The Glitch Mob were featured on Carson Daily this week.  Having known the Mob for a while now, it was a proud moment for me and the bass music scene that I’ve come to know and love.  The always handle themselves with pure class and continually push back the fame and glory to their fans and stay focused on the joys of being creative and being excellent at everything they do.  Their story of helping a paralyzed man to walk again, literally brought tears to my eyes.  Wow. I can’t imagine a better feeling than giving inspiration to others through music.

This week, The Glitch Mob took a break from the recording of their sophomore LP to spend time catching up with Carson Daly, who found this story to be an elevating tale of triumph over hardship. At their home away from home, The Airliner (The Venue for Low End Theory), The Glitch Mob discuss the creation of their music, the special relationship they have with their fans, playing live, and how their music helped to heal a man named Grant Korgan.

As derived from LA Weekly:  Two years ago, Grant Korgan was in a terrible snowmobile accident and his doctors told him he’d never walk again. However, Korgan rejected that prognosis.

Korgan’s rehabilitation was immediate, intense, and fueled by The Glitch Mob. Before the accident, The Glitch Mob’s music had enhanced his marathon kayaking and snowmobile treks. After, their compositions gained a profound resonance, particularly after one of Korgan’s close friends wrote the group about his situation. When he returned home from the hospital, there was a care package of signed Glitch Mob gear, which served as a constant companion during his recovery.

“Music feeds the fire, fuels the foot and gets the legs jumping. Our generation has been given the gift to have powerful motivating music in our ears at all times.”

- Grant Korgan

“We were so humbled when he told us our music helped him get through therapy and overcome a tremendous life challenge. There’s no way to describe the feeling you get when you realize that your music has helped make a real difference in someone’s life.”

- The Glitch Mob

Check out the pictures I took at Lollapalooza this year.  Some great ones of the Mob, Pretty Lights and Deadmau5.  The mud party was pretty insane too.

Zoe Jakes of Beats Antique

Beats Antique are one of my favorite live performances. Their work is extremely visual and they always have such perfect imagery to go with their albums and videos. Their latest “Cat Skillz” is no different.

Download the track here:

Catch Beats Antique live this summer at Symbiosis Gathering, Wakarusa, Desert Rocks Music Festival, Wanderlust, Electric Forest, Counterpoint Festival and get your tickets to our upcoming show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Thievery Corporation.

Check the interview myself and my Roxwel homies did at Lolla 2011. It includes Beats Antique, The Glitch Mob and a slew of other artists spinning the RoxWheel. Look for me as the “Prize Boy”.

Paper Diamond dropped a new album titled “Wavesight”. He is crazy productive and seems to push an EP or album every six months. Gotta respect his work ethic.

Download the album here.

“Paper Diamond’s sound has the capacity to make a packed dancefloor vibe as one.”

- Huffington Post

“Alex Botwin… is an all out gunslinger when it comes to unloading clock stopping soundscapes from his massive collection of fully loaded, bass filled double barrels. On Wavesight… Botwin takes a gigantic leap in his ongoing quest for world domination with a set of limitless tunes that are hotter than the inside of an active volcano. Wavesight is a speaker surging release that will move any crowd immersed in its contagious sound waves and delicious bursts.”
- The Untz

“Paper Diamond excels at setting a sonic atmosphere through the way he sculpts his songs alone. Wavesight is sexy without being explicit, heavy without dragging down the sound, and unified in sound without any one song sounding like a carbon of another.”
- Salacious Sound

“Paper Diamond is continuing his rise to glory with the release of his newest EP, Wavesight.”
- Less Than 3

“Can We Go Up” offers a choppy dance anthem, complete with Hoover synths and electonic strings, but rearranged for a hyper dance floor.”

- Interview Magazine

“‘Can We Go Up’ combines a lively electro-dubstep sound with a youthfil spirit that makes me want to jump on tables and start dancing… And as I’m dancing and singing along to this song, I feel as if eternal youth is not just a far fetched myth, but a reality.”
- Into The AM

Paper Diamond is also continuing his progression across the great expanse of America, taking his beats through Spring and into Summer. What’s especially been turning heads is his use of an iPad during his performances.

Paper Diamond will be stopping by Las Vegas, Baltimore, and many others in between. He will also be making appearences at several major festivals, including Wakarusa Music Festival, Electric Forest, Lollapalooza and Electric Zoo.

REMAINING SPRING AND SUMMER TOUR DATES

5/15 – Las Vegas, NV @ Ghost Bar
5/17 – 5/22 Pyramid Lake, NV @ Symbiosis Gathering
5/17 – 5/19 Gulf Shores, AL @ The Hangout Festival
5/31 – 6/3 – Ozark, AR @ Wakarusa Music Festival
6/9 – Baltimore, MD @ Starscape Festival
6/28 – 7/1 – Rothbury, MI @ Electric Forest
7/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Global Dance Festival
7/27 – 7/29 – White River, OR @ What The Festival?!
8/3 – 8/5 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
8/9 – 8/11 – Beech Mountain, NC
9/2 – New York, NY @ Electric Zoo
9/28 – 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Counterpoint Festival

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dennis several times.  Most recently is a funny story that is worth sharing.  I was stage managing at Nocturnal Wonderland at Apache Pass, Texas.  Aarab Muzik went on for his 50 minute set and was absolutely destroying the place.  Gramatik and host of other big name artists were back stage to watch the madness.  Emalkay was set to go on after Aarab played.  With 10 minutes left in Aarab’s set,  I ask his manager, how much more material does he have which he responds, another 10 minutes.  5 minutes later, he smashes his last APC pad and just walks off stage.  Complete silence.  Now, whatever, big deal, some silence but after a few minutes, Emalkay is no where to be found.  I pull out my USB drive, stick it in a CDJ-2k and drop a Gramatik track of his new album “#digitalfreedom“. Needless to say the crowd was into and Dennis came over and said thanks. Classy dude with amazing tunes.

His latest album, “#digitalfreedom” is a heavier, more dubstep influenced album. The tracks span the BPM range from 70-110 for a nice diverse tempo range.

“My new EP bares the title #digitalfreedom. As an artist that based his entire career on the platform of free file sharing, I’m dedicating it to the fight against severe internet censorship bills we’ve been hearing about so much in the past months. Bastards have been trying to cripple the internet on a global scale with bills like ACTA/SOPA/PIPA and I’m sure there’s more of them coming, so this one goes out for spreading awareness! Reject them all, they will never stop the sharing, the Internet is our realm, DIGITAL FREEDOM!”

Download the album here.

Check out the Gramatik’s recent video for his track “Solidified” which is the flip to his older track “Liquidfied”.

I’m a big fan of DJ Tech Tools.com.  They have some of the best reviews and info on the latest and greatest DJ gear.  Their new Midi Fighter 3D is out of this world.  I’m planning to purchase one and incorporate it into my Ableton Live sets.

They recently held a contest to win a Midi Fighter 3D and the winner is in the video below.

I just used the Novation Launchpad in “user 1″ mode to control Ableton Live running Mad Zach’s drumrack. I stretched or piched some of the original samples so they could match the track’s key, that’s it… no other samples, no other fx… and as you can see everything is played live!

Check out the dope promo video of the Midi Fighter 3D.

New track from Pretty Lights, it has certainly been a minute (or at least it felt like it has!). Maybe it’s my blatant PLM fanboyism showing, but I loved this track, felt like it was a great return to a more classic PL sound after “I Know The Truth”. As always, up for download, so enjoy it and show some love!

Check out my pics from his set at Lollapalooza.

New mix from The Glitch Mob. Some oldies, but some goodies and some unreleased tunes as well. Thanks guys!

Download – The Glitch Mob — More Voltage

Tracklist:

1. Daft Punk – Derezzed (The Glitch Mob Remix)
2. edIT – More Lazers
3. Nasty Ways* – Pass Me The Lazer Beam
4. Boreta – What Time It Is
5. edIT – Certified Air Raid Material (Ooah Remix)
6. EPROM – 64 Bytes (Boreta Remix)
7. edIT – Gangsta Shit
8. Ooah – Crunk Down Where Ya At
9. The Glitch Mob – Warrior Concerto
10. Mochipet – Rambunktion (Boreta Remix Instrumental)
11. edIT – Pound 4 Pound
12. edIT – The Huntress
13. The Glitch Mob – We Can Make The World Stop
14. The Glitch Mob – Black Aura feat. Theophilus London
15. Linkin Park – Waiting For The End (The Glitch Mob Remix)
16. The Glitch Mob – Palace Of The Innocents
17. Ooah – Beginning
18. edIT – Topaz Violence
19. Ooah – Time Warp
20. TV On The Radio – Red Dress (The Glitch Mob Remix)
21. Machinedrum – Let It featuring Melo-X (edIT Remix)
22. Haiku D’Etat – Mike, Aaron, and Eddie (Boreta Remix)
23. Nosaj Thing – Coat Of Arms (Boreta Remix)
24. Krazy Baldhead – The 4th Movement (The Glitch Mob Remix)
25. STS9 – Beyond Right Now (The Glitch Mob Remix)
26. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix)
27. Ooah – While You’re Away I Wait, To Crumble In Your Arms

* Nasty Ways is Boreta & EPROM

For the last 4 months, I’ve been quietly creating my newest project. That project is the acculmanation of everything I’ve learned in the last 12 years of working in the electronic music industry. Gravitas Recordings aims to fill a void in both the local and national scene by giving producers, djs, promoters, visual artists, dancers, and whoever else sees a way to contribute a platform to do what they love and do it well.

So far, we have created a new stage design, released an EP for Cryptex, created a compilation of tunes from everyone on the label and started a new monthly, Unified at Loft 718 in Austin, Tx. The energy has been amazing and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. So far, we’ve been given support by The Glitch Mob, Ill-Esha, Stephan Jacobs, Psymbionic, and Afromonk.

Cryptex - Isolated Incidents - Oct 11th

Gravitas Presents... Unified at Loft 718

I’m going to be working on a new mix this week so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, check out these freshies:

Gramatik’s new album – Beatz & Pieces Vol.1:

Download here.

Bassnectar’s remix of Ellie Gouldings – Lights:

Ellie Goulding – Lights (Bassnectar Remix)
Download Music Video Code at www.blastro.com

My pictures from The Glitch Mob @ La Zona Rosa:

See the whole gallery here.

Check out these two videos of Matt Shadetek talking about the Creative Process. I especially like the parts about artists having a conversation with their audience. If you create a track or piece and it’s not well received, the best thing to do is to get back on the horse and keep going. Don’t let that be your last word.

Matt is a dj, producer, label boss and teacher at Dubspot.com. Check out his label Durty Artz for more.