Lasgo – Alone(Karl D Remix)

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Posted 02 Jan 2011 — by karl
Category Music

Much to my own surprise, I’m going to have some fresh content coming for you soon.  This remix from 2003 or so should hold you over until then:

I’ve never tried to distance myself from Eurodance music.  I’m big on the classics, like La Bouche and N-Trance, but Lasgo was one of the more relevant “nu-skool” Eurodance artists of the 2000s.  I’m really into several of their big hits.

During my concurrent(and ongoing) fascination with Hard House, I did this remix of “Alone”, one of my most favorite Lasgo tracks.   I made the decision to only include part of the vocals which I felt were really the core of the song.  There’s some very technical Hoover riffs as well as some revised instrumentation on the main melody, both of which I really wanted to be the stars of the show.

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Lasgo – Alone(Karl D Remix)

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Recap: Karl D’s Favorite Tracks/Mixes of 2010

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Posted 20 Dec 2010 — by karl
Category Reviews

I thought I would do something a little out of the ordinary to close up the year.  As you know, most of the content on this site comes from me and me alone, and I don’t “report” much on others’ work(maybe not quite as much as I should).  I wanted to take some time to recognize some of my favorite tracks and mixes I’ve heard over the last year.  Certainly many of these releases have influenced me and some of the work I’ve published.

Please enjoy this selection of mixes and tracks from these hardworking artists, and if possible, support them any way you can.  These lists are in no particular order.

Top 5 Tracks:

  1. Florence and the Machine – Dog Days are Over(Breakage Mix) – There were several standout mixes for Florence and the Machine this year, but this one really did it for me.
  2. Gaslamp Killer – Anything Worse – Nice, diverse mix of styles on this tense production.
  3. BRIGHT PRIMATE – Oh Well – I’m proud to say that BRIGHT PRIMATE is the project of a good friend of mine, who has(along with his bandmate/girlfriend) revolutionized 8-bit music as a whole as well as making it incredibly relevant in Boston, MA.  I really enjoyed this track from their latest EP for its excellent production values and entrancing vibe.  I love the 2nd half of the song.
  4. Pretty Lights – Still Rockin’ – Pretty much any Pretty Lights could make this list.  All their tracks have a great mix of glitch, hip hop, and electronica that never goes overboard  – it’s always super-smooth.
  5. Pendulum – Watercolour(Deadmau5 mix) – I’m not afraid at all to say I’m a huge Deadmau5 and Pendulum fan!  Since Deadmau5 and Rob from Pendulum worked together on “Ghosts n Stuff“, it’s great to see their working relationship continue and and put out this quality mix.  I’m hoping to see more collaboration between these two big-shots soon.

Top 5 Mixes:

  1. XLR8R Podcast 170 – DJ Food & DK vs. Coldcut – Crazy, epic mix.  This was released for Ninja Tune’s 20th anniversary and it does not disappoint.  This is an incredibly eclectic mix that spans the whole 20 years of the label’s rich history.
  2. DJ Steve Hill – Masif Podcast 11 – Truthfully, I have a hard time picking a favorite one of Steve Hill’s podcasts.  The King of Hard Dance showcases a lot of great material on this one, including Masif DJ’s – “Attention”, a track that certainly earned my attention this year.  Lucky for you Steve’s got lots of material for download.
  3. Electronic Explorations 133 – Shackleton – You can hardly call this dubstep – more like super-chilled future dub.  The first track, “Stripped III (version)” by Shackleton & Vengeance Tenfold, floored me.
  4. Elite Force – Revamped(Continuous Mix) - OK, so this list features one paid mix.  Big deal!  Elite Force has been releasing lots for free and also not for free in the “Revamped” collection, so a buck is not a huge price to pay for an awesome mix from his latest compilation. Also look for the”Smack The Force Up” revamp on his website.  There’s also a remix of Benga’s “26 Basslines” floating around somewhere…
  5. Major Lazer and La Roux – Lazerproof – I’m pretty pleased with all the work Diplo’s done this year, but this mixtape was a shocker when it came out.  Wild yet approachable, and contains several great La Roux remixes.
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Karl D – Penitence

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Posted 28 Nov 2010 — by karl
Category Music

Last one for Artifice, and it’s an epic one.

“Penitence” clocks in around 7 and a half minutes long, just about the longest I ever remember doing.  Of course, length by itself can never make the song.  Similar to both “3rd Level Down” and “The Exchange“, this track is deeply saturated in trip-hop essentials. There’s a point about midway where the tempo drops from the steady 95 bpm throughout the song down to a crawl.  I really thought this was a good way to isolate some of the elements and explore the emptiness of the sounds(in this case, a good thing, I think).  Certainly a pensive track which fits the title as well as the overall theme of the album.  I hope you can find as much meaning in the album as a whole as I’ve injected into it.  That said, the compilation is now available for your downloading pleasure in the Downloads section.

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Karl D – Penitence

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Karl D – Takedown

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Posted 10 Nov 2010 — by karl
Category Music

Slowly but surely, the Artifice EP is coming to a close.  After this one, I plan for one more track to complete this mini-album.

There is a common theme among this collection of tracks, which wasn’t my initial intention when publishing “3rd Level Down“, but by the release of track 2, a cohesive concept for the EP had been formed. I’d rather not discuss the unifying concept among these tracks, but rather you listened to them and took your own understanding from the body of work as a whole.   My guess is that you may draw a different meaning than what is my central intention, and yet that’s what thrills me the most about the meaning of music as a form of communication.  Our own perspectives shape the meaning of the piece.

“Takedown” justifies it’s title with tough wobbling basslines and forceful drums.  This dubstep slammer is decidedly menacing, which you may find generally inconsistent with the sum of my work as a whole.

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Karl D – Takedown

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Karl D – Trackdown

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Posted 13 Oct 2010 — by karl
Category Music

Track 3 from the Artifice EP is “Trackdown”.  The pads in the background bring the anxiety level way up, and the insistent bass bounces along through most of the track.  Like much of the techno work I produce, there are only subtle changes to the mix over time; but where someone else might see minimal techno as pointless and thin, I see exciting buildups and thrill.

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Karl D – Trackdown

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Karl D – Sinister

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Posted 19 Sep 2010 — by karl
Category Music

What do you call it when low-bit and dubstep collide?  Dub-bit?  Bit-step?

This track will be part of an upcoming EP, entitled Artifice, that will also include “3rd Level Down“.  Expect a few more tracks to be released before the full album will be included in the Free Downloads section.

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Karl D – Sinister

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Karl D – 3rd Level Down

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Posted 13 Aug 2010 — by karl
Category Music

I’m proud and excited to present this just-finished production to you.

“3rd Level Down” is a dark, illbient-style trip-hop experience. Slow to build up, this track has a definite apex as all the elements come together to make this track very moody and dramatic.

Those who are clever and informed enough may infer that the title’s inspiration comes from Inception. I’d be lying if I said the movie wasn’t an influence; in fact, the basics of this track were put down only minutes after I saw the film.

Enjoy a free download of this song below the player!

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Karl D – 3rd Level Down

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NIN – The Beginning of the End(Karl D Mix)

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Posted 05 Jun 2010 — by karl
Category Music

The latest focus for my efforts has been another Nine Inch Nails song.  Of the material available for producers on the NIN site, the two songs I was most interested in remixing were “Lights in the Sky“, and “The Beginning of the End”.  “Lights in the Sky” was a pretty experimental project and took some time to develop, but “The Beginning” I knew almost right away how I wanted it to sound. It’s taken a while to get my vision tracked accurately, but this is pretty representative of how I originally thought about my remix. The ghostly sounding pads’ melody for the chorus is an element I knew I would add right away, and it sounds almost exactly the way it did in my head.

The tempo is maintained at the original 140 BPM in this mix, replacing guitars for a glitchy, persistent bassline which I think adds a “marchy” quality to the song.  I really like the breakdown near the end which then tears back in to the main chorus’ melody, without Trent’s vocals on the second round.  Short and sweet, but not short on excitement.

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NIN – The Beginning Of The End(Karl D mix)

Update: This remix is now also live on the NIN official remix site here: http://remix.nin.com/play/mix?id=20407

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