Welcome to the twelfth edition of Beats & Pieces, our highly personalized offering of current staff favorites. Last week, Cali-native Nick Monge broke down eleven tracks across a broad spectrum of genres. This weeks responsibilities have been handed off to the east coast team in the form of myself, Will Cuccurullo.
Unlike in the Cali scene, winter in New York marks the end of festival season. As such, this edition will feature tracks that capture the seasonal transition. Gone are the cheery sets under the summer sky, replaced with heavy-bass and dark venues. This list features both new and nostalgic tracks that have been getting me through the festival drought.
1. X-Kore - Event Horizon
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/31405402" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="150" iframe="true" /]
X-Kore has caught significant attention in the dubstep scene over the past year. The young producer recently landed a deal with Borgore's label 'Buygore Records'. However, the UK based talent was releasing some of the filthiest tracks on either side of the pond well before getting mainstream attention. My first time hearing 2011's 'Event Horizon' is still very vivid, and for good reason. The track features the perfect combination of melodic bulidups and filthy drops. 'Event Horizion' has found itself on my constant rotation over the course of five long years.
2. Snails - Frogbass
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/229293475" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="150" iframe="true" /]
Continuing on the theme of absolute filth, it'd be impossible to leave out Snails. After vomiting all over the festival circuit in 2015, the Montreal native released volume 3 of his SNAILEDIT! Mix series. Frogbass is easily the highlight of the mix. Snails has created a cult following with his unique brand of dubstep bangers, and shows no signs of slowing down in 2016.
3. Yellow Claw - Catch Me (Ft. Naaz)
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/232813672" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="150" iframe="true" /]
Easily my favorite trap artists out of The Netherlands, Yellow Claw has been turnin' up stages State-side for years. Most of my memories of the trio are actually from summer festivals, so it comes as a bit ironic that the duo's highly anticipated debut album dropped this weekend. 'Catch Me' distinguishes itself with a well-executed combination of their original sound alongside some hardstyle elements. Hardstyle does not get much mainstream exposure in the states, so its nice to see Yellow Claw go back to their roots. Following 'Blood for Mercy's" release, Yellow Claw should be on top of your must see list this coming summer.
4. Yellow Claw (Ft. Pusha T) - Nightmare
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233925532" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="150" iframe="true" /]
Sorry, but it was impossible not to feature two tracks off this album. Nightmare has a little something for everyone. The absolutely fire lyrics from Pusha T are accompanied by an astounding drop. Seriously, just give the whole album a listen.
5. Noisecontrollers - Gimme Apollo
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/212067707" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="150" iframe="true" /]
Mashing up two classics from different genres can be a tricky task; theirs a lot of opportunity to mess up and simultaneously piss off a lot of fans. Thankfully, Noisecountrollers did the impossible by producing a track that's greater than the sum of its parts. Gimme Apollo is a remix of Apollo by Hardwell and Gimme Love by the title artist. Between the angelic vocals and hardstyle kick drum are distorted synths that give the track appeal across the EDM, hardstyle, and dubstep crowd. Good music brings you back to a moment better than the present, which is exactly why this track caps off the list.
