Interview with Ewan Pearson
Reading lists, life on the road and what’s in store for 2012 were all touched upon when we chatted with DJ, producer, remixer and published author Ewan Pearson. Ewan has been a fixture in the dance music world for over 15 years. His remix credits include Moby, The Chemical Brothers, Freeform Five and Depeche Mode. He has produced albums for the likes of Tracy Thorn, The Rapture and most recently Footprintz. Not to mention most of his weekends are still spent playing records in clubs all around the world. 40 is around the corner, but he admittedly has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
Blisspop will be hosting Ewan at U Street Music Hall tomorrow night, Feb 22, along with Protect-U of Future Times. Doors are at 9 pm and it’s free for 21+ ($5 for 18-20). RSVP here.
Monsieur Adi – Fire Fire Fire EP
All the way from Paris, disco-electro producer, Monsieur Adi, proudly released his second EP Fire Fire Fire on February 20th from Technofavrik Records. Adi introduced us to the EP in September with the album-titled single “Fire Fire Fire,” which caught the attention of many and helped energize the hype for this 6-track EP.
The album is set in an orchestral landscape filled with dark, mission-hungry electro that influences both the instrumentals and vocals throughout. Monsieur Adi ignites the album into a “modern-day symphony” that peaks at many epic scenes with pulsing beats and rock-influenced flow. For vocals, Adi reached out to top UK singer/song writer Gary Go who gave input for the tracks “Fire Fire Fire,” “Blood,” and “Last Stand.”
During the 2 years since his first EP “We Are The Romans,” he’s been releasing a variety of collaborations and remixes from the works of Visitor, Daft Punk, Justice, Ellie Goulding, and Madonna that indeed gave listeners much anticipation for the EP. However, as Fire Fire Fire is expected to grasp a considerable amount of respect, Adi is labeling it only as an excerpt for what’s to come. Later this year, he plans to release a full-length album titled Empire – stay tuned.
In the meantime, you can now purchase Fire Fire Fire today on iTunes.
In addition, Adi is currently spearheading a remix contest for his track “Requiem” until March 5th. He’s thoughtfully posted the stems for the song in a SoundCloud set that you can download and begin transforming. Three winners will be selected: “One remix will be chosen by Monsieur Adi and Technofavrik. The other will be chosen by the people.” You can follow the status of the contest, and later on, contribute to voting on his Facebook and Twitter.
Cézaire
Splashin’ up summer vibes from Paris, we give you funky French house producer, Cézaire. Cézaire is Jean Juan Janin, originally from Miami but currently residing in the heart of France. He delivers a soothing, melodic, yet dance-inspiring collection of work filtered with layers of funk, high-pitched synths, and sexy vocals.
Jean has been sporadically releasing his work online for the past year, giving us a taste of Cézaire’s fluid funky rhythms and meaty basslines. Despite no noted intention of a debut EP or official releases in the near future, you’ll quickly discover his talent is one to appreciate and keep in contact with as he definitely will be going places soon. Take a listen to the tunes streamed here then jump over to his SoundCloud for an essential collection of more French house gems.
Up Close And Personal With Cassian
The Aussie invasion continues as Blisspop highlights another young, promising DJ/producer in the Nu Disco scene. He goes by the name Cassian and his dedication to crossing over genres through musical exploration is landing him increased exposure worldwide. You should really go check out his sounds to fully grasp what we’re talking about.
Cassian has hit the ground running in 2012 with appearances at The Big Day Out Festival (Australia’s iconic touring music festival) and most recently alongside John Digweed. He’ll head down to WMC in March to join forces with Gigamesh and Fred Falke but not before meeting up with one of our favorites, Aeroplane, to help finish off his tour. Be sure to check them both out this Saturday at U Street Music Hall. More info can be found here while tickets can be purchased over at Ticketfly.
Between his hectic schedule, we were fortunate enough to pull him aside and pick his brain on Aussie influences, joining a Country Club, and getting deep.
Tourist – Placid Acid EP
We’ve covered the work of Will Phillips a few times on the blog before but much has changed since our last update in September. Will previously released dreamy synthpop under the name Little Loud up until 2012 when he decided to rebrand as Tourist. Getting comfortable in the new outfit, he’s preparing for his debut Placid Acid EP set to release on March 12th via UK label Make Mine.
Just about a month ago, Will gave his introduction to Tourist by streaming the album’s first song titled “Placid Acid.” The track carries the orchestral rhythm and high-pitched electronic characteristics that we saw with his work as Little Loud and has already received a substantial amount of feedback from listeners. This week he let loose another EP preview, “Jupiter,” which is yet another catchy tune that stretches vocal echoes across an electropop landscape – listen to it streamed below. Both of these previews give us another refreshingly smooth taste of his production in anticipation of the EP to come. From initially being a known as a remixer and slowly dabbling his way into original production, Will has certainly worked his way up to confidently building an EP as well as beginning to do live performances.
Stay tuned to his Facebook and SoundCloud for more upcoming previews and the official release of Placid Acid EP. Tracklist is as follows:
- Placid Acid
- Forgive
- Jupiter
- Fires
Most of his previous work as Little Loud has been disposed but some tracks are still available for listen on Myspace.