Doctor P / Zomboy / Terravita / Evol Intent @ Pomona Fairplex

So let's start off with how awesome Rob Zombie is for organizing this whole thing. Not only does he create some of the most original haunted house mazes I've had the pleasure of going through, he makes sure that people get a show with their ticket every night. November 1st, Destroid and Dirtyphonics are playing, and as much as I would absolutely kill myself to go to that show, I would probably be doing just that as I have HARD Day of the Dead the next two nights. But for now, let's get on with the main attraction of the night.

First up for the night was Gigantor from Evol Intent. I unfortunately missed the first 20 or so minutes of his set because of the haunted houses. When I got in to the hangar, there was a disappointing amount of people shown up to see the man. I mean, it can be expected when a show starts at 7 p.m., but still. Other than the small turnout, it seemed, to me at least, that the sound was off. I couldn't hear a majority of highs/mids and that didn't change much as I got further back toward the sound engineers (where the sound quality is best). Gigantor finished his set with little fanfare, which is truly unfortunate. I was really looking forward to finally seeing the group that put out Era of Diversion and so many other fantastic, classic DnB hits.

Next up, Terravita. Known for going hard, they didn't disappoint. Terravita threw down classics like 'Up In The Club'  and 'Roulette' while throwing in some new shit as well, like their remix of John B's 'Light Speed,' which got a huge reaction from the crowd. More people had started to file in by this point and MC Jon Spero really knows how to work a crowd - people even started throwing him things on stage, like their digital camera. Spero promptly made a PSA on the subject, "Don't throw electronics at me on stage! Especially your expensive digital camera!" By the end of the set, the guys were enjoying themselves as much as the crowd. Los Angeles is now the permanent home for the trio, so they always enjoy throwing down on home turf. As for the sound, it still wasn't completely perfect. Many of the highs were still absent.

As much as Terravita was able to get the crowd pumped, it was none other than Zomboy whom many of the crowd came to see. Watching as Zomboy mouthed and made faces to match all the synths he was playing was one of my greatest pleasures - all wubs, wah wahs, wryyyyys and everything in between. As far as energy on stage goes, Zomboy isn't too far behind Rusko. Another great moment was when he tried to ask for water from the stage manager, but all they had was Monster. (Like, really?) Apparently, Monster isn't one of his favorite beverages because he made a face like someone was handing him week-old sour milk. Honestly, it's really refreshing to see a producer's personality come out on stage - too many are utterly absorbed in their work that they forget that they are performing as much as they're playing music. This is the third time I've seen Zomboy and he has never disappointed. Also, we saw a special appearance by none other than Schoolboy. Oh, and the sound was finally fixed and working b-e-a-utifully.

As soon as Doctor P stepped up on stage toward the end of Zomboy's set, the sound level in the room at least doubled. Rarely have I been as excited for an opening track than when he dropped his 'Love Goes Down' remix. From what I can remember, I don't think I've ever heard it played live, and it's so so so good!! In comparison to Zomboy, the doctor didn't have much showmanship on stage; but he more than made up for it by throwing down some filthy dubstep that left the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. From 'Bass Cannon,' to his remix of Roksonix' 'Music In Me' he traversed his whole library of bangers and left the crowd begging for more. He finished his set up with Skrillex & Nero's remix of 'Promises' followed by Flux's remix of 'Gold Dust.' Not satisfied with two of the bassiest tracks created in recent years, the crowd screamed for an encore and the Doctor obliged. Coming back on with 'Sweet Shop' and 'Flying Spaghetti Monster,' the crowd was left exhausted and content.


All in all, while there seemed to have been some technical issues with the sound engineers early on - possibly because there weren't enough people yet? - the show was a huge success. Still, at the end, the hangar was at maybe 50% capacity. And for this line up and price (only $40), that is simply not acceptable. One fan I spoke to came all the way from San Clemente, nearly half the way to San Diego. Not having seen Doctor P since the Circus Records takeover of the Hollywood Palladium last May, I can say that I left completely satisfied with the show. Doctor P has certainly cemented his status as one of the leading dubstep producers (not necessarily the best) of the current generation [of producers] and as one of the founders of Circus Records, his success is no joke. All thanks must go to Rob Zombie in the end though for setting up such a massive line up and promoting it so heavily. And like I said at the beginning, as much as I'd like to see Destroid and Dirtyphonics next Friday, HARD Day of the Dead already has my RSVP, and I can't be an ungracious host, now can I?

[Album Review] Protohype - Speak No Evil EP

In the final installment of his EP trilogy, Protohype gives us some terrific old school wobbles and beats on Speak No Evil. I love what Protohype has done with this EP, everything from getting Datsik back into his roots to having a collab on every track - 12th Planet, Two Fresh, Virus Syndicate, Jupiter Slap, and The Frim.

A little background - the proverb "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" is of Japanese, or Chinese, origin (depending on whose  history you read) and whose meaning is often debated. In the Western world, the proverb is often used to refer to a lack of moral responsibility on the part of people who refuse to acknowledge impropriety, looking the other way or feigning ignorance.

It's hard to find an actual thematic element linking the three EPs aside from the title, but Speak No Evil is definitely the peak of Protohype's production skills. Since See No Evil was released, Protohype has gotten wide acclaim for his talent and on-stage presence. Most recently, he's touring across the country with Datsik on his "Firepower's Most Wanted" tour, promoting artists on his own label, such as Antiserum, Rise at Night, and Sub Antix.



One of my favorite tracks is the collab with 12th Planet. One of the great characteristics of it is the perfect melding of electro-house bass line and classic dubstep kick snare; but it's the 108 BPM breakdowns that really do it for me. That and the dirtiest synth leads next to some Skrillex tracks.

"Feeling Irie" with The Frim also does a huge job of using its quasi-reggae build up and unleashing a huge bass drop and even bringing back some of the classic wobble synths from way back when Rusko was just getting huge with his "Pro Nails" remix. And I probably haven't said it out loud here, but I'm a huge fan of tempo change ups, a la Zomboy. So when the track drops into its electro-house beat back into another huge dubstep drop, my jaw was on the floor.

I have to say, though, that I expected a bit more from Two Fresh on "Hear It Go." But as soon as I heard the rolling snares, I knew it was headed into a trap drop and that just immediately made me disinterested. The hip-hop breakdown in the middle saved it for me though, and reminded me that Protohype really is a fantastic artist, and even when he does trap he at least tries to make it unique (as hard as that is, with the genre being so pigeon-holed). The same can be said about the track with Jupiter Slap. The fact that trap used the same drum racks and bass lines, with just barely different synths makes it so unbearably uninteresting to me.

Overall, it's a great way to end the trilogy and it definitely shows where Protohype is headed. I can at least say that when I saw him open for Caspa last year, he threw down hard.

[Album Review] Captain Panic! - Accelerated Evolution

I first discovered Captain Panic! when they released their Aiur VIP (yes, before the original) over two years ago. And about 10 months ago, they finally released their first full-length The Invasion. Ten tracks of some of the most ambient, hard-hitting dubstep I've ever had the pleasure to come across. And now, the duo are releasing the follow-up, Accelerated Evolution.

Hitting even harder, this album is a true journey through space on a search for alien life. Distorted synths, alien growls and deep low-ends make this album a must-have. Captain Panic! is no stranger to ambient, and they meld it with dubstep so seamlessly, it's no surprise there's no one who does it better. Almost every track is a journey on its own, with switched-up tempos and key changes galore, there's no way to tell where the ride is going but up.

Every track has a something unique to it within the scope of the theme - space exploration. Insane second drops and wild drums, distorted machine gun synths and background instrumentation are all beautifully mastered and used to utmost effect.

Accelerated Evolution has a way of going harder than you think it will. Case in point - the final two tracks 'Gamma Ray' and 'Chill.' Listening to the album, I had it in my mind for every track, "This one is my new favorite. It blows the last one out of the water." So it should follow that the last two tracks should be absolutely mental.

Fading out of 'Tumar' and into 'Gamma Ray,' you get the feeling like you're trespassing on some really dangerous territory. Suddenly, you're discovered. You panic. You call for assistance. But whatever has found you is now chasing you and you're running for your life. After running for some time, you think you might have it outrun.... but not even close. The second time you're found, it's even harder than before and you're running, your lungs out of breath, but you have to keep going. But it's too late. You're gone.

Following the analogy, 'Chill' would be the fucked up memorial service. Dropping with a Figure-esque drumstep beat, and retardedly hard bass, it's the afterparty you'd want your dearest friends to have once your gone and they're spending all your inheritance money on shrooms and hookers.

.........

Okay, the analogy may have gone a little bit off track there, but you get the idea. It's a fantastic album, and it comes out November 1st!

[Album Review] Scarewolf - Physics Is Fun EP

Toward the beginning of starting this blog, I wanted to promote a lot of lesser known producers. That would have been a way to show solidarity - as someone who's just starting out, I wanted to help those like me on the other side of the fence. But there has been so much lately going on that it's been hard to find time to do any small producer reviews.

Thankfully, /r/dubstep on reddit helps out tremendously, as producers and fans alike post there quite consistently. Today, I have the pleasure of reviewing Brandon Mains, aka Scarewolf, a 24 year-old from St. Louis, and his Physics Is Fun EP. The EP is also available for FREE DOWNLOAD via his Bandcamp page.




The first impression I got from his tracks was a positive one. Too often drum & bass tracks will lull on until a drop and then repeat the build up, much like a house track would. Scarewolf has fortunately moved past that stage and his tracks have a really good progression to them, almost like mini-mixes in and of themselves.

My favorite track off the EP has to be 'Bad Chemicals.' It's got a solid bass line and progresses with intent - a little high hat before a drop gives the impression of a much more polished track. I'm also a big fan of the grinding synths used during the interlude and the cymbals and high hats during the subsequent breakdown. With a little heavier bass, and maybe a tad faster tempo, it could really get some heads banging at a club, easy.

While 'Loose Cannon' and 'Bad Chemicals' are pretty decent tracks, 'Terminal Velocity' falls a little short. The drums seem erratic and unfocused, especially in the latter half. I love the bouncy synths and the highs, but the drums somewhat distort the progression.

Overall, it's a great EP for an up-and-coming producer. I'm excited to see what Scarewolf has to offer in the future. You can also check out more of his tracks on soundcloud and 'Like' him on Facebook by following the links below.

Facebook  /  Soundcloud  / Bandcamp

[Album Review] Figure - Monsters Vol. 4

Just in time for the Halloween season, Figure finally drops his Monsters Vol. 4. Filled with samples from classic horror flicks like Chucky, Beware! The Blob, and more, the album creates a sense of urgency and horror that is extremely difficult to put into words. But one of the major differences about this installment - the inclusion of two interludes - does a pretty good job.



And then you have one of the singles released for FREE RELEASE on Josh's soundcloud, 'Living Dead.' Right from the beginning, you get the wailing bassline that fans of Figure are all too familiar with along with drumstep breakdowns and wobbling synths.



My personal favorite of the album has got to be 'Are You Afraid of the Dark.' Traversing multiple genres and tempos, the track keeps you terrified and engaged the whole way through. Along with the vocals of Lexi Norton, you get chills as she sings "There's no way to make it out alive" just before a huge bass drop leaving you on your knees, begging for more.



Disclaimer: Fans who have complained in the past that Figure should try out some new synths may be slightly disappointed by this album. Many of his signature synths are still in effect, and one track actually sounds like a VIP of 'Eagle' from his Horns of the Apocalypse release (I'll let you guys figure out which one).

Either way, this album had my jaw dropping more than once at the huge drops and rolling drums. And fortunately, you can stream the whole release on soundcloud right now!

[Album Review] Feed Me - Calamari Tuesday LP

Jon Gooch, a.k.a. Feed Me, has been producing since 2004 and Calamari Tuesday comes as his first full-length album under that moniker. Other releases include EPs, Feed Me's Big Adventure, Escape From Electric Mountain, To The Stars, and Death By Robot (whose title track is featured on Calamari Tuesday).

The album represents a culmination of styles that Gooch has explored over the past three years, as well as taking influence from his faster-paced alias Spor. The album has a terrific flow and rhythm, never finding any boring spots, while still allowing the listener some time to relax and really take in the masterful nature of Gooch's production.

The album doesn't follow any specific genre, but is more recognizable in style to Feed Me than many of the other releases lately. Each track is different and has its own merits while still being, at their core, a Feed Me track.


Regarding the album title, Gooch seemed to somewhat explain it in an interview with DMC -

One of the strangest travel experiences of this year was on a flight to Bermuda. I was seated opposite a woman in business class who was dependent on a constant supply of oxygen and appeared to be older than time itself. I watched her be helped to her seat and fall back into it, exhausted. She stared intensely at me for hour after hour with a cold unwavering gaze, and as I looked back I felt drawn into it, until a desperate feeling took me over and I slipped from consciousness. 

When I woke up she had gone, her seat empty as if she had never been. I rubbed my eyes and asked myself if it was a dream, until a flier fell out my top pocket. On it was a pinup girl, the same woman but younger, and she was holding a sign. I unfolded the paper to reveal what it said - it said 'Moe's Diner'. 

Then we landed and later that night I made up the album title for no reason.

So, Gooch is a bit of a jokester. But his production is no joke. 'Lonely Mountain' off his new album is one of my favorites. Especially that breakdown and down-tempo switch-up about 3:30 into it.



Not a single track on this album left me disappointed and it was certainly more than I ever expected. As for why Calamari Tuesday was released on a Monday?

My album #calamarituesday is being released on a Monday because fuck you.
— Feed Me (@feedme) October 11, 2013

Flux Pavilion - Not at The Observatory, though

This weekend has been a crazy one - finally visited my alma mater UC Santa Barbara to hang out with some friends and got a speeding ticket on my way home Friday night. And as excited as I was, and as bummed as I am now, that I missed Flux Pavilion and Cookie Monsta last night at The Observatory, the world had been giving me signals that it would be a bad idea (not least of all the fact I never actually received my ticket in the mail). So I figured I would do a retrospective on Flux in lieu of attending his show last night.




To be quite honest, I didn't really dig Flux Pavilion's Blow The Roof EP the first time I listened to it. However, missing last night's show got me to listen to it again and it's actually just what I would expect from the arguable master-of-basslines. My favorite track is definitely "I Still Can't Stop." I first heard it played by the man himself at his Bassrush vs. Circus show at the Hollywood Palladium last May and then again by FuntCase at the HOB Sunset. It takes the amazing bassline from the original "I Can't Stop" and re-works it into a more dynamic and versatile club banger. Just like the Internet Friends VIP, this track improves upon the original by a huge margin.

But "I Still Can't Stop" isn't even close to my favorite track of his that has been recently released. Even though it was [just a bit] over a year ago since it was released, "Daydreamer" is one of my all-time favorite tracks by Flux.



Example's vocals are sultry and sweet, and Flux has the musical talent to accentuate it even further. Between the sharp kick-snare pattern and the magical piano arrangement playing behind the scenes, the hard-hitting bassline that just hits your core like a ton of bricks, or the high-pitched synths during the interlude, the song is beautifully mastered, written and executed. And then, my god... the final breakdown. The tempo change is neither needed, nor asked for, and yet he gives it to us. Because Flux is just that awesome.

But my absolute favorite track of his has got to be "Lines In Wax."



Released just as Circus Records was getting off the ground, this collaboration with Foreign Beggars came before all of the controversy over brostep versus dubstep versus whatever else. Making excellent use of empty space, just as like some world-renowned painters, he lets the listener fill in the gaps and lets his skill speak for itself. Foreign Beggars puts forward one of their most memorable rips, "You know we were born to do this thing" and the amount of love this track has gotten supports that.

Now for some actual news about Flux Pavilion, he has recently confirmed on his Twitter that there will be a new EP sometime this month!

New EP out October 2013 -FP
— Flux Pavilion (@Fluxpavilion) September 8, 2013

This honestly makes me even more disappointed that I missed last night's show, because he probably threw down some new tracks from it. And they were probably pretty dope.

Infected Mushroom @ Majestic Ventura Theater

Ventura is different than L.A. in that its coding doesn't permit live music events to go on for as late, so the night started off at just 8 p.m. In addition, the show was all ages, which supplemented the diverse crowd. Although, the turn out was a little disappointing - the venue was at maybe 60% capacity, 75% max. This might have been due to the Thursday date or the Ventura venue, maybe even because the show was with the live band? Hard to accurately tell.

Santa Barbara locals Nekbreakers opened, followed by Dj downNgoinG whose style consisted of some deep, low-end wobbles. However, like many openers I've seen, his set suffered from too little variation; there was no rise and fall to his rhythm which adversely affected the crowd's energy - the bass and drums would kick in and then draw on. In my opinion, there wasn't enough creativity with his mixing. The transitions were seamless, not due to skill, but due to the tracks being so similar that they sounded identical. I would equate it to the "house" of bass music - innocuous in its execution and utterly repetitive.

After downNgoinG left the stage at about 10:30, IM's drummer came on stage with a scantily clad alien-masked woman. With the showmanship unique to drummers, he proceeded to lead-in for big room house tracks with a pair of glow drumsticks - turning blue at each percussive hit of his drum set. I don't think I need to repeat it, but I've said before on here that house, except rarely electro house, just doesn't do it for me - so the big room house really left me underwhelmed and not-at-all warmed up for the intensity that the IM live band brings.

Duvdev and Erez, along with guitarist Thomas Cunningham and drummer Rogério Jardim, finally started their live band set at about 11 p.m. Opening with "Sa'eed" off of Legend of the Black Shawarma, Duvdev's infectious energy immediately got the crowd moving - as a front man, few are better than Duvdev who is almost constantly smiling during all the sets I've seen them play. Playing through their catalog, including "Becoming Insane," "Pink Nightmares," and "U R So Fucked," Infected Mushroom did not let up on the energy even a bit. And of course, their cover of Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" always makes the crowd go nuts. About halfway through the set, guitarist Cunningham took a break as Erez, Duvdev and Jardim stayed up to play some tracks from their most recent releases, the Friends on Mushrooms series - "Bass Nipple," "Savant on Mushrooms," and "Trance Party."

Cunningham soon returned to the stage to finish off the set with some classic tracks from the days of The Gathering and Classical Mushroom as well as "Cities of the Future." Finally, it was time for us to say good night to Infected, but not before they came back on stage for an encore with their classic "Heavyweight" mixed in with a little "Converting Vegetarians."

Infected Mushroom was just recently named the #3 EDM duo by The Untz, only topped by Justice and Daft Punk, who seem to have a monopoly on those two spots for all eternity. Notables that they beat include newcomers Disclosure, veterans Knife Party, and dubstep up-and-comers Adventure Club. This doesn't come as a surprise, seeing as Infected Mushroom have been unleashing their unique brand of genre-defying music for over 15 years.

Chase & Status 'Brand New Machine'

I don't know what I was expecting. From an album titled 'Brand New Machine', I expected the same Chase & Status and that's nowhere close to what they gave.

And honestly, the first listen through, I really didn't care for the album. At all. It sounded way too much like all these featured artists took over creative control and used C&S for their rhythm, drums and synths. Out of 14 tracks, three did not have featured artists - which is actually a better ratio than 'No More Idols', with 15 tracks and two without featured artists.

Then I decided to check out reviews from others - and there are some really mixed reviews.

opening track on Brand New Machine's a killer, goes downhill from there.
— Rick V (@RickVoropayev) October 7, 2013

Brand new machine is good but nothing will ever beat no more idols #chaseandstatus
— megan (@MeganGe) October 7, 2013

@chaseandstatus new album 'brand new machine' is a possible album of the year recommend everyone check it out ! Amazing!
— Caolan Cartin (@itsbassmilk) October 7, 2013

So I decided to give it another shot.

And you know, it's not terrible. There's less drum and bass flavor, and way more down tempo with a very strong hip-hop feel - especially the tracks with Major Lazer and Pusha T. The final track - Alive - still leaves me with a good feeling though, that Chase & Status haven't lost their ability to make quality drum and bass, they've just decided to go in a different direction. And that's something I'm gonna have to deal with.

Overall, less energy and drum 'n' bass do not a bad album make. I'm interested to see how this album plays out during their live shows - whether they can still get a crowd raging or if there will be lighters in the air, people swaying and holding hands.

Kill Paris & Vaski @ Avalon Hollywood

LA-based Corey Baker, aka Kill Paris, makes some of the most beautiful music I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. It's sexy and funky and there's nothing quite like it. I've listened to his debut album 'The Beginning' more times than I care to admit, and his cover of M83's 'Midnight City' is probably one of my favorite tracks ever.

I was fortunate enough to catch him on his 2013 Fall tour coming through L.A. last night at the Avalon.
Others on the line up were Dj Rags, D.O.D., Vaski and Skyler Mendoza.

Kill Paris came on stage at midnight, opening with his unique blend of glitch, funk and hip-hop. His basslines are some of the most unique characteristics to his sound, and on the Avalon's sound system, it sounded so tasty. Playing some classics from 'The Beginning' like Girl, You One of a Kind and a new collab between himself and Sound Remedy, KP kept the crowd moving and grooving until 1:30 when he gracefully bowed out and let Vaski take over the decks.



Vaski is no less unique in the EDM world, using his own brand of high-pitched, highly synthesized wobbles and growls. Often breaking into the realm of electro house, Vaski knows how to keep a room packed even playing well into the morning, finishing his set at just past three a.m. He played some of his own classics as well including the bouncy 'Lost My Mind Electro VIP' as well as his newest remix of Alice DJ's Better Off Alone which got the crowd going crazy.



At the beginning of the night, Dj Rags started off with some moombah, dubstep and house - even threw some French house into the mix - and got the crowd ready for the next one up, D.O.D. Now.... I don't keep it a secret that I hate house, so I'll just say that it wasn't my cup of tea, but everyone else seemed to like it, so there's that.

Next on Kill Paris' fall tour is Celebrities in Vancouver, BC on October 9th. It'd be a real shame to miss it!!