy Christopher Walken dancing around a hotel lobby in the style of a corny musical. When I first saw it I was part stupefied, part amused. Jonze did a good job connecting the dance elements with the song. A warbled, yet smooth rap contributed by Bootsy Collins compliments the nothing-but-funk wah-wah sounds and horns. Fatboy Slim adds lots of scratching and sampling to produce a snazzy rhythm. Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook was part of Pizzamanwho had a hit a few years back called Trippin on Sunshine. Now Cook garners attention as Fatboy Slim with tracks such as Rockafeller Skanks and Praise You. I am a bit confounded by the popularity Fatboy Slim has received in respect to other more talented electronic artists, but in many genres of music, the best don’t always get the most play. Weapon of Choice is a single from last year’s release, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. Darude – Calm Before the Storm Darude aka Ville Vertanen from Finland has released his debut U.S. album, Before the Storm, a collage of danceable trance. Before the Storm has been available and doing well on the dance charts in Europe under the name After the Storm. Many stateside electronica enthusiasts have been anticipating the release due to the successful reception of the album’s first single, Sandstorm. Calm after the Storm has not been released as the next single, but it's been getting quite a buzz. Calm after the Storm is a strong straight beat track with a pure mid-paced electronic rhythm, reminiscent of Sven Vath's beeping and fluttering Harlequin mixes. The six-minute song is very danceable for the club scene, but it's a little flat for raves. A tiresome de-do-de loop plays throughout the song. The first two minutes of the song is repetitive and minimalistic, but when the breakdown comes the pace slightly quickens and a firework of sound erupts. Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Dave Clarke remix) Kernkraft with a spine of heavy straight beats is a hard acid techno track. The tempo is mid-paced, slower than happy hardcore or gabber, but an unrelenting acid, 303 drill penetrates the skull. A muffled "zombie nation" sample is used, but no overdone. Although the track has a harder edge than trance, a playful electro-tune complete with slashes of whizzing sound, something you might hear on an RPG game, stomps around. (There is a Zombie Nation video game for NES, but I'm not sure if they are connected) The OhOhOh remix is lighter sounding, using more video game bleeps. Zombie Nation is Munich DJs Splank and Mooner and have already enjoyed success with Zombie Nation in the UK clubs. Kernkraft 400 released last year are featured on several mixed CD's such as DJ Skribble and Pete Tong's Essential Mix. Daft Punk - One More Time The French duo Daft Punk produces mass consumed electronic-pop. One More Time is not an exception. It’s a feel-good house track with a danceable disco organ riff. A light, persistent beat prances along with a snapping tambourine. Daft Punk's trademark synth vocals supplied this time by Romanthony croons, "One more time, we gonna celebrate," with a lot of throaty, airy mmmm and ahhhhh sounds similar to Stardust’s The Music Sounds Better with You. The similarity is not a coincidence, Thomas Bangalter, one half of Daft Punk (with Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo), also records as Stardust. One More Time is the first single off Discovery, a follow-up release to their successful 1997 album, Homework that featured Around the World and Da Funk. MJ Cole – Tired Games Cole’s debut album, Sincere, has enjoyed brisk sales in the U.K. electronic dance arena. The first single, Crazy Love has already hit the Top Ten British charts and now Tired Games, not released as a single yet, has caught fire. Tired Games has a soulful mixture relying heavily on a hip hop two-step beat and jazzy diva vocals delivered by Elisabeth Troy. The two-step also called start-stop beat is a credible cousin to drum n bass and trip hop. The track exudes a smooth, R&B flow modernized with a glossy electronic edge that’s perfect for lounging but not necessarily for dancing. MJ Cole, a white suburban from London, has a style that’s been compared to the sounds of Soul II Soul and Loose Ends with Motown and Philly influences.  |
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