Artists similar to Ludovico Einaudi: George Winston, Yiruma, Philip Wesley
Ludovico Einaudi – Divenire
Ludovico Einaudi – Nightbook
Ludovico Einaudi – Nuvole Bianche
Below is a video of Ludovico Einaudi performing ‘Divenire” live @ Royal Albert Hall in London
Text content for this post coming soon!
Artists similar to RJD2: Ratatat, Wax Taylor, The Xx
RJD2 – Smoke & Mirrors
RJD2 – 1976
RJD2 – Ghostwriter
Rjd2′s music is a collage of cut-and-paste hip-hop production that combines disparate elements to make for soulful, moody portraits of the world. RJD2 (born Ramble John “RJ” Krohn on May 27, 1976) is an American music producer, singer and musician. His sound is comprised of east coast hip-hop roots fused with funk and rock influences. RJD2 was born in Eugene, Oregon, and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He currently resides in Philadelphia. He was signed to the Definitive Jux label where he released two largely instrumental hip hop albums and has produced tracks for many prominent rappers. However, he has now left Def Jux and has signed with XL Recordings. His 2007 album, The Third Hand, is a striking departure from his usual style and features RJD2 singing and playing instruments on nearly every track.
RJD2 originally began his career in Columbus, Ohio, DJing in 1993 with a pair of turntables bought from a friend. He went to high school at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, where his mother taught dance, and graduated in 1994. He claims his name originates from another friend who referred to him as “Rjd2″ in his raps, and the name stuck. Originally working the role of DJ in the Columbus rap group MHz, he later signed to Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ‘Em label, releasing the self-proclaimed “mix CD” Your Face or Your Kneecaps. A year later he signed to El-P’s record label Definitive Jux and released his solo debut album Deadringer to much acclaim. Rjd2 later collaborated with Columbus rapper Blueprint under the name Soul Position, releasing Unlimited EP in 2002 and 8 Million Stories in 2003. He released his second solo album Since We Last Spoke on Definitive Jux in 2004 and released Soul Position’s second album Things Go Better with RJ and AL in 2006 under Rhymesayers Entertainment label. He still continues to produce tracks, working with many independent rappers, such as Copywrite, Cunninlynguists, Cage, DOOM, Diverse and Aceyalone. He contributed a cover of “Airbag” by Radiohead for the 2006 album “Exit Music”. 2006 also saw the release of the collaborative record “Magnificent City” with Aceyalone. In 2007, he released the solo album The Third Hand on XL Recordings, which he toured for extensively in ’07 and ’08.
In 2009, RJD2 established his own label, RJ’s Electrical Connections, and reissued Your Face Or Your Knee Caps, The Horror, and Since We Last Spoke as well as a box set entitled “2002-2010”. RJD2’s new full length The Colossus was released on January 19, 2010 on his own label, which is distributed by The Orchard. On January 7, 2010 a music video for “Let There Be Horns” premiered on Pitchfork followed by a video for “A Spaceship For Now” on March 3, 2010, directed by Michael Ebner, via SPIN Magazine. In 2010, RJD2 remixed indie rockers Yo La Tengo’s single, Here To Fall for the Here To Fall Remixes EP which included remixes by De La Soul and Pete Rock.
Artists similar to Big Gigantic: STS9, Paper Diamond, Opiuo
Big Gigantic – Fantastic
Big Gigantic – Stronger
Big Gigantic – Rise and Shine
Are you ready to get funked up with Big Gigantic’s groovy-electro sound? Big Gigantic mixes electronic roots with funk, jazz and dubstep influences. Big Gigantic is an instrumental electronic group based out of Boulder, Colorado consisting of Dominic Lalli (saxophone) and Jeremy Salken (drums). Both members have extensive backgrounds in music, and Lalli holds a Master’s Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Big Gigantic is known for their high energy performances including live saxophone and drums instrumentation. The group’s dynamic visuals at their lightshows are a prominent part of the live Big Gigantic experience.
From playing at small venues around Colorado, to instantaneously headlining shows throughout the country and hitting major festivals, Big Gigantic showcases an amplified array of compositions that combine elements of DJ production and a live band that leaves fans from coast to coast in awe. hey have played at a wide-range of large-scale music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Ultra Music Festival, All Good Music Festival, Electric Forest Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival, Snowball Music Festival, and Global Dance Festival, and many others. Big Gigantic has opened up for groups like Pretty Lights and Bassnectar.
Big Gigantic is among one of the few groups that releases their music for free downloads on their website. Their most recent album “Nocturnal” is also available for full download on their website as well. In a TheKollection.com interview the group stated:
“We like having our music accessible to everybody, no matter how they get their music – torrents, iTunes, blogs, whatever. We want it there for people.” -Big Gigantic
Lalli has a Masters degree in saxophone jazz performance and has been making music for nearly 15 years. The duo used to live together and would do jazz and funk gigs around town in Colorado. After a little dabbling into music production software on the computer, they started making beats together blending electronic music with live sax and drum instrumentals.
They have been refining their sound into a genuinely unique fusion of saxophone melodies, acoustic drums and bass-heavy electronic music production. Their newest album, Nocturnal was released in January 2012. Their style cannot be classified into a single genre, but an exceptional variety of glitch, dubstep, drum & bass, and jazz that combines to form the essence of a funky groove.
Artists similar to Minnesota: Bassnectar, Digital Rust, J-Walk
Minnesota – Push It
Minnesota – Breathe
Minnesota – California Dreamin’
Minnesota has gained popularity while pushing the boundaries in both drumstep and glitch production and I am not talking about the state! Minnesota, also known as Christian Bauhofer, is one of the Northern California’s most up and coming DJ/Producers. His progressive sound blends dubstep roots with glitch-hop, trance and house influences. Minnesota is known for dropping heavy bass over carefully constructed tracks that focus on modal harmonies, chordal patterning and rhythmic synth riffs. Bauhofer looks like any other student but when the sun goes down his alter ego turns into DJ Minnesota at night into the morning hours.
In the past two years his producing has taken off, with both originals and remixes gaining great popularity on sites like Soundcloud.com. In Minnesota productions, big influences show through from songwriters Bauhofer looks up to — artists such as Mimosa, Martyparty, and Modeselektor. His first EP “Panda Snatching Tycoon” was released to great acclaim in January 2011 on Tycho Records, featuring three original tracks: “Push It,” “Purple Daze,” and “Twisted.” He has had the opportunity to perform alongside Datsik, Excision, 12th Planet and Lazer Sword. He explains in a press release,
“My goal is to make bass heavy dubstep/glitch hop music that’ll get you dancing, but it is not the same old three note transformer step, I try to focus more on the melodic side of dubstep, and hopefully, make quality songwriting a more relevant factor in the genre.” -Minnesota
Minnesota tracks are heard in dubstep/glitch sets all over the world, including those from DJs Reid Speed, Marty Party, Blackheart, and Rastatronics, to name a few. His latest and greatest remix of “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas & the Papas has been getting tons of play — most notably by dubstep trailblazer Bassnectar a.k.a. Lorin Ashton, on his current U.S. tour.
Minnesota’s career goals came further to fruition when he was signed under Madison House Inc. in November of last year. With the support of Madison House Inc. and Vital Management behind him, Minnesota’s career has certainly been propelled to great heights in a short period of time. In terms of production, Minnesota’s tracks represent major influence from song writers that have gained his admiration. Other artists such as Mimosa, Martyparty, Modeselector, have truly had an impact on his production and success. Yet, it is impossible to undermine the value of some of his personal favorite artists such as Bassnectar and PANTyRAID throwing his tracks down during their sets.
This hidden musical gem will soon be a rising star that will be getting the attention he deserves. Minnesota has put his college life on pause as he is taking a break from UC Santa Cruz this spring to focus strictly on music. With multiple EPs coming out on MalLabel and Simplify records in the next few months, fans will be excited to hear some more of Minnesota’s signature bass-driven sound.
Artists similar to Nightmares on Wax: Groove Armada, Massive Attack, Wax Taylor
Nightmares on Wax – Passion
Nightmares on Wax – Stars
Nightmares on Wax – Pipes Honour
If you throw a little bit of acid jazz, funk and soul into a musical blender, the result is a rejuvenating chillout mix from Nightmares on Wax. This sound features downtempo roots with funk, soul and jazz influences. The name Nightmares on Wax is an acronym for NoW, as the music has been described as “the sound of N.O.W.” to exhibit pure honesty and artistic freedom.
Nightmares on Wax consists of a English based DJ, George Evelyn, also known as DJ EASE (Experimental Sample Expert). Evelyn got his start in the music industry through an interest in hip hop and on joining a local breakdancing crew. George Evelyn currently resides in Leeds, UK while he became one of the brightest spots on the post-rave British techno map since the early ’90s. Nightmares on Wax formed in the late ’80s in West Yorkshire as an extension of Evelyn and company’s b-boy crew the Soul City Rockers, NoW’s first singles, “Dextrous” and “Aftermath,” were both highly regarded as the latter shot into the U.K. pop singles Top 40. The singles laid down a good deal of the groundwork and inspiration for the downtempo experimental hip-hop/electro-funk artists in the following years.
After Nightmares on Wax dissapeared on a four-year hiatus, Evelyn resurfaced with a track on the Mo’ Wax Headz compilation and Smoker’s Delight basically an instrumental hip-hop album with a distinctively electro downtempo eclecticism. Evelyn stated in a press release,
“Soul music is the earliest form of hip hop. That’s why I want to create it. It might seem like recreating what was done in the past, but what I want to do is merge soul and hip hop together. That’s why I’ll bring in the live aspect of what happened back then into current hip hop trends. That’s the angle I’m arriving at.” -Nightmares on Wax
Nightmares on Wax produced the first new track by De La Soul in several years, included on an EP (Sound of N.O.W) featuring the rap pioneers. Following not far behind was a volume in the Studio !K7 mix series. Two years later, Evelyn delivered his fourth LP, Mind Elevation. A longer gap preceded the release of his next proper LP for Warp. The Though So album was released as the final album for Warp in 2008. Although Nightmares on Wax created a sound that is not easily classifiable, the distinct chillout sound is what makes this artist a true expert in the musical craft.
(Artists similar to Coyote Kisses: Big Gigantic, Ronald Jenkees, Flying Lotus)
Coyote Kisses – St★rchaser
Star Wars – Binary Suns (Coyote Kisses Remix)
Coyote Kisses – Acid Wolfpack
Who needs coffee to wake up in the morning when you have the energizing sound of Coyote Kisses to liven you up a bit?! Coyote Kisses mixes funky glitchstep roots with trance, glitch-hop and house influences. They use a variety of synth sounds mixed with epic drops and structured soundscapes to create an astro-funk feel to their music. This adventurous glitchstep group will be pioneering their way onto the main stages of festivals in no time.
Coyote Kisses is comprised of two college students, Bryce Bresnan and Joseph Sussingham, both originating from the city of Lakeland, Florida. The duo formed during the summer of 2008 and Coyote Kisses began as an electro-pop project. The project exclusively combined vocals of the two artists with electronic audio hardware, piano and guitar to create a live-performance based band. As the summer came to an end, Coyote Kisses was put on pause, as both members headed off to separate universities to pursue their academic interests (Bryce- New College of Florida, Joe- Washington and Lee University, VA).
From the group’s sporadic communication over the years apart, Coyote Kisses decided to switch gears and start focusing on composing dance music in 2010. Investing in music software technology, the group’s music was reborn into its current astro-funk glitchstep sound. While their earlier compositions genre jump through several different dance categories. Lately, the two have been producing harder and heavier tracks. Utilizing structured rhythmic techniques inspired from several glitch hop and dub step influences, Coyote Kisses has started producing what they see as the reconciliation of the two. While the music itself is difficult to categorize specifically, many have given it an aptly named pseudo-label: “glitch-step”. The group said in a buzzndeezbeats.com interview:
“As for the future, we are both very excited about it. We are both full time students at very demanding universities , so during the school year we can only make music in our spare time. However, we will continue to do what we’ve always done. Set our goals sky high and never look back. -Coyote Kisses
The Acid Wolfpack EP was Coyote Kisses first release. It has three tracks on it: “Acid Wolfpack”, “Galactic Love Song”, and a remix of “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye that was released for free on the same day the EP went out under Burn The Fire Records. The EP hit #6 of the Beatport top 100 Releases, while individual tracks got some awards for themselves as well. “Acid Wolfpack” hit #2 in the Dubstep top 100 tracks and then got moved over by Beatport to Glitch-Hop where it hit #1. “Galactic Love Song” broke the top 10 in Nu Disco.
Coyote Kisses has big plans for the near future as they have a few shows lined up for the next few months. The group plans for their first tour this summer in 60 different cities. Unfortunately, both members are full time college students at the moment and it is difficult to manage their time. It’s tough enough to get spare time to work on music, let alone multiple weekends to spend out of town while attempting to concentrate on academic interests. Nevertheless, Coyote Kisses never seems to disappoint their fans.
(Artists similar to Gramatik: RJD2, Sound Providers, Pete Rock)
Gramatik – Itz Over
Gramatik – DreamBIG
Gramatik – Adriatic Summer Nights
Kick back and relish in the solace of immaculately produced hip-hop beats and instrumentals made by Gramatik. His delightful musical style blends hip-hop roots with jazz, soul and blues influences. Gramatik’s ability to apply a hypnotic groove with layers of vocal samples, sounds, references, and metaphors has continued to fascinate those who have stumbled across his music. He is distinguished in his effort of using chordal patterning and tonal harmonies to create a clean and cohesive sound.
Denis Jasarevic, better known as Gramatik, is a hip-hop producer from Slovenia who is currently signed with the Pretty Lights Music record label. This Slovenian producer was heavily influenced by American music early in his childhood, absorbing anything from funk and jazz to soul and blues. When Gramatik was in the 2nd grade, he started taking piano lessons at his elementary school. He later received private piano lessons which opened his eyes to learn to play music like the Beatles and rhythm and blues in general. In the 4th grade, he formed a band with a few of his classmates and became the youngest band in the history of his elementary school while playing school events regularly.
As soon as Gramatik reached high school, the discovery of hip-hop music had taken over and he was compelled by the power of the rhythmically accented poetry. He studied the ways of an MC and started writing his own rhymes while his friends were amazed by his flow and delivery since there were no hip-hop artists in his home town of Piran, Slovenia. Throughout the years producing beats day by day he felt more compelled by the craft and magic of music production. It wasn’t long until he discovered a niche in sound and voice sampling which became his true love in the music making process, chopping up all those old funk, soul, blues and jazz tracks he used to listen to when he was younger.
Gramatik’s Beatz & Pieces Vol. 1 (album available for free download on Pretty Lights Music) is his first release on PML record label and builds on the mellow vibes created from his last release No Shortcuts and the Street Bangerz mix-tape series. Gramatik explains on the PLM website,
“The Beatz & Pieces series comes as a successor to the popular Street Bangerz series which was my first work as a producer. They are still raw, sample based beats, but with evolved arrangements and wrapped in a fine layer of live instrumentation. The reason I started adding live instruments is because I felt that classic hip-hop beats without vocals lose me after two minutes. I want to keep the listener through the whole track!” – Gramatik
Gramatik, Break Science, and Paul Basic are currently touring together and making their way to venues across the United States. Gramatik will be starting his tour off on (3/23) this week in the Tampa Bay area (My boyfriend and I are SO excited to see him live!!! 
)
(Artists similar to The Glitch Mob: Deadmau5, The Xx, Daft Punk)
The Glitch Mob – A Dream Within a Dream
The Glitch Mob – Fortune Days
If you have robot ears or just want to get a little glitched out, The Glitch Mob may have what you’ve been looking for. The Glitch Mob is notorious for their bass-driven electro rhythms mixed with addictive drum beats. This dynamic sound embraces glitch-hop roots that blends electronic, dubstep and downtempo influences. For the past several years, The Glitch Mob has devoloped a solid fan base through showcasing their sound and technology during performance solos using laptops and MIDI controllers at various music festivals worldwide.
The Glitch Mob is comprised of a three-man electronic group including Ed Ma (edIT), Justin Boreta (Boreta) and Josh Mayer (Ooah). After the three DJs discovered that they were all loosely affiliated with each other when performing at the same venues, the trio began their musical partnership by DJing back-to-back in a tag team style while performing their sets in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The group formed in 2006 and eventually started touring from the West Coast to the East Coast, later gaining popularity around the globe. The group’s debut album titled ‘Drink The Sea’, debuted on the iTunes Electronic Chart at number five and peaked on the CMJ top 200 Chart for College Radio at #57. As a result of the successful album’s debut, the Electronic Musician magazine ran a cover story on The Glitch Mob. The group stated in a electronicbeats.net interview:
“We try to play electronic music with an energy like a rock band. So we just go crazy and have fun. The more fun the people have, the more fun we have.” – The Glitch Mob
Glitch sounds are often produced on computers using modern digital production software to splice together music samples from previously recorded works. These cuts are then integrated with the signature of glitch music in which the beats can be made up of glitches, clicks, skips and scratches. These glitch clips combined with digital synthesizers used by The Glitch Mob are usually very short, and are typically used in unison with traditional percussion. Skipping CDs, scratched vinyl records, circuit bending, and other sound distortions are prominently involved in the creation of rhythm and feeling of glitch.
The Glitch Mob has been able to incorporate technology into every step of their creative process successfully. The group’s upbeat energy has continued to shake up dance floors with a sound that transcends into the emotion of the listeners.
Below is a video released by The Glitch Mob, honoring the harmony of vision and sound by projecting a light-show on the side of a building.
Resources:
(Artists similar to Mr. Scruff: Quantic, Wax Taylor, Jazzanova)
Mr. Scruff – It’s Dancing Time
Mr. Scruff – Get on Down
Mr. Scruff is far from your ordinary DJ as he owns a tea brewing company, draws his own comics and animations while continuing to create music for over a decade. The playful break-beat rhythms of Mr. Scruff’s sound has attracted the buzz of DJs and critics alike. Mr. Scruff features subtle vocal samples thrown over repetitive loops and mixes acid jazz roots with funk, soul and triphop influences. He is known for his marathon style of DJ sets that often exceed more than six hours of play time. Occasionally, he uses cut up recordings of voice-over children’s stories and nature documentaries to create surreal and silly stories in his tracks. Mr. Scruff is an avid record collector and his DJ sets reflect on this as he includes everything from the ’60s and ’70s soulful jazz and funk, scratchy old reggae clips, classic hip-hop beats, vocal pop and electro.
Mr. Scruff is the recording name of Andy Carthy, a British DJ and artist that has been in the music scene since 1994. His DJ name was inspired by his scruffy facial hair, as well as his trademark loose-lined drawing style. Mr. Scruff’s album covers, music videos and merchandise on his official website are noted for his signature cartoon style. All the cartoons are drawn by Scruff himself and he labels the style of his drawings as “potato style”. The images and animations created by Scruff are projected on a large screen during his live shows. He said in an interview with BBC,
“It’s about putting a lot of effort in and paying attention to detail. I get annoyed if I don’t take risks. I’m very hard on myself.” -Mr. Scruff
Mr. Scruff’s love for a “nice cup of tea” has grown into his own tea brewing business. He began selling tea from a small Manchester club called ‘The Music Box’, where he was resident DJ and gave the proceeds to charity. When Mr. Scruff started touring, he took the tea enterprise with him and gained a reputation for being the DJ with the teashop. When performing at festivals, such as ‘Big Chill’, he opened tea stalls and tents that were open for the duration of the music festivals. After realizing the amount of tea he was selling, he started an online tea company, ‘Make Us a Brew‘, and produces his own Mr. Scruff variety of tea bags.
There are four different organic bundles of tea offered on his website that include:
Below is a music video created by Mr. Scruff for his popular song 'Get a Move On' that has been featured in several commercials with Lincoln, Volvo and GEICO.
Resources:
(Artists similar to Thievery Corporation: Sofa Surfers, Dub Syndicate, Noiseshaper)
Thievery Corporation – Blasting Through the City
Thievery Corporation – The Outernationalist
Thievery Corporation – Liberation Front
Break out the incense, simmer down and explore the chillout-lounge aesthetic created by Thievery Corporation. Thievery Corporation’s sound is comprised of mixing reggae-dub roots with electronic, jazz and bossa nova influences. The unsyncopated ensemble rhythms are layered over the sparkling clean sound of the reggae guitar, lead bassline, dreamy synth effects and horn sections. Thievery Corporation is known for their international style of music production that includes sounds and vocals from around the world. The international style of Thievery Corporation blends the global sounds with elements of conscious lyrics and vocal samples.
Thievery Corporation is a Washington D.C. based DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. The group was formed in 1995 at Washington D.C.’s Eighteenth Street Lounge. Rob Garza and the lounge co-owner Eric Hilton created Thievery Corporation with the inspirations of their mutual love for club life as well as dub, bossa nova and jazz records. They both decided to take a shot at mixing all these styles in a recording studio. Surprised by the chill-lounge sound of their music production, Thievery Corporation and their Eighteenth Street Louge Music record label was formed.
Thievery Corporation has taken progressive political stances on various issues opposing war and exploitative trade agreements, while supporting human rights and food programs. The album titled, ‘Richest Man in Babylon’ reveals the group’s opposition to the positions and initiatives of the former president George W. Bush’s administration. They followed Babylon with 2005’s The Cosmic Game, which featured politically minded collaborations with Perry Farrell, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, and David Byrne. In September of 2005, Thievery Corporation participated in the Operation Ceasefire concert, with the objective of increasing awareness to the devastation caused by the Iraq War.
In 2008, Thievery Corporation made awareness of the people’s resistance movements around the world with their album, ‘Radio Retaliation’ — setting an open mind type of approach with diverse sounds from Jamaica, Latin America, Asia, and The Middle East. Radio Retaliation, which questioned the profit-driven mentality of corporate media, earned Thievery Corporation a Grammy Award nomination for Best Recording Packaging. From their press release regarding their album Radio Retaliation, Garza said:
“Radio Retaliation is definitely a more overt political statement. It’s hard to close your eyes and sleep while the world is burning around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak up.” -Thievery Corporation
Following ‘Radio Retaliation’, Thievery Corporation has released a sixth studio album in 2011, ‘Culture of Fear’ — a cinematic sounding exploration into psychedelic space rock which blends elements of funk and soul, with a bit of reggae-dub thrown in for a nice upbeat feel. Throughout the years, Thievery Corporation has provided a relaxing refuge for fans around the globe with their hazy sound collections and chill-out lounge atmosphere.
Below is a video released 2 months ago by Thievery Corporation w/ guest hip-hop artist Mr. Lif
Resources:
“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”
-Author Unknown
