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Sunday 21 December 2014

CLT's Best of 2014



Well, here we go again folks – it’s the end of another year and it’s that time when Andy sits down with a cup of tea, a bag of Doritos and several bags of ice to soothe his weary wrists whilst he types out this post. Yes, it’s time for Colatron’s Best of 2014 list. Pull on your dancing shoes, crank up your speakers and come join me on a journey in to the weird and wonderful corners of this little scene we call mashup.

It’s been a strange old year and one for which I owe you an apology for from the get go. As you may have seen elsewhere, I kinda let things slip; both in my duties as a producer and as a fan. I haven’t been listening to many tracks this year – in fact if you pushed me, I’d be hard-pressed to tell you what I have been listening to in the Colamobile (though Last FM tells me that SuBo once made the playlist…**shudders**). And I totally got distracted by pastures new **waving at my new street art buddies**.

Whether it be the state of the music industry in general in 2014 or a general apathy on my part, there just hasn’t been much new music that has interested me, and sadly that’s filtered down in to the world of mashup. With a couple of major exceptions, new source files haven’t been terribly exciting and with the Soundcloud police tightening up on detecting what we do, it’s becoming ever harder for the guys and girls to get their stuff out there and heard. The dream of creating our own little nation state on an island in the Caribbean (MASHLANTIS ahoy!) from where like-minded producers can exist in safety and copyright laws don’t exist is still alive and well (I joined a lottery syndicate!).

However, it’s not all doom and gloom! Whilst many of my friends and peers have took a step back to put their feet up in the grand GYBO retirement home in the sky (picture if you will, a bunch of us jaded, craggy faced old gits sat around in comfy cardigans in huge leather armchairs by the fire, moaning about our tinnitus and randomly shouting out #NAGAIUTB), a number of newer producers continue to pump out some chooooons and for me, 2014 was without doubt the year of the remix. There were some killer remixes out there that gave a new lease of life to tracks well known and well loved (like seriously, industry-standard remixes – looking at you RS you clever sir you).

There were also some fantastic projects and concept albums out there resulting in some hella-good compilations and tributes, plus the rise of the Crumplbanger continues unabated, bringing the fun and mind-boggling creativity, nay, the bat-shizz crazy back in to the scene ;(

And of course not forgetting, there was #ProjectFlake – possibly the most fun the guys and I have ever had, paying tribute to a legendary track from the scene (Jay-Zeezer’s “99 Luft Problems”) in a nigh infinite number of ways, whilst doing what the Kardashian couldn’t – truly breaking the Internet (or at least pissing off a few people at Reddit).

So to my friends and colleagues, and to those of you I don’t know so well, I say thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing. Thanks for the all the joy they’re bringing. Who can live without it, in all honesty, what would life be? Etc. etc.

Right – I’m waffling. Let’s get down and dirty. Join me! These are the Best of 2014


Aggro1

A legend returns! Proving he still has the swagger, the bite, and most importantly, the balls-out BEATS OF DOOM, Tim showed up to teach the kids what it’s all about. This is how you make a banger boys and girls. Gas mask optional.

Untitled (The Geto Boys vs. Fourward)



Dan Mei

Unfortunately, 2014 didn’t play out so well for my mate Dan; but before the bastards ended the party early, we did get another classic Dan Mei multi-mash that shows once more why for me, he was top of the tree when it comes to handling so many different songs in a composition that actually makes sense and takes you on a journey. Plus, it’s my beloved LDR.

Here’s hoping Dan makes a comeback in one form or another in 2015 – someone needs to teach those end of year folk how it’s done!

Cruel Summertime (Icona Pop vs. Lana Del Rey vs. Edward Maya ft. Vika Jigulina vs. Ace of Base vs. Linkin Park)


Dan Mei - Cruel Summertime Love from Mashup Charts on Vimeo.

DeeM

Davbear totally won earworm of the year for me with this one – taking my beloved Kavinsky (and not the one you’d expect), and sprinkling liberal doses of that 80s icon Phil Collins all over it, he actually made something that ended up more 80s than the 80s themselves. Best enjoyed when driving around a neon city by night, whilst looking brooding. Which I’ve actually done to this gem of a track.

Odd Mama (Kavinsky vs. Phil Collins)



DJ ATHOM

Dim totally nailed it with this one. It was almost as if he’d made it for me personally, knowing my love of both LDR and the fantastic Italian composer Einaudi. Giving more emotional punch for your pound, this was truly wonderful.

La Ballade De Lana (Lana Del Rey vs. Ludovico Einaudi)



DJ Bigg H

Atlanta’s best kept secret (Bob kinda nailed that market years ago!), Bigg H threw a couple of HUGE productions out this year fusing great choices of contrasting sources, resulting in the kind of tracks I sit here and daydream of receiving dances of a saucy nature to. Flawless production and sounding great on the Cola-speakers, he may have been around longer than you think, but he should be a bigger deal and hopefully 2015 will be for him.

Go Low In Those Shoes (Ludacris vs. The Eagles)



It Could Be Sweet to Wake Up Before Time’s Up (Mad Season vs. O.C. vs. Portishead)



DJ LUP

My guilty pleasure of the year has to be the infectious Rather Be from Clean Bandit – it’s been everywhere and I’m not entirely convinced there isn’t some kind of voodoo magic or subliminal shizz going on in that there riff. Naturally, for such a big track, there was a raft of mashups, but this was the pick of the bunch for me – good old fashioned A+B mashing, c. 2007ish from DJ LUP with a classic GYBO vocal fave.

The Way to be Rather (Clean Bandit vs. Timbaland)



DJ Moule

Another legend of GYBO returns to show us how it’s all done. Seemingly effortless production weaving 80s classics in to one seamless dancefloor filler; this is how we used to do it. Perfect.

The Magnificent Gang (Yes vs. The Clash vs. SugarHill Gang)



DJ Poulpi

A relative newcomer to the scene, no one rocks quite as hard as Poulpi, and he totally caught me off-guard with this throwback to my younger years, when I’d regularly take abuse on the London Underground for blasting out Slipknot a little too loud on my Minidisc player. We often talk about the pot of gold on the scene is to capture the fabled ‘genre clash’ – well this is genre clash at it’s finest and THEN some

Set Fire to Sulfur (Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright vs. Slipknot)



DJ Rudec

My mate Rui had another fine year whipping out so many tracks of different style as well as a couple of excellent full-length DJ mixes, it was hard to narrow down his best but for me, these two sum up what he does so well – from a total dark and moody rolla to a cheeky slab of chintz filled holiday nostalgia. Superb!

Ripper Or Not (Grooverider vs. Fugees)



One Note Salmon (Stan Getz and Tom Jobin vs. Chemical Brothers)



DJ Schmolli

Ah, my beloved Ken. Even if there wasn’t a single track from the world of mashup I enjoyed this year, I could still spend a day typing out the story of my on-going war of words with the Anti-CLT. Bless him, he may be the biggest name on the scene and he may churn out 15 tracks a day for a living whilst travelling the world and generally being a rock n’ roll star whilst his tracks are boomed out in sporting stadiums, but to me – he’ll always be simple Ken Schmoll from Wigan, the antithesis of all things CLT. But ssssh, don’t tell him – I actually like his work. Now delete that from your minds, we never had this conversation.

I could probably list 20 tracks from Thomas this year that continue to shine the spotlight on the scene and give us all a good name, but I’ll narrow it down to 4, just in case he were to think that I liked him ;)

Oh, and sadly even the Terminator of Mash isn’t invincible – the Soundcloud Police took him down too so you’ll have to make do with these links for the time being.I guess that's the problem when you have a catalogue in excess of 2,598 mashups - who's going to re-upload them for you....

Smacking Up Papaoutai (The Prodigy vs. Stromae)


DJ Schmolli - Smacking Up Papaoutai from DJ Zune T on Vimeo.

Smells Like Dibby Sound (Nirvana vs. DJ Fresh w/ Jay Fay and Ms. Dynamite)



Grapevine Riders (Marvin Gaye vs. The Doors)



Royal Snoop (Lorde vs. Snoop Dogg)



DJ Tripp

Well, if YT owned the remix scene last year with those corkers I posted, this year he’s GOT to be strong contender for my fave track of the year. Another stunning remix that I’ve spammed on my stereo on repeat; there’s a couple of others further down on this list that can give him a run for his money, but this is full on next-level remix wizardry. If I were of a criminal minded nature and wanted to do things to a hostage in a Tarrantino movie, this would be the soundtrack to said crime. I defy you not to want to dance to this.

And for legal reasons, I must mention, I’m not of a criminal minded nature.

Stealers Wheel – Stuck in the Middle With You (DJ Tripps’s Funk in the Middle Remix)



DJ Y alias JY

Sadly, another of my all-time heroes has called time on production duties this year, though I’m hoping he’ll be back in 2015, if only to give us more Andy-baiting with his selfies taken with the stunning Anna F. So whilst there wasn’t many to choose from, Jive still absolutely nailed it with another top LDR track, and a stunning take on the most over-used vocal of the year with a slab of nostalgia for me so strong, I thought I’d stepped in a time machine and headed back to the days when I’d practice my dancing in my bedroom at Mamatron’s. Come back soon JD – we need you!

Happy (Would You?) (Pharrell Williams vs. Touch and Go)



Friedberg Sadness (Anna F. vs. Lana Del Rey)



DRA’Man

Another fine showing this year from the always reliable Alex – quietly putting out quality track after quality track, and now a couple of years since first arriving on the scene, varying up the style of output too from the 60s soul and funk he was so excellent at, showing why he’s one of the most versatile and important mashers on the scene.

Make It Easy is up there for one of my faves of the year too. Bravo mon ami.

You Know Heartbreak (Two Door Cinema Club vs. Grieves)



Make It Easy (Queens of the Stone Age vs. Madonna)



Scratch My Kung-Fu (Carl Douglas vs. Booker T & The MGs)



Rappers Delight (Dan the Automator vs. Sugarhill Gang vs. Martinis)



Fissunix

My Lord Fissu. The one and only Fred. It’s no secret after all these years that Fred is my fave producer out there at the mo – everything he touches just comes out as pure audio magic. And this year was no different.

Of course, I’ve been lucky enough to make some things with him along the way too, my own personal fave thing to make this year being the saucy and NSFW-ish “OSS1” coming from the minds of our mash supergroup “Fissutron” (think ELP but with more style and less individual 18-wheeler trucks).

And Grace & Downfall must be played at my funeral.

I love you Fred you wonderful man you! And congrats on another stunning year of music!

Still Hanging on to Lovetown (Peter Gabriel vs. Lee Fields)



Back to Rock School (Hexstatic vs. James Brown vs. Led Zeppelin)



Grace & Downfall (Placebo vs. London Grammar)



The One and Only Faithful Man (Lee Fields vs. Adele)



Darling, It’s All Over (Lee Fields vs. London Grammar)



Flying White Dots

The Return of the King. Another legend and a huge influence on me, Bryan’s sound may have changed from the deep, thinking man’s mash that I tried to plagiarise so much over the years, but it’s still as bloody ace as ever as shown by this slab of disco pop. And it has the seal of approval from La Roux herself. Naturally.

Uptight Down and Out (La Roux vs. Diana Ross vs. Nile Rodgers)



Frail Limb Purity

The Aphex Twin of mash and sometime CLT collaborator returned this year with what is one of the most gorgeous moments of brevity I’ve heard in a long time. Dammit Ty, just give me a damned album in 2015 will you? B E G G I N G Y O U

Breezy (Porter Robinson vs. Cashmere Cat vs. The Weekend vs. edIT)



Gauffie

Another producer I’m not overly familiar with, though I do like everything I’ve heard from Gauffie. This though was the standout track for me, and possibly my fave pop house mash of the year. Completely rejuvenated the dead-to-me Adele vocal too – I’m ready for phase 2 of a million Rolling in the Deep tracks right now.

Rolling for Your Love (Gorgon City vs. John Legend)



GenErik

My old mate Erik had another cracking year with some fantastic full length DJ mixes that he whipped out, and even won a competition along the way with a corking mini-mix too (see below). Aside from that, he flexed his remix muscles and in a moment of either sheer genius or complete madness, whipped up possibly the most surreal and obscure yet touching mashup I’ve heard in many a year. I gravitate towards the genius side.

O Monument! (Laurie Anderson vs. Efterklang)



Ska Makes Me Happy (minimix)



Ice Cube – You Can Do It (2099 Mojo Rydim Remix)



Groovefunkel

The Baron is back in his court. Providing the sounds to the creation of my firstborn (should I ever meet the future Mrs Smart TM) he took the legendary Barry White and somehow made him sound like the best night you’ve never had in the company of your partner. Smoother than smooth peanut butter, how has he not been snapped up as a pro-remixer yet?? Sheer class.

Barry White – Never, Never Gonna Give You Up (Groovefunel Keep On Doin’ It remix)



I’m From Finland

Nicolas produced some fine remixes this year, along with a brilliant album of original music too, under his IFF guise, but it was this track that grabbed me by the throat on the savannah and refused to let go. Perfect for cruising around the streets of Brum with wonky suspension that appears to make my Corsa jump to the music.

Untitled (The Geek vs. VRV vs. Talib Kweli)



Isosine

The enigma which is Isosine – the current darling of the news aggregators on the web for when it comes to end of year mega-mashies. But it was this track from earlier in the year that took my breath away and made me wish that I had produced it myself.

Taking my beloved Bon Iver’s “Perth” (which I finally got chance to have a fiddle with this year – those guitars… #LeSigh) and the amazing Daughter (check the album If You Leave – stunning), I’d have been proud to call this my own.

Perth Love (Bon Iver vs. Daughter)



Joe “The Touch” Truswell

If you ever needed an example of what the core principles of Crumplbanger is – this is the track that sums it up.

Classic TV theme tune – check. Ridiculous drum and bass production over the top – check. Tongue in cheek – possibly. Whole lotta fun – OH LORD YES.

Drop this on the dancefloor and watch in joy as the kids look bemused, as the older set go ape-shizz.

John Sullivan – Hooky Street (Drum and Bass remix)



Kill_mR_DJ

My mate Pantelis played a blinder of a year, turning out smash after smash, making me wonder if he’s one of Ken Schmolli’s clone army!

So many to choose from, but sadly the ones I’d made note of no longer appear to be online (Fuck Like A Radioactive Dude and In The Name of Rage) but fortunately I’ve found my fave of his, “Wicked”, still online, which was strong contender for my fave of the year anyway.

Fantastic work mate – the first KEO’s on me!

Wicked (London Grammar vs. Kylie Minogue vs. Chris Isaak vs. Madonna)



LeeDM101

Mr Rennell left it until a little later in the year to grace our ears with his magical presence, but when he did arrive, boy was it worth the wait. From the absolutely insane 15x (FIFTEEN!) Depeche Mode track multi-mash to the gorgeously deep prog-house take on my beloved London Grammar, via wistful dub and uplifting sun-kissed electronica, he showed once more why the M in DM should stand for Maestro. An inspiration.

Who’s Wearing the Trousers (Depeche Mode x 15)



London Hybrid (London Grammar vs. Hybrid)



The Guns of a Fallen Empire (Snow Patrol vs. The Clash vs. Beats International vs. Gorillaz vs. The Black Keys vs. The Long Lost)



Art of Drugs (Art of Shades vs. Bryan Ferry)



Lizzart

My mate Steffen, whom shall forever be known affectionately as Lizzy, was another good friend on form this year – aside from the giggles he provides me on a daily basis on Facebook, he gave me two of my fave happy bouncy singalong tracks of the year. And he also takes the crown for most eye-blisteringly good cover art of the year too.

Everything Lizzy touches turns to smiles and happiness and for that, I thank him :)

BlobHAPPY (John Guscott vs. Pharrell Williams)



This Is How We Drink It (Fab Samperi vs. Montell Jordan)



Mashed and Confused

Another of my mates to fall victim to the Great Soundcloud cull sadly, Jools lives on making fantastic remixes and original music, and fortunately, his YT channel remains live ;)

Here was the impossibly cool and summery track that warmed my heart on an otherwise ruddy cold start to the year

Mas Que Street Life (Sergio Mendes vs. The Crusaders)



Mashy & Scratchy

The fabulous project of my mates DAW-GUN and Bogoss produced what may be the best collab of the year for me in this steamroller of a track. Seriously infectious and impossible to drive along listening to without wanting to hang out the driver’s window fist-pumping at all other drivers on the road. If I were a Fashion House, this would be the track for my girls on the catwalk.

Girls Come On Film (Javi Mula vs. Duran Duran)



Michmash

My mate Michel was once again my go to for all things funk and retro in 2014 – just wonderful nostalgic mash after wonderful nostalgic mash.

Another showing of why for me, my friends in France are still ruling the roost after all these years. If you need me, you’ll find me in the loungebar, throwing shapes.

Come and Get Funky (Pharrell Williams vs. Tone Loc feat. Afrika Bambaata vs. Wild Cherry)



Baby Scratch My Car (Booker T vs. The Beatles)



Mighty Mike

My mate Mike, casually taking two of the biggest hit songs of the year (ok, technically one came from last year, but I heard it out everywhere this year) and knocking them out the park without breaking a sweat.

Beautifully done soulful take on the biggest act in Dance right now, juxtaposed with possibly the biggest song in the history of kiddies songs in one of those rarest of mashup beasties – a thematically clever and compatible A+B. One of the best guys out there.

Believe In Latch (Lenny Kravitz vs. Disclosure)



Libérée, Surgelée (Anaïs Delva vs. Madonna)



oki

My ESC-loving partner in crime, oki had a fine year in 2014, churning out the odd and wonderful, along with a batch of fine Crumplmixes and then just to prove he’s one of the best, whipped out a couple of really cool mashies too. This rabbit is the coolest cat since Bugs Bunny.

Thinkfrog (Lyn Collins vs. The Doors)



Royal Guns Dj Mix (Lorde vs. the Commodores vs. the Beastie Boys)



Phil Retrospector

It couldn’t be a best of list without the Maestro himself – the man whom along with FWD and the Reborn Identity, gave the world CLT and never even realised it. The self-professed melancholic gave us another wonderful Kavinsky track to drive through the nights too, taking an 80s tinged killer track and making it sound like a killer was actually stalking our streets in a souped up car. Creepy, disturbing, wonderful.

And my fave cover art of the year too.

People Drive Strange (The Doors vs. Kavinsky)



Pilchard

Those purveyors of all things bonkers returned in 2014 to give us something that wouldn’t sound amiss under the railway arches of my beloved Digbeth at one of the fab free street parties. Pure dub-wise remixery, it makes me want to shimmy uber-slow all over whilst steppin’ – brilliant.

Cuss Snub – Eddie Kidd & The Pirates (Dub remix)



PomDeter

Ah, Lord Pom. My partner in crime for all things street art and he of the golden helicopter fame.

He took my throwaway comments on the boards and created something wonderful in the genre we now call Crumplbanger.

Two parts hilarious, 3 parts genius; whom else could issue an open challenge for ideas for a mashup mixtape and when I throw a baffling range of sources at him to give him second thoughts, takes said sources and comes up with something utterly astounding? Whom else after winning a dust-up with Chris Vrenna can then go on to win a competition from the PWEI boys whilst making a statement? Whom else can crumpl a dingle whilst snootling their jams whilst organising a take-over of Reddit?

The Pomde-man can ‘cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good ;(

500 Likes Mix (Carly Rae Jepsen, Average White Band, J Gelis Band, Russ Abbot, Scott Brown vs. DJ Rab S, Das Efx and more!)



Reclaim the Game 2 Brazil (Fuck FIFA) (Pop Will Eat Itself vs. Vengaboys)



;( (just listen)



Rhythm Scholar

There is simply one statement to be made about Rhythm Scholar in 2014 – he is the Boss.

As much as I love all the guys on this scene, no one can come close to RS in what he does and how he does it. And be so humble about it all too.

The guy does so much for the scene behind the scenes too. 2014’s MVP, no doubt.

Barry White - Never, Never Gonna Give You Up (Rhythm Scholar Lovefunk remix)



Eric B & Rakim - In the Ghetto (Rhythm Scholar Urban Renewal remix)



Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk (Rhythm Scholar Jungle Funk remix)



Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give It Away (Rhythm Scholar Dirty Funk remix)



The Beatles – Come Together (Rhythm Scholar remix)



Ricky Cervantes

Darling of the Internet and one of the nicest big name guys I know, Ricky continued to innovate and push the envelope this year, along with the GLDN collective and of course his own work.

Top of the list for me, was this BURNING remix of the future Mrs Smart, Ellie Goulding, and her catchiest pop track to date. Bravo Ricky!



RRodd

My mate Rod continues to kick my ass on a weekly basis at Angry Birds Friends and also continues to kick my ass with epic emotional rockstep tracks like this. HUGE choon.

Lucid Dream (Infected Mushroom vs. Aerosmith)



Ryan Nellis

Ryan’s output has dipped in quantity this year too sadly, but as always, what he has made has been of the highest quality, with simply sublime combinations.

Best of the bunch for me, this anthemic slab of pure lighters in the air singalong joy.

Easy Clarity (The Commodores vs. Zedd ft. Foxes)



Shahar Varshal

The World-famous Bootie favourite, and one of the only other guys I trust when it comes to multi-mashes, Shahar Varshal went from strength to kick ass strength this year, producing one epic multi-mash with the best intro I’ve heard in years, and taking on one of the largest songs of 2014 in the beast that is Sia’s Chandelier. And he absolutely smashed it on both occasions.

You’ve Got the Chandelier (Sia vs. Florence and the Machine)



Black or Stars (Michael Jackson vs. One Republic vs. Empire of the Sun vs. Sophie Ellis-Baxtor)



Sherlock Poirot

The dude with one of the coolest names in the business had another fantastic year, continuing to grow form strength to strength and coming up with the most surprising of combinations and genre clashes.

Two of my faves veer on the jazzy side, but are totally different in style – the electronic jazz wizardry of the amazing Amon Tobin and the silky smooth cat burglar stylings of Henry Mancini, both come up against the most surprising of vocals… Enjoy.

I Don’t Switch (Amon Tobin vs. Fall Out Boy)



Beautiful Panther (Henry Mancini vs. Marilyn Manson)



SpareElbowSkin

The greatest musician I’ve ever had the pleasure of working alongside, SES sadly decided to venture on to pastures new this year (another hero of mine gone too soon…**sniff**), but not before I had the absolute honour of sitting back and seeing these tracks take shape.

I’ve been involved in some truly magnificent works over the course of the years, but I think I have to say that what SES did on COMA may be the greatest pieces of art mashup I’ve ever been associated to.

From start to finish, the album was a joy to make and listen back to, and SES’ tracks will stay with me forever (**doublesniff**).

And yes, its easy for me to announce, that his “Pourquoi Entre Les Actes?” is my favourite track of 2014. The amount of tears I’ve lost to that beauty this year… Congratulations dear friend… **bows low and offers his sword to Lord SES**.

I’m Not Familiar (The Cinematic Orchestra vs. Marina & The Diamonds)



Opening Futures (The Cinematic Orchestra vs. Zero 7)



Pourquoi Entre Les Actes? (The Cinematic Orchestra vs. Norah Jones)



Breathe [Shine] (The Cinematic Orchestra vs. John Legend)



The Homogenic Chaos

Andi played a blinder this year with some deep, emotional mashing that absolutely booms over the speakers and commands your attention. The Power of Clarity is the kind of track that you beg the original artists to cover on TV or at a gig – you can just hear Foxes singing it in this format. Brilliant production – brilliant tracks. Prost my friend!

Ion Square for Mig (Bloc Party vs. Medina)



The Power of Clarity (Frankie Goes to Hollywood vs. Zedd ft. Foxes)



ToTom

Winner of the ‘sounds like an original’ award this year is another legend of the scene and total innovator, ToTom.

Thomas took two so-so alternative tracks and completely spun them in to something dark, raw and moving. Best enjoyed when you’ve got your best hipster clothing on and telling the kids that we mashers were cool before it was cool to be cool.

This Prurient Love (††† vs. Bloc Party)



Wax Audio

Another legend returning to the fore, and we all know how much I love Tom Wax – for me the greatest masher of all time.

And king of the metal mash.

As we can see here.

BLISTERING beats and vocals collide as two personal faves combine to make something that sounds like Sauron’s Army taking a thorough beating, whilst the cool elves throw shapes on the dancefloor. Incredible.

Breathe and Destroy (The Prodigy vs. Metallica)



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


And so that dear friends was the story of my 2014. I laughed a little, I loved a little, I cried a little, and I killed off Colatron. For now.

If you enjoyed the tracks, support the producers (if they still exist!) and support the original artists if their record labels didn't annoy you too much this year.

Wishing you all a very happy holidays people of the world, and wishing you all the very best in 2015. And who knows, we may one day meet again. Look for the short lad with melancholy in his eye and a bunch of flowers in his hand.

Love you all,
Colatron.
2014.















Wednesday 17 December 2014

Hiatus


Well dear Cola-fans, here's the last of the year from me, in what's been a relatively odd year. It doesn't feel like I've put that much out there this year and inspiration has run dry.

Then with the dotcom domain going astray (DAMN YOU DAISY WHOLESALE. And is anyone actually getting through on the .co.uk address anyway?), I kind of lost all heart. Coupled with a general lack of love for the current scene and the increasing iron grip of the Soundcloud Police, I can't see me doing anything next year at this moment in time. So this may well be the last CLT track you receive.

That said, you never know - I may become inspired overnight or I may have to come back and bring some balance and light to those EDM boys and girls.

Anyway - enough grumbling. If I am to go, let it be (thematically) to this, heading towards the light for a break in the sequence.

Colatron will dream of you. You'll dream of me too.

Hiatus

Jon Hopkins - Immunity
London Grammar - Interlude
Anthony Hopkins reads Dylan Thomas - "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
Vangelis - Prologue (sample from Blade Runner [1982])
Vangelis - Rachael Sleeps (sample from Blade Runner [1982])
dialogue sample from Inland Empire [2006]



Merry Christma/Happy Festive Period everyone. Wishing you all the best for 2015.

Oh... and next... the Best of CLT 2014 (if I can get my typing fingers on)! Be there! 

Saturday 6 December 2014

Crumplwear - Colatron tshirts are go!



Hey boys and girls - long time no speak!

Apologies, I've had a bit of a creative slump since you last heard from me, in part due to the old .com domain being held hostage by the bastards at Daisy (release the Colatron One!), in part due to being stoopid busy with work and on my downtime indulging in my love of the local street art scene (check my Insta) and in part due to being just outright burnt out on the scene.

Hopefully this will change next year - I'll find my spark again, and I do have a Cola-special underway at the moment, though at 10 minutes long, bear with me - it's taking a bit of time and patience.

But in the meantime, exciting times are ahead with the introduction of Crumplclobber clothing! If you aren't yet familiar with the concept of a Crumplbanger (http://crumplebangers.com/), its a throwback to the old days of bastardpop and bootleg when life was a little more fun and following the punk ethos - ANYTHING went. I love mashups, I really do (13-14 years of my life means I have to!), but sometimes, its fun to get a little silly.

So, Crumplclobber is an opportunity to celebrate and support some of us old-time mashup producers whilst you get to look darned cool with a range of new t-shirts :)

Starting off with my mates, the legendary Pilchard, king of the kooky Oki Mashups, the oldskool legend Eddie Pedalo and of course, the viral-tastic Pomdeter (Chris Vrenna wants one). And me.

Yes - you can now wear a Colatron tshirt featuring the world infamous CLT logo. Also featuring the flip flop attack silhouette of Andy! It's a thing of beauty, with the CLT being applied in hi-visibility reflective print and all garments are hand-printed on high quality Gildan. They're cheap too and Crumplclobber will ship worldwide so you can all join in with the melancholic fun!

Head on over to the homepage at

http://www.crumplclobber.com/

Or check my own page at

http://www.crumplclobber.com/colatron

And give 'em some love and shares over on social media at:

https://twitter.com/crumplclobber / https://www.facebook.com/crumplclobber

And here's the kicker - anyone who purchases a CLT shirt and posts a real ace selfie on Facebook or Twitter, tagging me in will get my love and adoration, and maybe an exlcusive Colatron track too! G'wan... dig deep and wear that logo with pride!

Cheers,
A.