Rose, Rose I Love You (Shanghai Restoration Project Remix) - Yao Li; 3:20

Remixed and Restored, Vol. 1

Rose, Rose I Love You (Shanghai Restoration Project Remix)
玫瑰, 玫瑰我爱你 (Shanghai Restoration Project Remix) - 姚莉

Chinese-American producer Dave Liang's pet project, electronic group The Shanghai Restoration Project, is an experiment in Chinese musical sounds and 1930s jazz combined with American hip-hop and electronic influences, which produces a rare and truly listenable end product. For its fourth album release, Remixed and Restored vol. 1, the Shanghai Restoration Project took six 1930s Shanghai jazz tunes and both restored the original versions to listenable quality, and remixed each of them to Shanghai Restoration Project's signature electronic-hip hop-Chinese fusion style.

The result is masterfully produced songs, such as Rose, Rose I Love You (Shanghai Restoration Project Remix), which features in equal parts the original song's integrity and vibrancy, and its modern fusion mixing. Yao Li's delicate vocals, typical of the Shanghai jazz era, emanate throughout the song, bringing a vibrancy and cheer to the upbeat track. The hip-hop-influenced electronic beat compliments the original music and the vocals perfectly, taking elements of the original music and incorporating it into the new beat, bringing a danceable element to classic music. One gets the sense that this is precisely what Liang set out to do, and thus has done it well.

This song is available to download at iTunes Music Store.

Blue Skies (Paul & Price Remix) - Doris Day; 4:55

Rewound & Reworked - Jazz Remixes Vol. 2

Blue Skies (Paul & Price Remix)

Duo Jonathan Paul and Damir Price - otherwise known as Paul & Price, notable for their Sounds Like Sex compilations, return to their winning classics-remix formula with Doris Day's Blue Skies. The track is distinctly different from its predecessor, and retains the duo's signature smooth downtempo style while incorporating jazzy elements holding true to the original version. The selection of Day's original vocals used flitter about the track, with lyrics such as "bluebirds ... all of them gone, from now on", giving a slightly chilling feel to the track. The lyrics, repeated throughout the duration of the track, give an empty summer day's take on the track. Elements of the original song are combined in perfect harmony to the downtempo melodies, featuring string combinations and guitar - albeit engineered to mastery, as the duo are notable for.

This song is available for listen at paulandprice.com and can be purchased at iTunes Music Store.

I Go Deep - Jim Rivers; 9:08

Rennaissance: The Master's Series, Part 9

I Go Deep

Of-the-moment British DJ talent Jim Rivers captures the essence of the minimal electronica movement perfectly.  His work is the pinnacle of the genre (genres, some would argue, and there are a plethora that fit into this umbrella - minimal house, minimal trance, etc.) and I Go Deep, released as a part of Satoshi Tomiie's compilation album Rennaisance: The Master's Series Part 9 in early 2007, is the height of his work.

With a meticulous, detailed, almost bit-like feel, I Go Deep is atmospheric as it is subtle.  The bassline blends perfectly with the melodies and beats that enhance it.  As a DJ, Rivers masters his craft with the nuances that carry the nine-minute track.  The track flows seamlessly between emphasis on its bassline and its modifying elements and an airy, atmospheric undercurrent, never letting down to bore the listener.

This song can be purchased at the iTunes Music Store.

Editor's Note, Vol. 2

Welcome back, everyone.  It has been a while, hasn't it?  You'll notice some changes to the interface of the blog.  Firstly, our description in the upper right corner has been modified, followed by the addition of a blogroll.  The blogroll will consist of blogs the editors see fit to match massive.fm as the pinnacle of lifestyle blogging.

Also, we have modified the editors row slightly, to better reflect who is writing which post.  The administrative account (me) is run by editor Sacha Durand, and will be used for notes and changes to the blog.  The account for Sacha Durand, labelled as such, will be used so that he can write blog entries.  This makes it easier for you, the readers, and we, the writers, to update the blog consistently and clearly.

The format of the posts will change slightly.  Due to developments online through wonderful websites such as Imeem and Seeqpod, we will (try) to attach clips of each song to the posts, to enable readers to listen to each song as well as having the option to research and purchase them on exterior platforms.

Magnes - Reni Jusis; 3:50

Magnes
Magnes

Polish R&B-turned-Electronic diva Reni Jusis hits the house-based eurodance scene again with album Magnes, after the successful Trans misja. The album is masterfully mixed, so as to flow from one track to the next seamlessly. The album's namesake track, and premier track Magnes is an exciting and upbeat start to an album heavy on house beats and modern electronic influence.

Magnes starts out with airy, synthesized vocal sounds leading into the lyrical content of the track.  Jusis's vocals carry the song, marked by an upbeat bass line and melodic currents.  Lightness and buoyant qualities feature prominently throughout the song, with a notable continuation of its opening vocal sounds.  The track's music video is set to Jusis skydiving, to further exemplify these qualities.  Clip included below.

Keep You Kimi (ft. Yukimi Nagano) - Hird; 6:30

Moving On

Keep You Kimi (ft. Yukimi Nagano)

Artist Christoffer Berg, otherwise known as Hird, is a Swedish downtempo artist known for his seamless blend of jazz and electronic styles. His work is entirely his own - he does all of the instrumentation and production, with the addition of commonly-featured vocalist Yukimi Nagano. Keeping in the style of Moving On, Keep You Kimi is a masterfully crafted, thoroughly modern downtempo track.

The song opens with a smooth, softening beeping melody, which then opens to a percussive background. Yukimi Nagano's vocals, singing of night and the emotional play of love and uncertainty, begin and soulfully flow through the track, featuring prominently although not predominantly throughout the duration of the track. The percussive and electronic melodies and beats carry the song, and are the highlight of the track. Hird's effectiveness in combining electronic sound with smooth, jazzy percussion is brought to perfection in the track, never overdoing one element or the other. Around the fourth minute of the track, the words "It's alright" follow a slowing-down of the track's tempo, leading to the effective peak of the song in its last two minutes.

This song can be purchased at the iTunes Music Store.

Arcadia - Gabriel & Dresden; 6:24

Bloom

Arcadia

With 2004 brought the marked arrival on the progressive house and club scenes by two excellent house DJs, Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden, known more commonly together as Gabriel & Dresden. Bloom is an erratic album, excellent at times and yet underwhelming at others. However, Arcadia transcends the album's instable excellency, and shines through as one of the penultimate progressive house releases to date. This track truly transcends personal preferences for particular sects of the vast electronic music scene. Arcadia is a very direct, down-to-the-dancefloor song, and it hits its highs and lows at just the right times, carrying the listener and making them want more through to the peak of the song, which captures all of the energy and brilliance of the song into the last minute and a half.

This song can be purchased at the iTunes Music Store.

A Andorinha Da Primavera - Madredeus; 5:38

ElectronicoA Andorinha Da Primavera

Mesmerizing is the best word to describe Portuguese group Madredeus, whose music is an expertly mastered fusion of traditional fado and Portuguese folk music. Electronico represents a breaking in that style to electronically remaster many of their best collaborative efforts. A Andorinha Da Primavera is one of the best tracks on the album, a beautifully quirky electronic masterpiece. Unlike many, indeed most, electronic songs, A Andorinha Da Primavera, as with the rest of Electronico, lacks a distinct dance or club beat. It is truly a work of turning the traditional and historical into the modern and captivating, something that Madredeus never ceases to do.

The song begins with Madredeus vocalist Tereisa Salgueiro singing "
Andorinha de asa negra aonde vais ?", followed by a melody of chiming synthesized bells and classical guitars. The base of the entire track is this guitar and bell melody, which is lead by an electronic beat. After the first minute and a half, the electronic beat picks up and the guitar is distorted, leading into Salgueiro's dulcet vocals. One presumes the lyrics are a take on traditional fado lyrics, and with it a pleasant twist of irony, or melancholy. The last two minutes are marked by an anthemic breakdown of the track's melody, leading into a stronger main beat and the last of Salgueiro's vocals. The track closes with the end of the vocals, and a synth.

This album can be purchased online at Amazon.com.