After thrilling festival-goers at Coachella with a surprise video preview of their unbelievably funky lead single “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk sat down with Rolling Stone for their first exclusive interview since announcing the release of their forthcoming album, Random Access Memories.
Check out the track-list and new details on the album that Daft Punk describes as “drawing a parallel between the brain and a hard drive” after the break.
Rolling Stone, wising to the increasing demand for purer house sounds, is giving away the final track off Maceo Plex’s impending DJ-Kicks compilation — out in full on April 30. By the looks of the tracklist, Maceo has worked hard to curate a grouping of sounds like none other (including no tracks previously released on digital — almost just to prove he can). In his brief chat with Rolling Stone, he explains this song was written in three hours on while traveling between Manchester and London on New Year’s Day and the inspiration derived from the sensation of his “mind was on fire between the stresses of the road and the ideas [he] had simmering within.”
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Avicii recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss plans for his upcoming album, divulging his vision for what is likely to raise the bar for the Swedish producer’s already stellar career. The album, which Avicii plans to be a collection of singles that work together to form a cohesive artistic vision, will feature credits from a variety of artists including Mike Einzinger of Incubus, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, the legendary Nile Rodgers (who also collaborated with Daft Punk) as well as Mac Davis, the man responsible for some of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits.
Above & Beyond has just released their video for the latest single “Alchemy” off last year’s Group Therapy. The song, featuring vocalist Zoë Johnston, is an affecting piece of music about a lover’s betrayal. The music video features actress Mackenzie Firgens and Jonas Mayyab in the directors’ chair. (more…)
Rolling Stone has just announced its list for the Top 25 DJs in the world, and some of the selections may surprise you. For one, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy came in at number 7 — ranked ahead of Boys Noize, Skrillex, and Daft Punk (who were ranked dead last.) Carl Cox and Deadmau5 joined the French duo deep in the list, sitting comfortably at 22 and 20 respectively while underground newcomer Maya Jane Coles came in at 15 — ahead of arguably the most technically talented DJ in the world, A-Trak.
Alex Ridha, AKA Boys Noize, is set to release his third album, Out of the Black, on October 2nd via his Boysnoize Records imprint. Following largely successful and esteemed releases of Oi Oi Oi and Power, the German producer’s upcoming effort is surrounded with anticipation. Ridha recently told Rolling Stone much of the album’s inspiration was garnered from early Beastie Boy releases based on his “obsession on robot vocals and modern sound aesthetics.”
The album’s opening track, “What You Want,” features a drum-heavy bassline and a hip-hop influence while still maintaining the robotic, electro overtones we’re used to from Boys Noize. Head over to Rolling Stone to preview the track and read a bit more of what he had to say about the album.
Now that we’ve reached the halfway point of 2012, we thought it would be fun to highlight some of the best and worst moments of the year so far. This week we’re bringing you five of the highlights, while next week we’ll be bringing you some of the lowlights. Let us know what you think in the comments — we’re nothing without you.
Ever since dance music exploded out of the “underground” and onto the global stage, it’s become increasingly difficult to ignore. Magazine covers are generally good indicators of who and what is popular at the time of their release and as such are typically reserved for the hottest models, actors, and musicians of the moment. In 1967 John Lennon was a cover boy for Rolling Stone, in 1981 – Bruce Springsteen, in 1999 – Britney Spears, in 2006 – Kanye West, and in 2012 — Deadmau5. Skrillex, A-Trak, and Diplo also landed the magazine cover of Billboard’s EDM issue. When these four dance music figureheads landed the covers of two of the most widely respected music magazines in the world, it was symbolic of our genre’s place in pop culture.
Like Skrillex’s Grammy awards, these covers are a double edged sword in that they put us on display while simultaneously opening the door for criticism and conjecture. However, no matter what the skeptics say, we are simply too big, too relevant, and too important to be ignored.
Deadmau5 is having a pretty good week. In addition to snagging the cover of the legendary Rolling Stone magazine, he also has a new EP out in four days. As we told you when the title track was released, The Veldt EP includes four tracks, including two remixes of the Chris James-infused track and a new track called “Failbait.” Remixes on the EP come from Tommy Trash and Freeform, and we’ve been digging the TT remix since we first heard it on the Essential Mix a few weeks back. The full EP will be available on June 24th through iTunes, but you can stream it for the next 24 hours on RollingStone.com.
While the full RS interview has not hit the web just yet, some juicy tidbits have.
Dada Life has been dropping “Rolling Stone T-Shirt” in their live sets for a few years now. Nocturnal festival 2010 was the first time caught a glimpse of what this tune could do to a crowd. You know exactly what you are going to get with Stefan and Olle — heavy bass, kicking synths, and a load of fattening sounds. Needless to say, this latest preview is not for the sensitive ear. The last time Dada Life incorporated vocals for one of their singles it was for “Happy Violence,” we think this has the potential to top that tune by far. Get ready to kick out the epic motherf**ker in your rolling stone t-shirt at a club near you.
