Category: Triphop


Dr. Blaster

Artists similar to Dr. Blaster: St. Germain, Telepopmusik, Cool Blu


Dr. Blaster – Almost


Dr. Blaster – Baia do Sancho


Dr. Blaster – Summer Breeze


Are you looking to uplift your mood and invigorate your mind? If so, “Music Therapy” is just what Dr. Blaster has ordered. His relaxing melodies are layered over soothing, trance-inducing beats that will captivate the listener while guiding them through a serene dream-like setting. Dr. Blaster’s jazzy arrangements are elegantly mixed with hypnotic basslines and elements of hip-hop and downtempo beats throughout. His immense musical talent shines through on his all of his released albums which are available for free download.

Dr. Blaster grew up in Brussels, Belgium and was born in 1991. He played drums for awhile during his childhood and later became interested in producing music using various computer programs. He has been producing different genres of music for 7 years from dubstep and drum&bass to hip-hop and lounge music. He explained to Organic Sound,

“My brother, who was starting some audio engineering course, introduced me to computer music. This was a huge revelation! I have to say he taught me almost everything I know about music, and I’m grateful for it.” -Dr. Blaster

Dr. Blaster’s vision of music and the way he listened to it dramatically changed when he decided he wanted to produce his own music. When Dr. Blaster first started producing, he began to really analyze music which helped him form his own unique style of clean production. He said,

There are lots and lots of artist that influenced me, but to keep it short, and in “Music Therapy”‘s mood, I’ll say, “80’s Casual,” “UM (le villain)” especially with “Rare & Limited Beats Vol. 1,” “heRobust,” “Thriftworks” (Pillows in the Wood), “Onra,” “St. Germain” and Gramatik’s drums.
-Dr. Blaster

Dr. Blaster first started producing Electro music in the band “The Steppin’ Brothers” (Arthur Tixhon, Solo 700, and Blaze Rod) from 2008 to late 2011, then he joined “Colonel Up and Mister Down” and produced deep/oldschool dubstep with the same guys.

He decided to slow down a bit with “Colonel Up and Mister Down” and started his own side-project. At that time, he was Koan Sound’s biggest fan, and due to their influence, he began a hip hop project with heavy bass and big drum sounds. Dr. Blaster slowly drifted more toward mellow and chillhop vibes. He is currently working on some loungy tunes along with instrumentals for a couple of MC’s.

Emancipator

(Artists similar to Emancipator: Little People, Bonobo, Nightmares on Wax)


Emancipator


  @Emanc



Emancipator – Oasis


Emancipator – First Snow


Emancipator – Nevergreen





Chillax on the couch, sip on a warm cup of green tea and immerse your mind in Emancipator’s clean production of mellow break-beat rhythms. Emancipator’s music has a unique style of combining triphop roots with jazz, classical, and electronic influences. Emancipator is best known for his subtle buildup/breakdown, headnodic beats, hypnotizing bass and extended harmonic patterns with the use of tonal harmonies. The naturesque soundscapes of Emancipator’s music provides lucid imagery to the listener while supporting the compact layers of violins, electric/acoustic guitar, choirs, horns, banjos, bass, drums and piano.


Emancipator (Doug Appling) is a producer/musician from Portland, Oregon. Emancipator started violin lessons when he was 4 years old and later picked up the guitar, drums and bass. Growing up, he played in a few bands. When Appling was in high school, he started experimenting with music production software such as Acid Pro and Reason which really opened up new opportunities for him to create his own music and sounds. At the age of 19, he self-released his first album, “Soon it Will Be Cold Enough,” in 2006. A Japanese producer by the name of Nujabes found interest in the “Soon it Will Be Cold Enough” album and was able to press and sell 5,000 copies in the first six months of release. The album blends violin strings with artful piano lines that resonate before the drum beat responds to set the perfect tempo, allowing the listener to discover the wintry setting that Emancipator has cleverly created. He played his first live show in 2009, opening for Bonobo, Eskmo, and Gigantic. Doug Appling said in a Lost in Sound interview,

“It’s been a thrill to play with so many artists I respect and have been listening to for years, and to discover a great number of new artists at the same time.” -Emancipator



Emancipator has recently received a Puma sponsorship and one of his songs titled “Maps” was played at the Bejing Olympics. His latest album “Safe In The Steep Cliffs” blends his signature sound with new instruments (banjo, horns, mandolin). Emancipator is distinguished in his ability to combine different sounds and layer them so smoothly. Tremolo strings start it off, which fade into a plucked guitar pattern accompanied with a strong bassline that follows the piano. Emancipator is able to lay down subtle break-beat rhythms without disrupting the solid groove that is already in place. Doug Appling describes “Safe In The Steep Cliffs” on his website,

“This album has a new palette of sounds and samples from around the world, including more original recordings (guitar/violin/mandolin/banjo) and new guest artists including Japanese jazz musician Uyama Hiroto. It’s ominous and overgrown, dense and ethereal. And epic. Always epic.” -Emancipator

Appling seems to follow his signature formula for this album by creating electric guitar riffs that are thrown over the piano line. The guitar and piano fade out after a slight pause which leads to a mellow synth rhythm for a break, until it reappears and fades again into the darkness of a forestry landscape that has been painted for the listener. Emancipator’s ability to make the music flow naturally by layering different sound elements on top of a cadent drumbeat makes for a truly intriguing listen for any instrumentalist or triphop fan.










Resources:

EmancipatorMusic.com/

Emancipator Interview by Lost in Sound