It took us a while, but we’ve made it out of the mud from TomorrowWorld, and it’s time to uncover some of the Soundcloud digging we’ve been doing over the past month. Admittedly, we didn’t really have to look to hard for this crew; the Off the Beaten Path series thrives on the discovery of latest in upcoming talent, and this past month saw quite a lot of activity from the yet-to-be-discovered stars in the online space. With the series we look for those who doing things a little different, carving out their a place for their name in the ever growing, and ever saturated world of music. Now it’s about that time we get to introducing the members of Volume 4, and we think you’re gonna love ’em.
These compilations are comprised of 5 elite artists curated through our staff’s personal search efforts, with no restraint on genres – be ready for anything and everything from progressive house producers to hip hop beat makers. Your class of Volume 4 is proudly made up by: Møme, Virtu, Loud Luxury, Cofresi, and Slowbødy.
The Møme project is something you’ll want to get acquainted with as soon as possible. Orchestrated by the multi talented Jérémy Souillart, Møme represents the best in modern chill-wave music. Coining the genre, “French House 3.0,” the producer/composer is cranking out cutting edge sounds with a unique live experience. It’s no wonder his Cosmopolitan EP garnered half a million plays in under 6 months, and shared the stage with the likes of Flume, Bondax, and Breakbot.
“According to me, music is all about feeling emotions and sharing them with people. For instance, my EP Cosmopolitan has been composed after moving to Paris. Haine-Moi, with its violence and intensity, has been imagined when I lost my dad. Finally, Aloha featuring Merryn Jeann is about my Australian dream and her European experience.
When I’m working with people, I totally respect what they want to say and it often happens that we want both to share the same things. And that’s magic!
Each track I’ve composed has its own story, with or without vocals. I wish people recognise themselves listening to my music.”
“For the last four years, I have been extremely inspired by the Australian electronic music scene, such as Future classic’s artists. I also support a lot their emerging artists as Merryn Jeann, Tora, La Mar and Cleopold. Then, my iPod playlist is extremely eclectic! It goes from House French Touch to Pop Rock as well as Hip Hop Music. I really appreciate Kaasi, Darius, FKJ, Mazde and Pharcyde.”
His latest collection of work is an eclectic 5-track EP, Aloha, and displays an amalgamation of house, future, chill wave, symphonic sounds, and even hip-hop. This EP is a must hear, and a must buy. To promote the release of this EP, Møme will be kicking in the land down under, so if you’re in the area, definitely hunt around for a show.
“I would thank everyone for their support! It’s amazing how Møme grew up the last eighteen months and that would never happen without Soundcloud followers and DDM recordings.
Then, I would encourage anyone who likes the project to stay tuned on my Facebook page. With the Australian road trip coming, I will post a lot of live captations as well as local artists info and music. I wish my followers will enjoy this adventure and like the new tracks!”
Facebook || Twitter || Site || Spotify
Virtu came to us by way of his most recent release, “Blunt Force.” The young producer is based out of the LA area in California, and really struck us with his knack for electro-progressive blends; there’s a peculiar hint of 2012 and 2013 era tunes in his work, but with a distinctly modern touch. He was recently featured by Insomniac on their very own discovery feature, so if that’s not validation enough, we don’t know what is.
“I want my music to be fun to listen and dance to, but also eye-opening. I like to think that music inspires people to do things with their lives or strive for better habits. Music has a lot of power to change the way people think and I think people should pay attention to that more in the industry.”
“90% of the time, I start a song on the piano and transpose it to Ableton. Most of my creative ideas are in melodies, counter-melodies, and harmony so I find it’s easiest to start compositions on the piano/keyboard. After getting the ideas off the piano and into Ableton, I structure the song out, to an extent, and just build from the their on up.”
Drawing inspiration from Mat Zo, Nero, Madeon, and Porter Robinson, Virtu’s work mixes the best of uplifting melodic house and gritty visceral electro. The power in this sound is in its variability and potential to be used in a number of different DJ sets. Wouldn’t be surprised if we started seeing some big names drop his stuff soon.
“Thank you so much for being open-minded. It means the world to me and I couldn’t be happier knowing that there are people out there who understand what I’m trying to do with my music and can enjoy the sounds I’m creating. I owe you all so much. <3”
Facebook || Twitter || Instagram
We’ve bounced all the way from France to LA, and next up we’re hitting up Toronto to showcase Loud Luxury. This Canadian duo puts out deep house with a bit of kick, or a “shot of tequila” as they say. We may be a little behind on the promo here, as the guys seem to be having no trouble locking in shows (with a show at Echostage in D.C. this past weekend being their most recent gig). Regardless, the Loud Luxury sound is tight as hell, and we have to share it.
“Firstly, thank you so much for featuring us. The Loud Luxury project started as just a way for us to have fun while at college in Canada – we used to DJ frat parties, formals, clubs, and then started opening for a few artists that came to town. As the project went farther, we decided to double down on the music side of things. We have both always been musicians before anything else and the goal was to always use this project as a platform to showcase music that we are passionate about.”
Now it wouldn’t be a proper EDMTunes feature if we didn’t dig into the serious questions, so we asked…”Why Tequila?”
“We had a very “thorough” investigative process to determine which liquor represented our sound best. This involved experimenting with every drink possible on numerous nights. In the end we concluded that Absinthe is too gross, Vodka too generic and Jameson whiskey got pulled off of our tour rider because things got a little out of hand. So, tequila it is.”
This extensive amount of research comes through in their music. With every fun n’ funky rhythm comes a phat kick in the teeth, and the combo will have your head spinning in seconds. The energy in this stuff is off the charts, so if you’re not building your party playlists around some of their remixes and originals, then you’re doing it wrong.
Up next is Cofresi. Chicago based drum maestro, beat-smith, and DJ extraordinaire, Ben Cofresi, is onto something special with his music. We caught him just in time for the release of his latest EP, Nuveau, and are more than happy to share it with you guys. Nuveau is the product of years upon years of experience, as Cofresi has been experimenting with percussion since age 4, playing piano since age 7, and influences from jazz, hip-hop, soul and R&B. The beauty of this collection of tracks, is the purpose with which each song was built, and the way you’d hear it live if you’re lucky enough to make it to his show; his music is built for the purpose of live performance, where they’ll truly shine (and where you’ll be truly blown away), as his set up allows him to drum and DJ all at once. This isn’t easy, but for Cofresi, it’s worth it.
“Hard work truly pays off and I’m basically down to bust my ass for progression and opportunity. I’m going to do as much as I can to continue to move forward, create, perform, progress and inspire.”
“I want [fans] to have an emotional connection of some sort, whether it be getting hyped on the vibe of an upbeat track, feeling the emotion of a soulful trk, or just being amused and inspired by the sound design and beats. As for performance, I want to blow people’s minds, inspire them and make em dance all at the same time.”
This is craftsman’s music. There’s a clear and sincere effort given in pushing the envelope of what’s possible with electronic music and performance. Drawing inspiration from producers like “Carmack, Lido, Lux Impala…” (among others) and support from musicians such as Adam Deitch, Cofresi tracks display innumerable blends of future, house, drum n’ bass, hip-hop, soul, and jazz. Be on the lookout for more from this guy (shouldn’t be too hard, we’ll definitely be pushing his music for as long as he’s around now), he’s here to stay.
[To the fans] “I love you.Thank you for all your support & interest.There is so much dope stuff to come…Stay tuned!”
We’re going to end things on a slightly more mysterious note, with Slowbødy. He’s been making the rounds with our friends over at Nest HQ and THUMP, and the brooding character is showing the earmarks of a dark horse festival contender. One day we reckon he’ll sneak somewhere onto a festival lineup, and the next he could be one of the names in large font at the top.
His music isn’t deep house. It’s not tech. It’s most certainly not future. Really it’s unlike most everything out there. Listening to a Slowbødy track is like listening to the sound of black. There’s a dark gravity to his work, with tinges of funk sprinkled in to give it body; rolling baselines accompanied by grumbling subtle vibrations, complex percussive arrangements, and a variety of moody synths come together in one seriously addicting package.
Facɇboøk || Twittɇr || Instⱥgram || Tonɇden
