It’s quite strange, and to a certain extent, sad, that the fresh, hard-hitting, revolution-starting electro of only a year and a half or so ago has so quickly turned on itself. Nearly everything that, in the beginning, assisted the style in its rise to fame has essentially become it’s enemy. Blazing, distorted synths and an overall crunchy sound (perhaps the most prominent facets of the genre) have become a cliche, and despite that fact that last year was praised as “the best year in electro since 1998″, the people who are dropping the heaviest beats at this point in time are those who are steering in a direction as far away from last year as possible. But what on earth might that direction be?
I must emphasize that, though I am, indeed, sad to see the sounds that renewed the heart and soul of dance music become a bore, the usurping styles are really quite intriguing (and potentially already quite familiar). Artists like Australia’s Aston Shuffle and the Los Angeles Royal Rumble have begun to sacrifice the slap-you-in-the-face, bitcrushed noise that we’ve become accustomed to for a lighter, blippier, and powerfully bouncy sound that has, as of late, surfaced under the name mnmLOL, a term who’s origins have been traced back to the Acid Girls (No, I don’t know what they were thinking, but at least now it has a name. I was calling it “frumpy”). I hope I’m not thinking too far into the future in saying that the style seems to be catching on.
SupaBeatz
I’ve grown particularly fond of the Italian, SupaBeatz, who seems to be incorporating the minimalectro sound reminiscent of fellow Italians, Crookers, with the clicky cowbells, woodblocks, quick and funky Kid Sister-ish vocals, and 80′s esque blips that one would find down the mnmLOL alley, in order to forge a trail that’ll get you to work up a refreshing sweat. The point is, if you’re looking to impress, I suggest you get walking.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
MP3: SupaBeatz – Dope
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
MP3: SupaBeatz – Alchemy
