At long last the time has come, friends. Ellie Goulding finally hits our fair shores next month, playing her debut US shows at The Roxy in LA and New York City's Hiro Ballroom. We're thrilled to be putting on the latter, going down on September 30th and presented in conjunction with Bowery Presents. And as if Ellie's first US show wasn't exciting enough as is, we've also got our main man Penguin Prison opening up the night with his high octane brand of soulful electro, making this one of the absolute hottest tickets in town. Seriously, this is going to be HUGE. Tickets are on sale now but will no doubt go fast, so cruise on over to Bowery's site to cop your tickets NOW.
Jakwob first burst onto the scene and melted minds with his empire-toppling mix of Ellie Goulding's "Starry Eyed" back in early 2009, and he's since established himself as one of the most sought after remixers in the game via a slew of immense official mixes for everyone from Robyn to Kid Sister. Late last year he sent us a crop of seriously exciting demos that hinted at a young producer on the precipice of greatness, and now at long lost he's ready to unleash the first taste of his original material on the world. Out 13th September on his own Boom Ting Recordings imprint, "Here With Me" arrives as Jakwob's first official single and statement of intent, ominous synths and eerie Burial-esque vox samples washing back and forth across the mix, a tangible sense of dread and longing pervading throughout. Haunting and strangely beautiful, it's only the tip of the iceberg for an artist who promises to be one of the biggest names in dubstep by the time the next twelve months have run their course.
Today marks the triumphant release of our tenth single on Neon Gold, Ellie Goulding's amazing Under The Sheets 7", which looks set to be our fastest-selling release yet. To celebrate the occasion we've got some fresh exclusive remixes on hand from newcomers Pariah and Baby Monster, both of whom masterfully recontextualize the Starsmith-produced original in a dramatic new light. Fresh off our CMJ party, West Coast bright young things Baby Monster drop a beautiful take on the original, a slow-burning epic that gradually develops to a rousing, emotive climax.
Pariah follows up his spotlight-grabbing remix for The XX with another winner, turning Ellie's "you left a bloodstain" lyric into a haunting, visceral refrain and plunging the track into realm of darkness rarely approached on Ellie's original tracks. Both shine as inspiring interpretations that pull the original in all manner of new directions and contribute to a remix package that's shaping up to be one of the year's most exciting, rounded out by a massive hands-in-the-air Jakwob remix that's available on iTunes from next Monday.
Elsewhere, the phenomenal "Under The Sheets" video (above) has been kicking about for a minute now, but Ellie fans would do well to keep tabs on her official YouTube channel as well. Additionally, those still looking to lock down a copy of the 7" would be wise to move fast, as copies are quite literally flying off the shelves and will be sold out in no time. Records are still available from the Neon Gold Shop (US) and Puregroove (UK), get on it.
We've shown our main man Penguin Prison no shortage of love in these pages over the past few months, and now it's time to bring his masterful debut single into the world on Neon Gold. Another stellar double A-side release, we already unveiled the sterling lead track "Animal Animal" in September, and now we've got the equally brilliant AA-side "A Funny Thing" for your downloading pleasure. "Animal Animal" shined in the late summer sun as a bubbly cut of carefree pop effervescence, but "Funny Thing" doesn't waste any time giving you the business, all driving, churning synths and a huge chorus that stands out as his finest pop moment yet. Big stuff, people.
MP3: "A Funny Thing" - Penguin Prison [expired]
It's been amazing to see the reception Penguin's already gotten on UK radio, with fervent support coming from Radio 1, XFM and NME Radio for both tracks. The single's out November 23rd and comes sporting another beautiful round of cover artwork from the lovely and amazing FRAU GRAU, and will be available as usual from the Neon Gold Shop in the US and at Puregroove for our international customers. With remixes for both tracks coming in from The Sound of Arrows, Monarchy, Jakwob and more, this is sure to be an immensely popular release, so drop down and get your order on before it's too late.
The world lost the greatest entertainer of all time while we were off at Glasto, and it's only just beginning to settle in now that we've returned to the real world. Glasto had it's fair share of ill advised MJ tributes, so it's nice to see a worthwhile celebration of the King of Pop back in London this week. Head down to Punk on Thursday for Wonky Pop's celebration of the man and his accomplishments, featuring a headlining DJ set from Ellie Goulding remix hero Jakwob. Free entry for anyone dressed as the Gloved One himself, all the info you need is here.
We've been a bit busy bouncing around between London, Bristol, Nottingham and Newcastle over the past few days, but this just demands to have time made for it. Dubstep isn't something we've ever been overly fond of 'round Neon Gold headquarters, but between Skream's "In For The Kill" mix, Nero's immense take on "Blinded By The Lights" and this absolutely massive rework of "Starry Eyed" by Midlands up-and-comer Jakwob, 2009 is slowly changing our outlook on the subgenre. The Ellie Goulding original was already one of our absolute tunes of the year and Jakwob takes the blueprint put in place by Starsmith and blows it up to epic proportions, dropping the year's fiercest bassline on the chorus and destroying everything in his path with what is truly one of the best and most unexpected remixes of the past year.
At long last the time has come, friends. Ellie Goulding finally hits our fair shores next month, playing her debut US shows at The Roxy in LA and New York City's Hiro Ballroom. We're thrilled to be putting on the latter, going down on September 30th and presented in conjunction with Bowery Presents. And as if Ellie's first US show wasn't exciting enough as is, we've also got our main man Penguin Prison opening up the night with his high octane brand of soulful electro, making this one of the absolute hottest tickets in town. Seriously, this is going to be HUGE. Tickets are on sale now but will no doubt go fast, so cruise on over to Bowery's site to cop your tickets NOW.
