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.

MP3: SupaBeatz - Dope

MP3: SupaBeatz - Alchemy

Acid Girls

I’ve had a frustrating day, so pardon my zinger if it happens to become apparent in this little post. I’ll spare you most of the details, but one thing I simply must address is my extreme irritation with a particular track by Acid Girls. You remember these guys, yes? They’ve been producing tracks out of So-Cal (and as of last year, out of Germany) for several years now, and until recently, I could not have voiced the slightest complaint. I have however, stumbled across something that’s really bothering me: They’re literally too good. Frankie Chan recently released a mixtape volume for IHeartComix for which he had Acid Girls create an intro track, and create one they did. It’s noiser, glitchier, and sexier than you can ever fathom, and the problem is, it’s only just over a minute long! There is no full length version, nor will there ever be (that I currently know of) and oh is it frustrating! Maybe if I throw the track up here, we can gather a following of people who are just as frustrated as I and petition Acid Girls for a rewrite. *drools*

Acid Girls - Intro Track

If, in fact, that track did leave you hanging, and you’re looking to pick up a legit hard copy (cover art and everything) of the rest of Frankie’s mix, feel free to send me a self addressed, stamped envelope (big enough to hold a cd obviously) and I’ll mail you a copy. The best part is, it’s a two cd combo; One with the mix, and the other with the individual remixed iheartcomix tracks. Well worth the $.40

You’ll find my address listed on the info page towards the top of the sidebar.