Will’s pick is also dance music from Canada, albeit with a less ambitious agenda…
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[5.80]
Crystal Leww: Deadmau5 in 2014 is sad. I’ve heard this at raves, and it’s sad. I’ve heard remixes of this at raves, and it’s still sad.
[2]
Will Adams: “EDM” is a frustrating concept. It’s either a misnomer (often meant to denote popular festival genres like big room, dubstep, or progressive house; often deployed by people too lazy to learn about the wide range of genres a festival comprises) or a meaningless umbrella (because, when taken literally, “electronic dance music” refers to an overwhelming majority of pop music). As such, there’s been an emerging group of purists — from a trance mainstay like BT to the more underground, progressive-leaning Matt Lange — who have spoken out about how “EDM” is crowding out quality dance music. It’s rockism for the millennial set, though that may be an unfair, reductive metaphor. What might actually be at play is that frustration of “EDM” becoming a catch-all for anything with a pulse. All of which leads to Deadmau5 — one of the more acerbic and unpalatable personalities in this down-with-EDM discourse — releasing the challenging, lengthy while(1<2), which flits between thwacking electro house, spooky industrial pieces, and cinematic piano interludes. “Seeya,” the final track, shines like a light at the end of a long tunnel. It’s a sharp turn from everything that preceded it, with Colleen D’Agostino vamping over an infectious electric bass hook and scarfing bass wobbles. What’s amazing is how it doesn’t quite fit into any category: too slow for most DJ sets (though, luckily for me, its tempo perfectly matches my walking cadence; I strutted around New York to this song all summer), too funky for electro but electrified enough to ward off Daft Punk comparisons, and like most of Deadmau5’s vocal songs, adorned with a mysterious, ominous lyric. “Seeya” seems to be in a class of its own. And, in another divergence from the typical festival banger, the whole track is perfectly mastered; rarely does dance music sound this cleanly mixed. Even in his concession to dancepop, Deadmau5 goes against the grain, offering a vision of the beautiful diversity of genres that can’t possibly be contained by three capital letters.
[9]
Anthony Easton: This is a solid piece of craft, an embedded example of a master working through long-standing traditions with little innovation but much skill. There is a desire to see some higher risk/reward ratio, but enough details stymie that instinct.
[7]
Alfred Soto: Apart from its luxurious sound, a triumph of tempo shifts and instrumental fills. For once it is all about that bass, crowned by Colleen D’Agostino’s perfervid vocal.
[7]
Brad Shoup: A martial disco tune about the power of PLUR to save you from wage slavery and Seasonal Affective Disorder, but the fascinating part is D’Agostino’s unadorned vocal. Unadorned by her, that is — Deadmau5 lets the sandpapery bass graze it at every opportunity. But a day under the covers would be a fantastic alternative to this midtempo bog.
[4]
Thomas Inskeep: A.k.a. “While My Computer Gently Farts.”
[3]
Patrick St. Michel: Imagine “Get Lucky” but slightly more ambitious.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: The bass is “Another One Bites the Dust” as described by someone who heard it from another room 30 years ago and not since. But it’s clumsy, not crisp, and interferes with a really commanding performance from D’Agostino. As a producer, Deadmau5 has really clipped his own songwriting wings here.
[5]
Cédric Le Merrer: Is a bassline that sounds like it’s played by a duck walking keytar player enough to sustain a song for this long, however awesome it is? Probably not, but you can make an awesome 3 minute radio edit by just hitting the pause button at the right time.
[6]
Katherine St Asaph: I’ve already described one track this year as Tieranniesaur fronted by Kylie, and this gets even closer. The bro-est and nerd-est of EDM acts (see also: Skrillex signing Hundred Waters) might secretly have the best taste.
[8]