As promised here’s the first single and accompanying video off of Mac Miller‘s debut album Blue Slide Park. This song’s got hard hitting bass like a dubstep song and gets psychedelic halfway through. Way different than shit he’s done before in a good way. His buzz keeps building… I really think he won’t disappoint with the album despite the expectations. Even Donald Trump approves.

The homie’s been telling me about Epic for a minute now, having caught him at the Dunk Exchange opening for Pusha T and recently opening up for Dom Kennedy at the Glasshouse. I just got to listening his latest track “Call It How I See It” yesterday and now I understand the hype. The track’s produced by 23 year old Hit-Boy, the latest addition to G.O.O.D. Music. He’s also the man behind the berserk “Niggas in Paris” off Watch the Throne. This track’s got some dope trumpets blaring in the back while Epic impresses from the get-go. He reminds me of Casey Veggies a little, but more lyrical and with a cleaner flow. And apparently can get a crowd live which is essential for any aspiring rapper. His next project, Third Shift EP comes out September 5th.

“My shoe game like Liu Kang/I spit flame like Wu-Tang”

Epic – Call It How I See It

If you’ve ever had a conversation longer than 5 minutes with any of us at C+A+D, you’ll have somehow found out how we feel about The Twelves. It’s borderline unhealthy how much we’ve listened to their Essential Mix. The Brazilian forerunners of funk are back at it again with a 70 minute double mix for Kitsune Tabloid. Phoenix and Digitalism have both been recruited for Kitsune mixes previously; pretty good company. We always love new material from these dudes and can’t wait for a full length album. Check the tracklist below and scope out the interview we got with them a few months back.

Mix removed by request

A Side:

1. The Twelves – Handshake (dub)
2. Munk – Violent Love (The Twelves Tabloid dub)
3. Zeigeist – Humanitarianism (The Twelves Tabloid mix)
4. Metric – Help I’m Alive (The Twelves Tabloid mix)
5. Two Door Cinema Club – Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Tabloid mix)
6. Black Strobe – Me & Madonna (The Twelves Tabloid mix)
7. French Horn Rebellion vs Database – Beaches & Friends (The Twelves Tabloid mix)

B Side :

8. Ratatat – Wildcat
9. Reverso 68 – Piece Together (Part 1)
10. Sasse feat Kiki – Loosing Touch
11. Chaz Jankel – Without You
12. Spirit Catcher – Rollercoaster
13. Siriusmo – Last Dear
14. Shit Robot – Take ‘Em Up
15. Pol Rax – For You
16. The Paradise – In Love With You
17. The Juan Maclean – The Simple Life
18. Alexander Robotnick – Problèmes d’Amour Demo (Fafa Monteco edit)
19. Daniel Wang – Echo By Midnight
20. Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – Palladium
21. Tommy Seebach – Bubble Sex
22. Zombi – Sapphire
23. Zongamin – Painless
24. Twin Shadow – Shooting Holes

In one swift cunning move Nero has catapulted themselves into electro’s elite. Their long-anticipated debut album, Welcome Reality is nothing short of masterful; 20 tracks interwoven give the listener a complete experience from beginning to end. After becoming a mainstay at the biggest electronic music festivals across the globe, Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray have clearly taken the time and care to produce a quality album; aspiring and established producers alike should take note.

Make sure your hands and feet are inside the vehicle at all times because right from the get go “2808” & “Doomsday” embarks you on an incomprehensible journey through time and space. Those unmistakable dominator synths lead me to expect Doomsday to be a staple for dubstep DJs to get any crowd live as fuck from the first spin. I wouldn’t be surprised if that song was played in London at a listening party for the album and was the root cause of all hell breaking loose. (Too soon, I know, fuck me.).

The two bring vocalist (and Stephen’s wife) Alana Watson along again on “My Eyes” for a slower paced song that utilizes a strong guitar riff behind the filth. Watson’s the voice behind “Me and You,” “Innocence,” “Promises,” and “This Way.” Her wonderful voice gives the tracks a grandiose (I refuse to use the term ‘epic’) feel, one that undoubtedly is very much involved with the commercial appeal Nero has received thus far. She’s also featured on the single “Guilt,” which makes my insides tingle like a 14 year old spotting Skrillex at Cosmic Bowling. I’m sure hearing that being performed live will be nothing short of epic (Goddamnit). After smashing your brains in with bangers, they slow things down a bit about halfway through with “In The Way” and “Scorpion.” The change of pace is kinda like when Trinity gives Neo some clothes and begins to explain what the fuck is going on.

But don’t relax for too long… they jump right back into it with their popular re-work of The Jets’ Crush On You. It’s listed as Crush On You rather than a remix of the original so I’m guessing they got the sampling rights. “Must Be The Feeling” is my favorite and, in my opinion, most unique track on the album. It mixes a disco/dancy/funk sound with the heavy dubstep bass and it’s fucking awesome. I’m really looking forward to any artists that try to mix these two sounds together. “Promises” gets reworked from the version we’ve heard with Skrillex, giving it a more DnB feel. Can’t say I like it better, but it’s its own entity. You’ll notice “Angst” as the intro to their Essential Mix, the edit of Justice’s “Stress.”

The most impressive part of this project is the overall cinematic feel to it. All the songs lead into the next the way a hip-hop mixtape does which makes it great to listen to in one sitting. Songs like “New Life” make me feel ‘like someone slipped some LSD in my lemonade’ (SG). I stand by my claim that many electronic artists have perfected their sounds to a point of cinematic effect. The Chemical Brothers & Daft Punk have had the pleasure of using their star appeal to dive into the movie realm, and there are a handful of other artists that really possess the ability to compose a masterful movie score that could turn an average movie into a really good one (and attract loads of more viewers). I think it’s time for new age musicals, the visual depiction of the images our ears provide our brains. Imagine special FX choreographed to the sounds… they might have to start checking for drugs at theaters.

Nero’s previous releases and singles have been C+A+D favorites for a while now; for me it began with their Essential Mix and was cemented with multiple jaw-dropping live performances. I’m glad they’ve taken their previous hits and re-worked, organized, and mixed it in with new tracks and the overall feel of the album. The result is a detailed compilation of their work thus far. They’ve set the bar high for full-length bass albums. Purchase it here!

+jangbar

Tracklist

1. 2808
2. Doomsday
3. My Eyes
4. Guilt
5. Fugue State
6. Me and You
7. Innocence
8. In the Way
9. Scorpions
10. Crush
11. Must Be the Feeling
12. Reaching Out
13. Promises
14. Departure
15. Angst (Deluxe)
16. Welcome Reality VIP (Deluxe)
17. This Way (Deluxe)
18. New Life (Deluxe)
19. Choices (Deluxe)
20. Symphony 2808 (Deluxe)

Here’s the second drop off Pusha T‘s Fear of God 2: Let Us Pray EP and let’s just say he’s 2/2 w/ bangers. Look out for the EP next Tuesday, August 23rd.

Pusha T – Amen ft. Kanye West & Young Jeezy

Fear of God 2: Let Us Pray Tracklist

1.) Changing Of The Guards (Feat. Diddy)
2.) Amen (Feat. Kanye West & Jeezy)
3.) Trouble On My Mind (Feat. Tyler, The Creator)
4.) What Dreams Are Made Of
5.) O There It Is
6.) Feeling Myself (Feat. Kevin Cossom)
7.) Raid (Feat. 50 Cent & Pharrell)
8.) My God
9.) I Still Wanna (Feat. Rick Ross & Ab Liva)

C+A+D favorite Kids at the Bar & their Killpop labelmate Crizzly just dropped this dubstep track on Friday, and after a couple takes I can’t say I’m not impressed. A step different from what we’ve come to expect from KATB but really liking what they and Crizzly did with it. Check out the YOLO Mention on KATB and keep an eye out for more grime from Crizzly.

Kids At the Bar & Crizzly – Like Dat

New dub banger from Rusko. It’s just the radio rip from BBC for now so I apologize in advance for their obnoxioussness. ‘BASS IN YO FACE!’ Still a nice taste of what’s to come, I think Rusko fans will like this one better than his poppier releases of late. Check it out!