Mashup Monday – We're back again with some of the freshest mashes to start your week off right. These are the mashes that are worth hearing, so stop you're searching and instead settle down at your computer… turn up your speakers… and get ready for that sweet nectar that only EARMILK can give ya. Let's GO!
So we've managed to get 3/4 of the way to 100 editions of Mashup Monday, and I must say it's been quite a ride. I've got a pretty insane list of mashups for this week as we keep on trekking to 100, so stick with it, get to listening, and enjoy your Thanksgiving week! And perhaps there's not a better mash to get us started than newcomer Area 6. I need to thank Phillip for sending this my way, as this was a late add, but there's no denying how good Porter Robinson's "Language" and Zedd's "Clarity" go together. Is it a little predictable? Maybe a little bit, but predictability doesn't deter the appeal this track will have in your weekly night outings. Area 6, kudos to you on this "Clear Language".
Another singular track that deserves a special mention is DJ GodrikGen's "We Set The Youth On Fire". Once again, this is a new masher that hit my radar, and he utilizes Adele's "Set Fire To The Rain" and 3OH!3's "We Are Young". Granted, Adele's hit track has been mashed quite a bit, it's been awhile since I heard it utilized so it's a nice "throwback" (if you can call it that) sample. And oddly enough, 3OH!3's track gives "Set Fire to the Rain" quite a bit of additional emotion that really puts the track over the top for me.
Of course, no Mashup Monday is complete without a little bit of D.veloped, and his newest track is absolutely groovy. Groovy ear-porn, I'd call it if that was an actual thing. With the backing instrumental being the Bar-Kays' "Too Hot To Stop" and sampling elements of Swizz Beatz, Beastie Boys, 50 Cent, Chingy, and more, D.veloped delivers a great mash as the year ends. The flow between each sample is almost flawless, the energy is constant, and the originality is second-to-none. Yeah, I'm just going to play this song over and over right quick…
Speaking of the year ending, as 2012 draws to a close the inevitable year-round sampling mashes start to come to fruition. And early on, we have 2 contenders for all-encompassing Top 40 2012 sample mashups courtesy of Robin Skouteris and Bobby Fisher. Now you're going to hear a couple of repeated samples in each respective mashup – Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen, Ke$ha, Gotye, and others – coincidentally they both have 20 or more samples, and they both start off with the Ke$ha's "Die Young", but they both have their independent flair. I'll leave it up to you to decide which track you enjoy more, but be prepared for an influx of these "end of the year" 2012 mashups.
Ending my normal spiel for Mashup Monday, I want to highlight two rather different projects from two different mashup artists – DJ Bahler and DJ Trademark. Bahler focuses his 16 track mixtape on the new musical craze – Trap music, while Trademark goes with his tried and true mashup formula of high-energy electronic house coupled with mainly Top 40 samples. It's hard to compare the two since they are so vastly different but these artists both give us projects that are worthy of many plays. Bahler flexes his ability to produce extraordinary mashup art, pairing non hip-hop samples with snare-heavy instrumentals. The easy route would be to just pair these with hip-hop acapellas, but Bahler challenges us to listen to non-traditional samples that, surprisingly enough, go well with the typical trap sounds. One of my first thoughts of Bahler was that he truly is an artist, and whether or not you believe mashups are cop-outs for original music, one can only appreciate the stylistic manner of Bahler to give us mashups that challenge our ears to listen to something fresh and original…well as original as you can get with mashups. Over and over again, he gives us a "semblance of sound" (see what I did there?). Grab Clap Snap Snare here.
Trademark takes a different approach and gives us that high-energy sound that is needed to get parties started. He doesn't half-ass the effort and give us off-key and badly paired samples, but effectively provides a fresh take on recognizable EDM tracks and Top 40 samples. Usher and Tiesto? Yep, expertly done by Trademark. Feel like listening to some Robyn and Katy Perry? Yep, he provides an exceptional mashup utilizing them and other samples too. Perhaps, there is no coincidence that Trademark's EP is titled Diamond In The Rough. While other big-name mashers keep increasing in popularity (and deservedly so) – 3LAU and Kap Slap come to mind – Trademark demonstrates with his EP that his music can easily hold its own against the likes of the heavy hitters. Grab Diamond in the Rough here.
Of course there is tons of more music below, so take a listen, hit me up in the comments and more importantly, enjoy your time with your family, friends, loved ones, etc. while we relax during this Thanksgiving holiday. And don't forget to give thanks to the people who provide us with the music that drives our lives, whether they be a mainstream artist, an up-and-comer, a masher, or someone that is just starting out. Music is music, and for that I say gracias.
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