The Phil-Harmonic Podcast Episode 55

Greetings Traveller!

Welcome once again to the unstoppable dance music juggernaut that is, The Phil-Harmonic Podcast. Life continues at a relentless pace.

The big news in trance this week has been the shit storm created by Will.I.Am’s ripping off of Mat Zo and Arty’s 2011 Anjuna release, Rebound. Rebound was a big record for me in 2011. Despite initially not doing much for me, it made its way into my That Was 2011 review mix by December and still, to this day, reminds me vividly of Armin Van Buuren’s set at Brixton Academy that year. It’s a great record and one that sounds pretty unique even now.

Covering and sampling is something that is rife in modern music. It’s not even something I’m absolutely against outright.

When I first heard that Will.I.Am and Chris Brown had used Rebound in their new track, Let’s Go, I was actually reasonably indifferent. As much as I like his music, Mat Zo to me was building a reputation as a slight prim donna, like Gareth Emery, endlessly finding ways to rub up the scene’s trolls the wrong way.

But it’s not until you actually hear how Rebound has been used that you appreciate the injustice. It’s a shameless lifting of the original and an artistic bastardisation that shows just how hopelessly lost and creatively moribund the most mainstream echelons of music have become. Welcome to the graveyard of the culturally retarded.

Not only that, but it came to light later on that Mat Zo and Arty had in fact politely declined the opportunity to work on a commercial version with Will.I.Am. The fact that he went ahead and used it anyway, without the permission of Anjunabeats, is a massive insult to everyone who makes and listens to music. A day later, Laidback Luke tweeted to say that he had e-mailed the producers and they had said it was all cleared beforehand. You sense that a certain amount of cash is going to be paid, not just to get the new Will.I.Am CD legally onto shelves, but also to significantly rewrite accepted history.

The best part of all this though was trance music’s collective reaction via social media. The sleepy, secluded village of trance music arrived at the gates of the seedy, fad-ridden, artificial metropolis that is mainstream music, armed with pitchforks and flaming torches.

Some of it was over the top, but it was hilarious to see the trance community give Will.I.Am a collective “F*ck you.” Best of all was Ben Nicky’s retort to Chris Brown’s claim that he didn’t even know who Mat Zo and Arty were. “You will when you get your cheque book out”, he tweeted. Mat Zo’s first post on Facebook in response was pure class. And his second status a day later simply read, “Where is the love? LOL”

Expect Rebound to make a token appearance on this podcast as the drama continues to unfold.

So what’s actually in the podcast this week?

It’s a very big episode and one I redrafted a couple of times, which is often a good sign. There is some accidental, yet, significant homage paid to a few of my recent trips to Ministry of Sound.

At said clubbing establishment, Norin & Rad played the Sick Individuals Remix of I Love by Icona Pop and the three-way SvD, Mark Knight and Underworld collab, Ten. Both appear here. Super8 & Tab dropped the Club Mix of Black Room Boy. Wasn’t sure about that Club Mix at first, but it is clearly huge. Newcomer, Kim Fai slipped us EDX & Leventina’s remix of Blood Pressure. Shazamed and duly noted for TPHP.

In searching for older tracks for this episode, it was reasonably inevitable that some Depeche Mode would sneak in there. The Essex synthpop giants released their new album, Delta Machine, recently. Unfortunately, it ain’t particularly good. In fact, it’s shit. But the disappointment of that has got me listening to Sounds Of The Universe from 2009 on repeat, an album which is, quite frankly, stupidly good. With Dave Gahan’s vocals on Perfect, as well as the voices of Ellie Goulding and Lana Del Rey, this episode does have an accessible touch to it.

And in other news, your ‘Tune Of The Episode’ is Broning’s Smash! and the final oldie is via Marco V.

THE PHIL-HARMONIC PODCAST EPISODE 55

1. Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix) [Spinnin Records]

2. Helvetic Nerds - Blood Pressure (EDX & Leventina Mix) [PinkStar Records]

3. Depeche Mode - Perfect (Roger Sanchez Club Mix) [Mute Records]

4. Ellie Goulding - Lights (Elevation vs. Grube & Hovsepian Remix) [CDR - Free Download]

5. Icona Pop feat. Charlie XCX - I Love It (Sick Individuals Remix) [Big Beat Records]

6. Above & Beyond - Black Room Boy (Above & Beyond Club Mix) [Anjunabeats]

7. Ashley Wallbridge - Yin-Yang [Garuda]

8. Sander van Doorn & Mark Knight vs. Underworld - Ten [Toolroom Records]

9. Ben Gold - Mesocyclone [Garuda]

10. Mark Sixma - Requiem [Mainstage Music]

11. Paul Oakenfold feat. Austin Bis - Who Do You Love? (Bass Ninjas Remix) [Perfecto Records]

12. Broning - Smash! [Interstate Recordings] <<<(Phil's Tune Of The Episode)>>>

13. Age Of Love ‎– The Age Of Love (Marco V Remix) [Reset Records] <<<(The Phil-Harmonic Golden Oldie)>>>

                                                                  

Back next week. Catch you then!