Asian Dan

Take a hugely successful buzzband and then have the “it” buzz-artist remix their hit single – should work right? Ah the lovely music industry we live in by any means possible how can we the hype alive?! Well in this case it works as the pop prince Penguin Prison brings down the hyper-active falsetto of Passion Pit into a whispery, Holy Ghost! Yacht House, Disco sounding track. I really enjoy that bite in the bassline.

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/Aug%202010/Passion%20Pit%20-%20Little%20Secrets%20(Penguin%20Prison%20Remix).mp3]
Passion Pit – Little Secrets (Penguin Prison Remix)

via Neon Gold

Let’s put my Blogonomics 101 theory to test. Hypemachine Economy staple/buzz band, Passion Pit gets yet another remix by some producer br0s, Plus Move. Formula for HypeM chart domination? We shall see. All Blog theories aside, this is a great Boston on Boston collab. Just some talented/fun guys, Plus Move doin’ their thing. I’m a big fan of the piano and the bass part that kicks in. blogblogblog nomnomnom tweettweettweet

“Nate (Shuttle) our boy sent us the stems. We made this banger in a night. Forgot about it. Then Future Kiddd, aka one half of Plus Move, came in and gave it that pop vibe. The Passion Pit boys and their label loved the remix and wanted to use it for promotional purposes, but MySpace doesn’t know good music when it hits em right in tha face! Peace. :)” – Plus Move

“Easily the most soulful and funky remix we have ever had the honor of receiving. Very Plus Move=Very Tasteful.” – Passion Pit

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/March%202010/01%20Little%20Secrets%20(Plus%20Move%20Remix%20feat.%20Future%20Kiddd).mp3]
Passion Pit – Little Secrets (Plus Move Remix feat. Future Kiddd)

Artwork by EIKNARF

THE ORION is now upon us. Shuttle has crafted the most epic mix to ever grace this blog. One Hour and Forty-Five Minutes of deep bass, UK 2-Step Garage, Dubstep goodness. If you listen to this all at once I applaud you. Checkout a little Q&A with Mr. Shuttle as he divulges his love of UK electronic music and why it took so long to get me this mix, 10 Months – but I must say it was well worth the wait.

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/Feb%202010/shuttle%20-%20orion%20mix/Shuttle%20-%20Asian%20Dan%20Presents%20The%20Orion%20Mixtape%20-%20asianmandan.com.mp3]
Download: Asian Dan Presents Shuttle “The Orion Mixtape”

Asian Dan Q&A:

1. Who is Shuttle? How would you describe your music?

Legally, I am Nathan Donmoyer from Leonardtown, Maryland, but I go by Shuttle because I try to make music that transports the listener through different places in a believable yet refreshing path.

2. What are biggest influences, musical or otherwise?

The rhythm section, drums and bass, bass and drums. The rhythm section is the most powerful ingredient, you can have the same chicken, noodles and vegetables raw to start, but with rhythm and bass you can make 1,000 thai, indian, italian, mexican, or japanese dishes. All delicious. That and all UK bass music. I love it all. Slow, fast, swung, straight, instrumental, mc’s, diva’s. I wonder if I was born in london if I would appreciate it as much…

3. This mix is anything but an Asian Dan MINImix, it is the most epic/longest mix ever to grace this blog – 34 tracks clocking in at 1 hour and 45 mins. What took so long and what was some of your inspiration for it?

Ok, to contradict my Anglophilia from above, I have to say, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND mini-mixes. It’s this BBC British phenomenon I can’t understand. Plus, I told you would do this mix in April 2009 so when I finally got around to doing it this week I thought I owed you at least 90 minutes right? Mp3 = freedom from 74 minute compact discs, why not embrace the long form?
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Hey Champ takes on the synth-pop blog kings Passion Pit’s “Little Secrets”. Pete sent me the unmastered version of this remix a month ago and I knew that it would be a blogosphere hit. I love the slick bassline and what they do to the chorus and the bridge. If you are lucky enough to be in Brazil make sure to check out Hey Champ as they play a few shows and DJ down south.

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/Oct%202009/02-passion_pit-little_secrets_(hey_champ_remix).mp3]
Passion Pit – Little Secrets (Hey Champ Remix) (192 kbps)

Shuttle is a remixing/producing machine – from working on his own tracks or remixing tracks under Passion Pit’s name, he is just constantly pumping out tracks. Listen to this great reworking of “Love Like a Sunset” – LOUD. Nate promised Asian Dan an exclusive mix so be on the look out for that soon!

“Our good friend Shuttle sent us this fantastic remix of “Love Like A Sunset” and we’d like to share it with all of you. As well as releasing records as shuttle, he also plays drums in Passion Pit as “Nate”! His new album will be out later this year.”-Phoenix Diary

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/Oct%202009/Phoenix%20-%20Love%20Like%20A%20Sunset%20(Shuttle%20Remix).mp3]
Phoenix – Love Like a Sunset (Shuttle Remix)

“Todd is genius and I have never been disapointed by his music. I keep telling my friends I can hear angels singing, do you?” – Busy P

Todd Edwards is the angelic voice behind “Face to Face” – that amazing tune by a little french duo known as Daft Punk. Todd is one of the godfathers of the UK Garage scene and has remixed everyone from Zoot Woman, Phoenix, Justice, Klaxons, Paul Johnson, and St. Germain. Now here is a little peak into this man from New Jersey’s musical mind and find out how the Daft Punk collaboration came about and how/why he remixed Japan’s own Boris.

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/Sept%202009/Todd%20Edwards/Face%20to%20Face%20(Todd%20Edwards%20Remix).mp3]
Daft Punk – Face To Face (Todd Edwards Remix)

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Zoot Woman – Taken It All (Todd Edwards Remix)

Also this time around I had some producers/DJs send in their own questions for Mr. Edwards -find out what Nate Donmoyer (Shuttle/Passion PIt), Pete Dougherty (Hey Champ), Emil & Friends, and GLOVES had to ask.

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Asian Dan Exclusive Interview: TODD EDWARDS

Who is Todd Edwards? How would you describe your sound?

I’m a music producer from New Jersey. ..Lot of talent in Jersey 😉 I’ve been making club music since 1991. The driving force that has inspired me to keep going all these years is God. My faith plays an important part in my music and the direction I take it. I have always described my sound as a musical collage. I take bits and pieces that I’ve sampled and fill in the spaces until I feel the track sounds complete.

What are some of your biggest influences, musical or otherwise? What is your first musical memory?

I will always give credit to the original influences that started me on the path of my sound. Marc Kinchen better known as MK introduced us all to a very unique sampling style in his remix of Nightcrawlers “Push The Feeling On.” He cut up the vocals into a two bar loop that sounded like it was saying something, but it wasn’t. The remix was huge with many to follow. I took on exploring that cut-up sample style. I also listened to a lot of Enya. Enya used a lot of her own vocals as part of her background music. I combined Enya’s vocal concept with MK’s vocal cut ups. Add some Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez inspired drum patterns and you get the genesis of what I do now. Film scores have been a great source of inspiration to me. There are chord progressions in film scores that you don’t usually find in club music. The sampling process itself has exposed me to many genres of music from disco and r&b of the 70’s to the 60’s folk music movement. I look for interesting textures to sample. What I sample plays an even more important role in my tracks than how I arrange the samples.

My first musical memory was writing a simple song in a note pad a couple days after my mother received a piano from my father as a gift. I remember when that piano was delivered. It was a great morning, and I still love that piano.

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Photo by J-CIO

Last week was the Asian Dan Summer 2009 Tour a 4 day marathon of shows in NYC and Boston featuring Phoenix, A-Trak, Major Lazer, Steve Aoki, Auto Erotique and Passion Pit. Special thanks to Glassnote Records, Biz 3 Publicity, Adam Gill of Embrace Productions, Nicky Digital and Shuttle for hooking it up.

Phoenix – Live @ Paradise – Boston, MA – 6.17.2009
The tour started off in Boston with Phoenix. Amazing show. Finally Phoenix is getting the attention and respect they deserve for being such great pop that are able to move minds, hearts, and feet with . And everyone who thinks they are just a slick pop rock band, the drummer Thomas Hedlund shows that they are really rock and roll through and through. What a beast of a drummer, he is just so amusing to watch. I was most impressed by the songs they played off of It’s Never Been Like That such as “Rally” and “Sometimes in the Fall”, they had this raw quality that reminded me of The Police. The amazing setlist after the jump!

Photos by The Phoenix

Embrace Presents Bacardi B-Live featuring A-Trak, Major Lazer, and more – Live @ House of Blues – Boston, MA – 6.18.2009
Thursday night Bacardi’s B-Live show came to Boston’s House of Blues, I was most excited for Major Lazer and A-Trak. Got there as Matt & Kim started their set which was indie-tastic and lackluster, Kim is quite the energetic young lady. Steve Porter spun but did not play his Slap Chop Remix so I was thoroughly disappointed. A-Trak came on next and as usual struck the balance between technical proficiency, amazing track selection and overall just geting the crowd moving. Props to him. Major Lazer closed the night but unfortunately half the crowd had left and Diplo and Switch didn’t seem too into it. But they made up for it by dropping “Pon De Floor”, one of my summer jams.

Photo by Nicky Digital

Phoenix – Live @ Terminal 5 – 6.19.2009
Phoenix in my opinion is one of the most underrated bands of the past 10 years and am glad they finally getting the recommendation and respect they deserve. Which is warrants me seeing them twice in less than 3 days. Terminal 5 is not the best venue to see a band but Phoenix was able to blow me away again. Once again their drummer, Thomas Hedlund just astonished me. I also noticed how much guitarist, Christian Mazzalai reminds me of Jimmy Page. After seeing Phoenix live twice they have solidified my opinion that they are my favorite band of the last 10 years.

Steve Aoki & Auto Erotique – Live @ Webster Hall – 6.19.2009
After Phoenix I rolled down to Webster Hall to with Mr. Nicky Digital to catch Steve Aoki and Co. I was impressed by Auto Erotique who brought it quite hard, everyone watch out for this other Toronto duo. <3 T-dot. Check out a quick Asian Dan Q&A with Auto Erotique from a few months back here.

Photos by The Edgitator

Passion Pit – Live @ Bowery Ballroom – 6.20.2009
I’ve never been a huge fan of Passion Pit but I think that is a huge element of pop music, that guilty pleasure element, that I shouldn’t like these guys because of all the hype and the hooks. There is no doubt that their music is direct, catchy, gets stuck in your head, and gets people moving. All the proper elements of pop music. Compared to everyone else in the band frontman Michael Angelakos did not seem as into it, I guess that is part of his whole cloistered/shy frontman M.O. Props to my boy Nate, Shuttle who held it down on the drums. Also be on the look out for an Asian Dan Exclusive Shuttle Mix in the near future 🙂

Checkout after the jump Phoenix’s setlist from the Boston and NYC show, their Letterman Performance of “1901”, and a interview from The Fader with A-Trak in Boston.

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8-Bit remix by Miike Snow. I like the Policey/Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins touch they added and that they retained the original chorus. Pop music gurus.

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/June%202009/Miike%20Snow%20-%20Passion%20Pit%20-%20The%20Reeling%20(Miike%20Snow%20Remix).mp3]
Passion Pit – The Reeling (Miike Snow Remix)

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Passion Pit – The Reeling (Shuttle’s Super Club Mega Mix ’99)

Pretty good job from Mr. Calvin Harris. He took my favorite part of this song, the little synth part at the very end and brings it to the sonic foreground. Holla! SHUTTLE from PP. Check out the OAK.fm love from Passion Pit, here.

[audio:http://diestruktur.com/asianmandan/music/May%202009/Passion%20Pit%20-%20The%20Reeling%20(Calvin%20Harris%20Remix).mp3]

Passion Pit – The Reeling (Calvin Harris Remix)