Daily Hat Track Wrapup: December 2019

It is now the year 2020. This blog itself has been somewhat active for about a year and Hat Tracks have been posted on my linked Twitter for an entire year. One a day (on average due to inconsistent scheduling) bringing a total of 365 songs to enjoy.

 

And frankly I’m done with the daily thing. I’m still going to post songs on Twitter occasionally, but I’m not even going to try and do it daily. I’ll just share what comes up in my queue if I consider it good enough to display on a tiny pedestal for about a hundred people to see. Really, everything’s gonna chill out a lot more. I can’t afford stress in my hobbies anymore.

 

But  it wouldn’t be right to leave the last two months of the year unwrapped, so here’s the final Hat Track wrap-up for November and December of 2019. Let’s get started on getting it ended.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 1 (Auralnauts – Deep Sea Adventure)

 

Deep Sea Adventure is exactly as described. From the first splash onwards, the song serves as a splendidly interesting immersive journey with a fun groovy soundscape bringing fantastical creatures of the sea to life in my mind.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 2 (Mazare & Essenger – Berserker)

 

I’ve been getting into a combos of rock and electronic especially with the harsher vocals displaying an emotion of determined anger and edginess. Anyway, here’s an example of what an edgy being as myself has been enjoying.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 3 (Crazy Astronaut – Slam)

 

I’ve shared the varied madness that is Funky $#!+ 2014 and the intense arm hurting danceable song that is Date, but neither of them are quite as trippy as the  incredibly chaotic Slam.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 4 (Bliss & Ritmo – Od Daka la Mana (Pitch Bend remix)

 

I’ve expressed my adoration for Bliss enough for it to be well established that any recent song with him is worth mentioning. Though I just realized that another song by him was released recently so that’s going on my queue now

 

Daily Hat Track: November 5 (Infected Mushroom, Tuna & A-WA – Lost in Space)

 

You know, I wasn’t a huge fan of the combination of this particular Infected Mushroom song’s rap (like in Artillery) and non-English vocals (like in Send me an Angel) but it’s grown on me.

 

The other two are still better though.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 6 (Andy Hunter – One Motion)

 

Definitely a classic for me. It’s towards the end of Andy Hunter’s dance focused career but I so vividly remember rocking out to that build in the initial behind the scenes preview. Definitely brings back some good memories.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 7 (Gramatik, Ryan Shaw & ProbCause – Don’t Give Up)

 

I always like the mixture of picking apart the underlying dystopia in our society and sprinkling a little hope for change into the mix.

 

And the fact that Gramatik is a funky groove master seals this song as a solid experience.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 8 (Xilent – Particles)

 

Xilent’s most recent album (and by recent I mean half a year ago) ended with a lovely psytrance/psystep mixture that I found to be quite enjoyable. Always a pleasure to see artists I enjoy reach into genres I like even more.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 9 (Matduke – Forgotten Kingdom)

 

Interestingly Matduke’s Forgotten Kingdom was nearly forgotten, not even findable on Spotify as the Monstercat Christmas comp was for some reason unavailable. And so when Matduke reuploaded it I was really happy to see it again.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 10 (Memtrix Ic Yr Pain)

 

I see your pain. Except oddly abbreviated. And one’s pain isn’t always quite visible my friend. But hey, that’s just a slight vocal added into this badass bouncing DnB tune.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 11 (Feint & CoMa – Snake Eyes)

 

Snake Eyes is one of Feint’s most popular tracks as well as one of his best. Though maybe I’ve got a bit of a fictional bias as this song fits some of the characters I’m writing all too well.

 

Many songs do that though.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 12 (Ashbury Heights – Corridor)

 

Ashbury Heights’ slight delve into dubstep while still keeping up the prime existentialism is certainly a treat.

 

Got some slippery sloping towards nihilism in there and that’s something I strangely love.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 13 (Varien & 7 Minutes Dead – Mirai Sekai Continuous mix)

 

I’d definitely consider this to be an underrated masterpiece of an EP. The styles of Varien and 7MD work beautifully together and the continuous mix of the album serves as an experience of its own.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 14 (Carpenter Brut – Escape from Midwich Valley)

 

I’ve shared my favorite from the Brut already but I feel it’s important to note where it all began as well. Both in the sense of the first track off of Trilogy and the first song I had ever heard from him.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 15 (Solar Fake – Not What I Wanted)

 

Ok, so crumbling relationships aren’t my favorite subject matter in music (See Three Cheers for the Newlydeads review), but there are some RIDICULOUSLY catchy exceptions.

 

Unsurprisingly, this is one of them.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 16 (The Flashbulb – Gray Pill)

 

I always find it fascinating when I find a song like this with seemingly cryptic lyrics to tear into.

 

Not sure how I feel when it turns out the song is about a suicide pact gone wrong though.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 17 (David Crowder Band – Can You Feel It?)

 

Not really huge on worship songs these days, but there are some that have clearly had an influence on my taste over my life. This one’s a bit more electronic than most David Crowder’s stuff.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 18 (Colony 5 – Black)

 

Edgy love song but not in a toxic way, more in a goth gf way.

 

The best way

 

Daily Hat Track: November 19 (Aviators & Lectro Dub – Paralyzed)

 

Perhaps the catchiest of Aviators’ discography. I’m not sure if it’s the funky beat or the fantastic vocals in the chorus that draws me in. Probably both.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 20 (Celldwelller – A Matter of Time)

 

While I’ve found the structure of Celldweller’s singles as of late to be somewhat odd, he’s still on top of his game at providing that blend of electronic and rock I gushed over in my review of his debut album.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 21 (London Elektricity & Inja – Possible Worlds)

 

While most of the DnB tracks I’ve shared  on here have been the more energetic, there are some, like this one, that are much more calm and soothing. Plus it’s got a bit of inspirational message telling in there.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 22 (Grendel – Cloak & Dagger)

 

I shared Grendel a good couple times a while back. Here we are again with Cloak and Dagger, a song exploring twisted and distorted modern morality. I have an unhealthy obsession with this topic…

 

Daily Hat Track: November 23 (5haus – Unfixed)

 

I’ve been sharing nothing but lyrically dark music lately. How about some cheering up with something that sounds equally dark but with a beautiful tint to it. Also a lack of existential lyrics helps keep the mood from sinking.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 24 (Noisestorm – Crab Rave)

 

? M ? E ? M ? E ?

 

No but seriously this was good funk straight from the beginning before everything was g o n e.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 25 (Moby – Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?)

 

Sometimes depression hits without any reason or warning and you just don’t know what to do…

 

Daily Hat Track: November 26 (VNV Nation – A Million)

 

A haunting beauty, perfect for late night meditation and introspection covering every struggle to occur upon the Earth.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 27 (Apoptygma Berzerk – Kathy’s Song (VNV Nation remix))

 

Somewhat continuing with the existential VNV Nation, here’s Kathy’s song, originally by Apoptygma Berzerk but remixed by VNV. And like some sort of songs I’ve shown previously, this song explores one’s ambiguous moral standing.

 

Daily Hat Track: November 28 (Sub Focus – World of Hurt)

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about the flaws of this world we live in a lot lately. Getting really existential.

 

Sometimes, that’s just my default state of mind…

 

Daily Hat Track: November 29 (1200 Micrograms – Acid for Nothing)

 

This fun psytrance tune is about lucid dreams and not drugs at all, why would you even think that?

 

Daily Hat Track: November 30 (Julian Emery & Dana Jean Phoenix)

 

Much of my life is synthetic. I’m interacting with said synthetic life right now.

 

Except this song might be demonizing such an idea so maybe I shouldn’t glorify it too much.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 1 (Danny Cocke – Thief of Time)

 

Thief of Time, eh? Sounds like a brilliantly dangerous thief to me, but I do have biases with my enjoyment of that title.

 

Regardless of the title, the song definitely draws me in through its layers of beauty.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 2 (Mire. – Bury)

 

Cryptic darkness and a calming twinge of vocal chopped beauty always makes for a good combination. Kind of feels like darker Glitch Mob if that makes any sense. Piano is nice too.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 3 (Ghost Rider – Felt)

 

Ghost Rider is becoming one of my favorite psytrance artists as of late. He gives out an enthralling combo of beauty and funk that I keep finding myself coming back to. And the topic of emotional balance draws me in deeper.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 4 (Walking AIndivisiocross Jupiter – The Truth was Revealed)

 

Walking Across Jupiter is a magnificent name for a band. And their music is equally magnificent, with some great blend of orchestral with some lovely guitar progressions. The glory of the song lives up to its lofty title.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 5 (Micah Ariss & Matthew Parker – Bring Me Down)

 

Rediscovered Matthew Parker a week or so ago via this Micah Ariss release. That name really brings me back to the Glowing Collision days of Andy Hunter.

 

But even without my most nostalgic artist backing him, Matthew holds up.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 6 (Laur – Sound Chimera)

 

Listened to this on the commute home a couple days ago. The sheer unpredictable chaotically energetic energy that this song displays should have probably gotten me arrested, considering how affected my driving.

 

It was 2AM tho

 

Daily Hat Track: December 7 (Indivision, Colourz & Jonny Rose – Time Traveler)

 

Have I ever mentioned how much time travel fascinates me? I’ve enjoyed building a world around it and consistently enjoy songs like this one involving the concept. Plus it’s DnB so this song is simply an instant win.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 8 (Varien & Tori Letzler – SOHEAVYSOHOLLOW)

 

Varien once again treads the line between darkness and light. There is definitely a beauty to this song’s call for peace and dominance over the shadows. But that doesn’t mean said shadows aren’t there.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 9 (Draper – Let’s Pretend)

 

This song has a sax

 

Sometimes that’s all I need

 

This song has a sax

 

It’s really the only reason I’m sharing

 

This song has a sax

 

You might not have noticed but there’s a particular woodwind I like

 

This song has a sax

 

Daily Hat Track: December 10 (I Will Never Be the Same – Skyhunter)

 

This song fits that great blend of rock and electronic but it’s quite nicely subdued, even when the syncopation comes in

 

Daily Hat Track: December 11 (Juno Reactor – Dakota (Undercover extended mix)

 

Starting off this spam with some hard-hitting psytrance. Much of the vocals are typical of the genre but I do have the urge to highlight that female solo towards the middle. Lovely piece.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 12 (Black Sun Empire – Obselete)

 

And here we have something a bit grittier and skin crawling. Slower and not quite in my usual comfort zone, this song does have an overwhelmingly intriguing emotion to it that keep some enthralled.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 13 (Rinzen – Renegade)

 

As with any good song on Mau5trap. The progression of this groove and the groove of this progression really tickles my mind a bit. I’m not saying it’s a work of art, but I am saying I’m having quite a good time with it.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 14 (Andy Hunter & Saint Louis – Moving On)

 

I haven’t been paying the utmost attention to Andy Hunter’s Presence Project as most of it differs a bit from the classical Hunter I fell in love with but the most recent volume seems to have some more upbeat variety.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 15 (Drop Frame & Annie Inkerman – Swim)

 

Am I drowning in the immersivity that is Drop Frame or am I perhaps drowning in reality itself? There’s a slight line of edge in here and that’s a sweet spot for me.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 16 (yh & Laura Brehm – Suppressant)

 

Not really in a position to sleep at all at the moment but I’m getting the vibe that it’s not my conscious self that needs to rest but the subconscious whispers that constantly threaten my esteem.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 17 (OBNX – Right Wing Death Squad)

 

The sound design of this one could stand to be a slight bit less harsh but there is definitely a hidden groove within there, especially in the second half.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 18 (Donbor & Crimson – Bleeding)

 

Quite a new song here from Donbor. While still chilly dark as usual, Crimson’s vocals now seal the deal with an edgy feel.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 19 (Infected Mushroom – The Messenger 2012)

 

Home to one of my favorite transitions in the entire Infected Mushroom discography. It’s when the entire song freezes up a bit over halfway through and then recreates itself from this frozen point that fascinates me.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 20 (Astrix – He.art)

 

He art is definitely a highlight of epitomal psytrance. Sure it follows all of the tropes, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the song to establish said tropes, but it was my introduction to many of said tropes.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 21 (Thomas Barrandon – Fragment)

 

So I’ll begin this final mad dash to the end of the year with something that’s simply a beautiful daze. A bit too soothing to be busy at 4:30 AM

 

Daily Hat Track: December 22 (Antti Martikainen – Kalevala)

 

Just a small little bit of epic orchestral cinematic rock

 

Only twenty five minutes long

 

No big deal

 

Daily Hat Track December 23 (Champion & Veela – Breathe)

 

Veela’s vocals are always gorgeous. Well executed vocal chops are always groovy. A good DnB tracks always has good energy. So it’s no surprise that this Champion track is full of gorgeously groovy energy.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 24 (Varien – MATRICULATED)

 

I’m not sure why I thought this song has to do with cheering or why it’s actually about academic acceptance but it’s certainly tripping me out whatever it is.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 25 (MASTER BOOT RECORD – Skynet)

 

Not only does this song consistently rock throughout, it also consistently accelerates in tempo and intensity up until the end. Some great fusion of metal and chiptune in this one if I do say so myself.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 26 (Killigrew – Otherworld)

 

Artists like Killigrew are masters of mixing the slight bit of darkness within one’s introspection into the overall beauty that is their music. I love it.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 27 (Andy Hunter – Tiny Planet)

 

I know it’s been barely any time since my last share of an Andy Hunter Presence Project track but I once again want to highlight Andy’s splendid return to the energetic technogical feeling I’d originally discovered him as.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 28 (Tut Tut Child & Kendall Morgan – Made It For Me)

 

Decided to peek back in the distant Monstercat past. I’d forgotten how much Tut Tut Child bangs.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 29 (Deadlock – Imagination)

 

This song didn’t catch my attention quite immediately despite hitting so hard and fast, but somehow the way it progressed really sealed up my enjoyment, though upon relistening the lyrics do raise an eyebrow.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 30 (EDDIE – Abandon)

 

EDDIE really meshes the chilling vocals, haunted atmospheres, pulsing basslines and rhythmic melodies into quite an experience in this song.

 

Daily Hat Track: December 31 (L Plus – Taking me Higher)

 

And to conclude the Daily Hat Tracks we have some DnB, my first favorite EDM subgenre. This one has a great energetic classical DnB feel to it. A fitting possible conclusion to this project…

 

And so concludes the Daily Hat Tracks. The playlist I’ve created over the past year is now somewhat complete. I say somewhat because apparently there’s a few day’s worth of songs that somehow didn’t make it into the playlist and as of right now, I don’t feel like trying to figure out which ones so I can squeeze them in there. I’m putting the Daily Hat Tracks behind me after all…

 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=yWcT6WrvRbm4mArnqQgUbg

 

Daily Hat Track: Roundup October 2019

First off before we get into the biggest Daily Hat Track summary of all time, I want to take a moment to make an announcement on scheduling in case you’re not looking at my Twitter. There is no longer a schedule. Now, that I’ve got myself a full-time job going on, there is absolutely no possible way I can keep up with one review a week, regardless of how motivated I am. And on top of that, the stress I’d receive from trying to review so much would get to me and make it impossible for me to enjoy reviewing. So, from now on, I’m going to be sending out reviews whenever I finish them in my free time. I’ll still be spending significant time reviewing. I’ll just have some longer breaks between longer reviews and maybe some shorter breaks when it comes to tiny reviews (One of the near future reviews is only 5 songs long so I can’t imagine I’ll spend excessively long on that one).

 

Not that anyone will notice but I’m also shutting down my Patreon. No one was really donating anyway, discouraging me from making any review previews and really just discouraging me from reviewing in general, because at this point in my life, it’s not looking to be really possible to just use this site as a launchpad into becoming a full-time creative. I’m already working on finding another route so we’ll see how that works in the future, but for now, this is going to be one of several hobbies that I’m simply doing for fun.

 

Anyways, it’s time for the October Hat Track Summary. Likely the longest Hat Track Summary I’ll ever do. September might not have existed, but I made October a double month to make up for it, even if it devolved into an early November onslaught of chaos at the end there. Let’s see what tracks got shared before that happened, and while that happened.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 1 track 1 (Danny Barranowsky – Mausoleum Mash)

 

One of the most iconic tracks from one of my favorite games thanks to it’s use in the opening cutscene and one of the game’s early levels. I honestly discovered the soundtrack before the game but I love both.

 

Daily Hat Track October 1 track 2 (Bliss – Blaze Up)

 

Bliss is one of the best psytrance artists in recent years, if not the best. He’s been on a roll for much of this decade. This release from last month, for example, is a lovely mixture of playfulness and badassery.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 2 track 1 (Seven Lions & Ciscandra Nostalgia – Serpents of Old)

 

This must be the oddest creepiest thing to come from Seven Lions as far as I know. And as someone who is quite a fan of the odd and creepy, I find this to be one of my favorites from him.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 2 track 2 (Saltillo – Following Evelyn)

 

Alright, let’s follow up the pleasantly ugly with the pleasantly gorgeous. I feel this song is my favorite from Saltillo, mostly thanks to the vocal samples about growth, change, and finding one’s place in the universe.

 

Daily Hat Track: October track 2 (Reliant K – The only Thing Worse than Beating a Dead Horse is Betting on One)

 

This is way outside my usual genre but can we just take a minute to appreciate how much Relient K was able to pack into a song that barely surpasses a minute?

 

Daily Hat Track: October 3 track 2 (Openwater & Matt Vice – No Regrets)

 

I guess today is a nonelectronic day as this one is more of an inspiring combination of orchestral, piano and a slight bit of rock. And it’s a worldview I really need to adapt if I’m going to move forward.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 4 track 1 (Sam Maher – New York)

 

I’ve really been getting into handpans as of recent and this is guy is my personal favorite handpan master. Here’s about six minutes of unique handpanning. Enjoy.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 4 track 2 (Shirobon – Regain Control)

 

I find Shirobon’s retro style quite interesting. This song about regaining control over one’s life (expectedly relevant to me) is a great example of Shirobon (Born Survivor is better but I shared that long ago).

 

Daily Hat Track: October 5 track 1 (Icon of Coil – Dead Enough For Life)

 

I haven’t posted a sufficiently existentially edgy song yet this month so this one goes out to the crippling depressive angst of getting stuck in a monotonous cycle with no eacape all while feeling dead inside.

 

Yay

 

Daily Hat Track October 5 track 2 (Rootkit & Anna Yvette – Against the Sun)

 

Probably favorite song from Rootkit, though I believe one influence of that could be that I believe Varien had a small hand in this as well. And considering Varien is one of my favorite artists of all time… Yup.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 6 track 1 (Assemblage 23 – The Noise Inside My Head)

 

The noise inside my head could possibly be a simple tune that turned out to be an earworm… Or is it the dark existential insomnia-inducing thoughts that appear so regularly that they’ve unfortunately become the norm?

 

Daily Hat Track: October 6 track 2 (Squarepusher – Mutilation Colony)

 

A beautifully ominous beginning eventually transforms into a distorted nightmare. An interesting unconventional journey.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 7 track 1 (Rotersand – Hey You)

 

I shared Rotersand’s Not Alone a long while back and I consider this to be its companion song. The music sounds quite a bit different and there’s a bit more dark was in there but the theming and structure are similar.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 7: track 2 (VNV Nation – Homeward)

 

Several of the recent hat tracks (as well as today’s review) have been focused more on a great personal meaning. That’s what happens when one is in a big transition in life. I just hope I can keep home in sight.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 8 track 1 (Aviators – The Path Home)

 

Remember when I’d reviewed Aviators’ Aeterno? Well, a couple weeks ago, the man released a remastered version of a few of the tracks off that album and many are a vast improvement. I think The Path Home benefited the most

 

Daily Hat Tracks: October 8 track 2 (Neilio – Captivating)

 

I don’t care much for the musical content of this Monstercat classic (hardstyle just isn’t my thing), but the lyrical content is a glorious illustration of my relationship with music so I quite enjoy the song otherwise.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 9 track 1 (Bruderschaft, Apoptygma Berzerk, Icon of Coil, VNV Nation, and Covenant – Forever)

 

What I love about Bruserschaft is that it’s four futurepop artists all collaborating all at once. And as a huge fan of futurepop I obviously enjoy that. And Ronan Harris from VNV Nation at the front is definitely a treat.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 9 track 2 (Lindsey Stirling – Shadows)

 

I’d originally discovered Lindsey when this song was featured in a video by Nerogeist called the guardian, which you should also definitely check out as I’d argue that it’s just as beautiful as this song.

 

Daily Hat Track October 10 track 1 (Beborn Beton – Another World)

 

This is way too catchy for it’s own good. Such a specific concept too with the singer being a spirit from the beyond the grave warning a loved one to leave his resting place alone, for he has found the afterlife.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 10 track 2 (Rameses B & Aloma Steele – Darkest Place)

 

This one used to be on my top ten Monstercat songs of all time though it admittedly has been slipping back a slight thanks to my attention being drawn elsewhere. My DnBias keeps me coming back to it though.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 11 track 1 (Neelix – Mosquito)

 

I’ve shared a remix of this song before quite a while ago, but I want to take a step back and admire the original version with its dramatic tension, danceable drive and distorted mosquito sampled synths.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 11 track 2 (Deltron 3030 & Del the Funky Homosapien – 3030)

 

I like to share a lot of songs depicting the future. Often they’re hopeful, bu this one is a bit bleaker. I never minded bleakness though long as it’s not too destructive, which this isn’t.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 12: track 1 (GUNSHIP – When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies)

 

The title alone makes me a bit existential what with my dispassionate disposition towards the world of adulthood. But the song itself is a bit more uplifting than it might initially appear.

 

Also it has a sax so yes.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 12 Track 2 (Nana the Shrimp & DZA – Speedball)

 

Seeing as the song’s name is Speedball, it understandably fast paced despite not having an exceptionally high BPM. Though there is a switch up in the middle that allows for an interesting lightly accelerate tempo change

 

Daily Hat Track: October 13 track 1 (Nobody Beats the Drum – Natural Thing)

 

This song sounds more technological than natural so I’m not fully certain how well the title and vocals fit. But the song is a nice multileveled trip nonetheless.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 13 track 2 (Mahamudra – Shadows of Courage)

 

This song depicting a strangely ominous mixture of desperation and victory was hiding deep in the shadows of my musical memory.

 

It resurfaced recently.

 

And I’m so glad it did.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 14 track 1 (Le Matos – La Mer Des Possibilités)

 

Le Matos is one of many synthwave names I enjoy. I’ve chosen this song in particular to share due to its arpwork and the fact that the title translates to “The Sea of Possibilities.” A sea that I should look on with hope

 

Daily Hat Track: October 14 track 2 (Varien – Teva833)

 

I’ve established before that Varien is one of my favorite artists. The man has massive spectrum of moods that his song can adhere. And when it comes to the darker trippy stuff from him this song is certainly top notch.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 15 track 1 (Matduke – Shivers)

 

Another classic MC hard dance track (I shared Neilio’s Captivating earlier this month). But I prefer Matduke. And this is my favorite Matduke as it has the most satisfying variety of the early days of MC hard dance.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 15 track 2 (Rezonate & Ashley Apollodor – Rebirth)

 

My favorites from Rezonate are songs with a chill introspective perspective. This is the most uplifting of the bunch with extra focus on embracing positivity rather than letting go of negativity (there’s a difference).

 

Daily Hat Track: October 16 track 2 (Moby – Lift Me Up)

 

I heard Sesto Sento’s remix first (even though I was already familiar with Moby via Natural Blues and Why Does my Heart Feel So Bad).

 

This song is a much happier alternative to those two and it’s just as beautiful.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 17 track 1 (Tut Tut Child – Talking of Axes)

 

Talking of Axes is clearly appreciated by me as a song involving both rock elements and some good electronic basslines. And that’s not even mentioning the syncopation.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 17 track 2 (Juno Reactor – Pistolero)

 

Pretty obvious that the ever present guitar is the absolute star of the show in this one. Really sells the western vibe this song seems to aim for (everything else about the song is great too, but guitar is what I love).

 

Daily Hat Track: October 18 track 1 (INTERCOM – Truth and Malice)

 

My favorite nonInfected Mushroom song to make it on a MC Rocket League comp.

 

It transitions perfectly between beautiful stringed sections and groovy basslines sections seemlessly, likely thanks to the vocal chops.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 18 track 2 (Phaxe – Angels of Destruction (Neelix Remix)

 

I will likely eventually share every combination of Neelix and Caroline Harrison eventually as they sound so gorgeous together.

 

While this is no Makeup, it’s still up there among my favorites from the two.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 19 track 2 (Jilax & Durs – Conquer)

 

Continuing on a psytrance roll, I’m going to share a bit of a recently fresh psytrance track. There’s some nice dramatic near cinematic tension in places and whenever it’s building itself up, it does so nicely.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 20 track 1 (Grabbitz – Better with Time)

 

I’ll admit that I’ve lately felt stuck in that place where I’m seeing life as a boring movie, desperately hoping it all gets better with time.

 

Hence I enjoy this song.

 

Plus syncopation of course. That’s always loved.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 20 track 2 (Niteppl – Can’t Stop Now)

 

Seeing as I’d discovered  this song in my early Spotify days, this one feels like an inspirational classic to me. Sure the lyrics are a bit repetitive, but the funky vibe and piano bridge more than make up for it.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 21 track 1 (Absurd Minds – The Question)

 

Have I done a song yet on the nihilistic questioning of reality as we ponder the slow transition to dystopia that society is trending towards?

 

Well if not, here’s an example.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 21 track 2 (The Anix – Interferance)

 

A bit of an oddly creepy maybe edgily unhealthy love song from The Anix for this one.  Kind of like anything I’d expect off of FiXt. But there’s also just that hint of existential that keeps me coming back.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 22 track 1 (Altered Frequencies (Phutureprimitve edit))

 

I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually taken the time to listen to the original version of this one yet. But hey, I do know that Phutureprimitive’s edit has a great blend of sounds (including guitar) that hits the sweet spot

 

Daily Hat Track: October 22 track 2 (Daniel Deluxe – Darkness)

 

Darkness is unsurprisingly quite a dark song about eternal darkness. Go figure.

 

Thematically, I’d say it’s similar to Gunships’s Dark All Day, albeit this one doesn’t have a sax so it’s obviously the lesser of the two.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 23 track 1 (Neilio – Obsession)

 

Oh this song sounds nice and romantic at first…

 

At first…

 

Daily Hat Track: October 23 track 2 (Covox – Attack Vector)

 

I don’t know if I’ve ever really posted chiptune Hat Tracks that often. In the right hands some cool stuff can be made in the genre. Here’s one such song, albeit it’s the second half where the song really shines.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 24 track 1 (Lauren Bousfield – No Clocks No Mirrors (For Joey))

 

I’ve always loved Lauren’s fine line between the calm and the madness. And this song does a great job of bouncing back and forth in between the two extremes.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 24 track 2 (Tokyo Machine – TURBO)

 

This recent release is likely one of the only Tokyo Machine songs I truly enjoy. He just doesn’t fit my groove. I think I was in the right mood when first listened to this one as I was driving in the middle of the night.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 25 track 1 (Vexare – The Clockmaker)

 

I will admit that I prefer that calms and the moments of the ticking clock more than the main drop, but there is somewhat of a classic feel to this one. Not super dirty like some dubstep but it still hits nice and hard.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 25 track 2 (Carpenter Brut – Roller Mobster)

 

Been listening to an above average amount of Carpenter Brut as of late, likely one of the greatest artists of all of synthwave. Choosing one song to highlight is nigh impossible so I just grabbed one of his most popular.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 26 track 1 (Muzzy – Spectrum)

 

Easily one of my favorites from Muzzy. It has it all: beauty, intensity, meaningful lyrics. It’s just a lovely song that few, if any can top (maybe the Wrong remix but that doesn’t take the beauty cake)

 

Daily Hat Track: October 26 track 2 (Muzzy & Droptek – Warhead)

 

Long as I’m on the topic of Muzzy, here’s one of his most badass tracks. A collaboration with Droptek that feels as if it’s in the same vein as Endgame. And I love Endgame. So I love this.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 27 track 1 (Infected Mushroom – Cities of the Future (extended remix)

 

The best remixes have the ability to improve upon the original while still keeping the heart of what made the original so great. This is a great example of such a remix of a song I’ve already fully reviewed.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 27 track 2 (Ace Ventura – Hello?)

 

Imagine. You’re driving through the night listening to music, some new, some old. One of your favorite song ends with a good 5 seconds or so of near silence and then out of no where you hear it:

 

“Hello? Anybody here?”

 

Daily Hat Track: October 28 track 1 (Krama – Master of Elements)

 

This song served as my introduction to Krama, one of the best artists of Spintwist (other than Neelix of course)

 

Oh and this apparently has a quote from Doctor Strange in it. Didn’t notice at first but there it is.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 28 track 2 (SCNDL & Timmy Trumpet – Bleed)

 

Meme

 

Daily Hat Track: October 29 track 1 (Sesto Sento – Zoombai Warriors Surfing on a Small Chapati Sound in the East of Parvati (Megamix))

 

This insane mashup is made up of several songs by 9 different psytrance artists, including one of my very favorites, Bliss. Absolutely amazing piece of work right here.

 

Daily Hat Track October 29 track 2 (Savant – Change)

 

Multigenre songs with tempo changing switchups are some of my favorites. So what of this song? A full constant switchups multigenre cluster of fantasticality, constantly accelerating until the very end before breaking down.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 30 track 1 (Ehrling – Thokoloshi)

 

Ehrling is always a pleasure. Probably because saxophone is always a pleasure. And Ehrling nearly always has a saxophone present. Like many of his songs I love the bouncy sax vibes the song has to offer.

 

Daily Hat Track October 30: track 2 (Wisp X & Xomu – Lumina)

 

Now the reason I’m particularly enjoying this song isn’t because it’s breaks (though syncopation is still expectedly awesome, but it’s because it had some gorgeous piano melodies at the forefront.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 31 track 1 (Direct & Mr Fijiwiji – LA2016)

 

Direct and Fijiwiji are always a great combo, but I’m honestly just here.for the vocal chops.

 

Daily Hat Track: October 31 track 2 (Savlonic – Computer Guy)

 

Sir Weebl, the main man behind Savlonic may be responsible for memes, but this one is so incredibly catchy that I’ve gotta throw back to it. And it’s slightly more serious than his more well known stuff.

Daily Hat Tracks: June and July 2019

Here’s a double Daily Hat Track wrap up for both June and July. Due to motivational issues, I had done a poor job of keeping up on these until last week. And because of that, I’ve decided to just slide the Hat Tracks from July over to June. So today you’re getting one large post reviewing about 5 dozen smaller posts I’ve Tweeted over the past 2 months. Let’s all agree (and by all, I mean just me. I’m the only one in control here) to never let things get out of hand again.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 1 (Yahel – Fear of The Dark (DNA Remix))

 

A psytrance remix of a breaks cover of an Iron Maiden song. Neat. Now all we need to do is mash it up with jazz or something like that.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 2 (Veorra – Run)

 

Veorra’s most popular track is about the never-ending run as we struggle to keep with society’s expectations. Surprisingly not my favorite but still well deserved.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 3 (Celldweller – End of an Empire)

 

I promised I wouldn’t overwhelm the blog with Celldweller again for a while but I can squeeze the occasional awesome societal existential track from the far future of my reviews. This is among the best Celldweller songs.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 4 (The Crüxshadows – Deception)

 

Honestly, I just love how this particular song from my extra edgy phase is held up by the violin. Lyrics aren’t too shabby, but it’s clear what the best part of the song is for me nowadays (hint: it’s the violin)

 

Daily Hat Track: June 5 (Forest Knot – Hendrix)

 

Is this Hat Track late because I am severely disorganized or is it early because this lovely chill sax song wasn’t released until the 7th?

 

Daily Hat Track: June 6 (Bassfactor – The Power Inside)

 

This recent breaks/psytrance combo got me out of breath when running to my recent dentist’s appointment. Bassfactor seems to be brand new to the scene but I’m definitely looking forward to future works.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 7 (Test Shot Starfish – In the Shadow of Giants)

 

Music from Space indeed. I’ve only just begun looking at Test Shot Starfish’s discography and I’m already enjoying this chill mood that sounds as if it’s descended to Earth from the cosmos.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 8 (Carface – Hitchin’ a Ride)

 

Definitely take a listen to the self-destructive 13 minute experience. That’s all I’m willing to say here, other than a warning that this may get a little strange.

 

C H E C K T H E T A P E

 

Daily Hat Track: June 9 (redo) (Globus – Europa)

 

That’s no typo. This two month old Hat Track was accidentally a repeat, so now I’m going to share the vocal version of Electric Romeo which depicts war over history

 

Daily Hat Track: June 10 (Rezonate – Canvas)

 

I’m not sure how, but outside of the “still 18” line, this song of existential pondering gets more and more relatable every summer.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 11 (Pegboard Nerds – Emergency)

 

Hard to believe that this came out over four years ago. Every once and a while I come back to these nostalgic Monstercat songs and find myself amazed at how well they hold up. This one was, is, and always will be a banger to me

 

Daily Hat Track: June 12 (Rogue – Night After Night)

 

Knights on Horseback ride in and are allowed in the distance by a chariot, basically a parade float of a giant Monstercat logo. They get off their horses and flank a crystal throne. The chariot makes its way in and a young man dre

 

Daily Hat Track: June 13 (Aphex Twin – Vordhosbn)

 

Release Radar screwed with me saying this was new, but it’s really a 2 decade old song placed on a compilation that was released recently. But that’s fine. Aphex Twin is always a treat.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 14 (Camo & Krooked – Black or White & Tasha Baxter (Kimyan Law remix)

 

Favorite remix of my favorite Camo & Krooked track. Why? It’s complex, it’s mysterious, it has an edge of unsettlement. And it still uses the lyrics of anti-division and the grey area in between opposing ideals.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 15 (Gunship, Tim Capello & Indiana – Dark All Day

 

Saxophone.

 

Also there’s that music video with vampire zombies and lots of hot people and it’s the best animated music video ever

 

But saxophone.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 16 (The Flashbulb – Undiscovered Colors)

 

A gorgeous trippy song, both fast and slow once the drums start. Piano, strings and a drumbeat full of mysterious energy. Each moment is both unique and fantastically similar at the same time. This song is the best kind of paradox

 

Daily Hat Track: June 17 (Gunship – When You Grow Up Your Heart Dies)

 

I know I posted Gunship not too long ago, but the song immediately following Dark All Day (while not as great cuz less sax) does have a message of trying to hold on to your identity as you grow up. I need this these days.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 18 (Haywyre – Sculpted)

 

Heading back in time today to an early Haywyre song exploring the existential questions of self identity, whether nature or nurture applies and exactly how much control we have over who we are. Also it’s hella funky.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 19 (Pegboard Nerds & lug00ber – Bring Me Joy

 

Probably my favorite modern Pegboard Nerds track. The second half is especially energetic with the best piano melodies and arps. Honestly, there’s nothing deep about this song. It’s just fun.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 20 (Bicep – Rain)

 

I’m reviewing my favorite arpeggiated artist right now, but I’ll honestly enjoy any song that had even the mildest arpeggiated feel. Recently I’ve discovered Bicep and the simple drive of a song called Rain.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 21 (Alex – Demons):

 

Hey, that’s my name right there. Some nice slow synthwave. Good relaxing vibe despite the ominous demonic title.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 22 (Rival Consoles – Amiga)

 

Arpeggiated madness in the second quarter, flawless tempo change in the third quarter. I mean, I love the beginning and end of the song as well, but that middle half is absolutely spectacular.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 23 (Rival Consoles – Guitari)

 

Can I share two Rival Consoles songs in a row? Because I also really like the funky vibe that Guitari gives me and I really want to share this one too. It’s got nothing on Amiga but it’s still great.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 24 (Joachim Pastor – Joda (Worakls remix)

 

Oh the strings and piano on this one are absolutely gorgeous. Yeah all of hungry music is great, but when the upper two thirds (sorry N’to) join forces I expect nothing less than a masterpiece. And they definitely delivered.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 25 (Koan – Coastline)

 

Someone rinsed me of Koan today so here I am sharing one of my favorite beautiful, relaxing, and immersive journeys from Loan. Enjoy.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 26 (Lange – Violins Revenge (Light Mix))

 

Violins revenge is quite simply a track that utilizing the violin masterfully. That’s all I’ve got to say for this one.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 27 (N’to – The Morning After)

 

I’ve always liked all of Hungry Music but I’ve considered N’to to often be one of the weaker links of the trio. However his most recent release is making me appreciate him a bit more.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 28 (Lange – Crossroads (Percussive Mix))

 

Not as good as the Mindinabox song titled Crossroads of course but still a great track about making choices that can change one’s life forever. Beautiful from Lange as always.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 29 (Infected Mushroom – Kebabies)

 

This New Infected Mushroom track released recently really has a BP Empire vibe to it.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 30 (Assemblage 23 – Drive)

 

The demons I’m driving from is procrastination fueled depression and depression fueled procrastination. I must change that.

 

Good song from Assemblage 23 though. A futurepop artist I have yet to introduce you all to, until now.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 1 (Dance With The Dead – Diabolic)

 

It’s 2 in the morning so I should be in the bed but here’s some late night synthwave for anyone who’s still up for some reason. Unless you’re British or something, then your wakefulness makes sense.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 2 (Koan – Uncloak (Ghost Rider remix))

 

I’ve shared a couple of Koan track’s but this right here was the moment of Koan discovery. Yes, it’s a Ghost Rider remix but that’s just what happens when you’re a psytrance maniac like myself. Beautiful track though.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 3 (Lauren Bousfield – Slow Slicing (Klonopin))

 

Really running behind on everything. Here’s a small step towards catching up with some trippy Lauren Bousfield combined with some wonderful strings.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 4 (Makeup & Vanity Set – Implant)

 

Makeup and Vanity Set had a good variety of synthwave, some upbeat and some slower. So here’s one for starters that I’ve listen to a few times recently due to its arps, simplistic melodies and occasional relaxing vibes.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 5 (Durs – Avalance)

 

I’m always up for loving some Spin Twist psytrance so seeing a whole new Durs album. Is quite enjoyable. Good use of that psychedelic pluck in both the calmer and driving portions of the song. Plus a few fun little vocal parts.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 6 (BT – Tokyo)

 

BT isn’t as consistent as Flashbulb but there’s still some good trippy chill in the BT discography

 

Daily Hat Track: July 7 (BT – Artifacture VI. Niente di Tutto Qualcosa)

 

Sometimes I wonder…

 

Daily Hat Track: July 8 (Chicane – Come Tommorrow)

 

Spiritually introspective or existential observations of society… Perhaps it’s both, perhaps it’s neither and I’m projecting. But the song captivates regardless.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 9 (In Uchronia – Growling Earth)

 

Guess I’m in some sort of orchestral cinematic mood as of late. I mean this has nothing in common with that Varien in album other than it being a bit cinematic with a slight bit of dubstep but both are still amazing

 

Daily Hat Track: July 10 (Haken – The Endless Knot)

 

Trying to expand slightly beyond my electronically dominated comfort zone, so here’s a bit of prog metal that I’d recently found. Of course the fact this song has a lot of focus on finding life’s meaning, I’m automatically into it

 

Daily Hat Track: July 11 (Zimmz – Sinematic)

 

For the most part this is just a track with a solid drive, but you know I love me some Hungry music. Not his is Hungry music. It just resembles hungry music. Also this one has an accelerating build-up, so you know, awesome.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 12 (Sokrates & Supersonic – Stardust)

 

I know that this is like every trance song but the message of our relationship to the universe in this one really gets to me, yaknow? Also there’s a fantastic syncopated breaks section in there so that’s always cool.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 13 (Noma – Brain Power)

 

I know this song is a meme of old, but it still bangs hard. Love the extra slow chaotic dubstep section that eventually transforms into DnB spoon after.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 14 (Bliss – La Resistance)

 

Lyrics are a bit more violent than the last psytrance song I Daily Hat Tracked, but I love Bliss’ psytrance style so much, I don’t even mind. Dude is one of my favorite psytrance artists behind Infected Mushroom and perhaps Neelix

 

Daily Hat Track: July 15 (Wolfgang Gartner – Illmerica)

 

Second attempt at sharing this song due to unreliable technology. I’m lazy and pissed so here’s a bullet point list of what I wanted to say

 

A: Good funky vibe

B: Nostalgia because dead community

C: Should listed to Wolfgang more

 

Daily Hat Track: July 16 (Arctic Moon – Cyberpunk)

 

Good trance song with a lovely title as I associate cyberpunks with fantastic because I love Mindinabox. It sounds nothing like Mindinabox but the distorted vocals and heartbeat are still cool.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 17 (Bionix – Genesis)

 

Lots of psytrance I know, but it is one of my favorite genres after all. you’re going to half to deal with it. Besides this one has inspirational speed he’s up to par with Bliss – Warriors and I love that one and this by extension

 

Daily Hat Track: July 18 (Rezz & The Rigs – Lonely)

 

I haven’t really delved into the rest of Rezz’s new EP yet as I’m usually more attracted to the more existential vocal tracks than the instrumentals, but this is the best Rezz since Melancholy so that’s pretty fantastic.

 

Daily Hat Tracks: July 19 (Aesthetic Perfection – The Ones)

 

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only song I know that discusses how difficult it is to fall asleep when you’re too bust fearing that someone is gonna come and steal your teeth. And the other one isn’t even by the same band.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 20 (Stephen Walking – Porkchop Express)

 

Here’s a fun doubly nostalgiac tune from Mr Walking. Not only does it.bring me back to 2015, but the song itself also vaguely reminds me of a video game from my childhood. That bouncy piano is just a pleasure to listen to.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 21 (Night Club – Survive)

 

Beautiful suspenseful paranoid existential music is how I survive.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 22 (Grabbitz – Way Too Deep)

 

The chorus of this song has been all too relatable lately. Definitely Grabbitz’s best along with Better With Time.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 23 (Malecka – Rhéa)

 

Another gorgeous progressive house song that reminds me of Hungry Music without actually being Hungry Music. I find myself enjoying these beauties often due to how calming they are.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 24 (In Uchronia – Asconoid Hyperdelicacy of Heroicalness)

 

The main reason I want to share this one is because the title implies that the album’s titular iron squid is eating heroes alive. The fact that the song itself, is a great fusion of rock, orchestral and dubstep is just a bonus.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 25 (Phaxe & Morten Granau – Lost)

 

Can’t keep me away from the existneital psytrance forever. This one is about feeling lost in the world, though I guess that one was pretty obvious from the title.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 26 (Notaker – The Storm)

 

One of the better Notaker songs. In fact, I say this is the only one that can measure up to his Monstercat debut, Infinite.

 

Daily Hat Track: June 27 (Crazy Astronaut – Sate)

 

I’ve already shared my favorite Crazy Astronaut track on here a while back but here’s number 2, the main synth holds a lot of energy even in the slower dubstep portion. Actually, especially in the slower dubstep portion.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 28 (Mystical Complex – Future Nation)

 

Here’s a psytrance song pondering the future. Original idea? Not exactly. But the music is quite impressive anyways and I can’t help but always be impressed by psytrance like this. It’s in my bones.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 29 (Francys – Arcenial)

 

Evenly driven, mysterious, slightly trippy, beautiful, soothingly calming. All things I hungrily enjoy.

 

This isn’t just a pun on Hungry Music . I legitimately need to eat. But I’m almost caught up.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 30 (Roman Messer & Cari – Serenity)

 

I’m not the biggest fan of breakup songs but Roman Messer had a good vibe anyways and this is recent so I’m sharing it and that’s that. Enjoy if you may.

 

Daily Hat Track: July 31 (Haken – The Architect)

 

And to finally finish up July, we have an incredibly long progressive rock journey through sound from Haken. 15 minutes may be long but the song itself easily makes it worthwhile with it’s variety.

 

As always you can check out all Daily Hat Tracks in the playlist below

 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=vNZPS0uETkyobpBBDEAP_g

 

Varien – Pick Your Poison Vol 1 (2013 album)

Album Links

 

Bandcamp: https://subterrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/pick-your-poison-vol-01

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fixt/sets/varien-pick-your-poison-vol-1

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4zGzLF81ic2CJiOlagTSVe?si=PnhZghijSquetTbLGXeM1A

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxPSxNNXfbdCo7vJ6lOTF7WSNtZGtMVhS

 

Introduction: Today, I’m introducing yet another artist to you all, giving my reviewing repertoire a little bit more variety: Varien, a man that I’d discovered quite early on compared to many of the other artists, I’ve reviewed other than perhaps Andy Hunter (who as I’ve said before is the first when it comes to electronic. I’d discovered Varien via Monstercat, a label that a stranger that I’ve completely forgotten had suggested to me, so thanks random person who I’ll never know. I don’t listen to Monstercat as much these days, but you’ve contributed to me expanding my taste a little bit more, eventually leading me to where I am today.

 

Now, while I know Varien for his work on Monstercat and the song’s he’s left since leaving the label, I still want to take a step back and look at some of the first albums he’d released under the Varien alias (he’d had previous aliases that I don’t listen to as much but I probably won’t be looking at those ones as much). Part of what attracts me to Varien so much is his combination of electronic, my favorite genre, with other styles, including energetic orchestral pieces, acoustic relaxation and today’s focus: cinematic rock.

 

So, let’s dive into the shortest album I’ve reviewed so far and inspect the various choices of poison Varien has presented.

 

 

Varien – Death Call (6.25): There is a cry in the night. An endless high-pitched tone, that never ceases. This is Death’s Call. Accompanied by a cinematic drumbeat  during the calm builds of suspense, this call screams through the night eventually leading to harsher sections filled with dubstep basslines, jumping back and forth between full- tempo and half-tempo, keeping any listener on their toes as it beckons to the last point in the drop where the highest tone and the harsh growling basslines synchronize and become one. Twice it calls. Twice I ignore.

 

I don’t plan on answering this call and I would highly recommend ignoring it for as long as you can, but seeing as this album is all about picking a poison it seems that this call is the force that’s about to present the poisons this album presents. Or perhaps it is a form of poison to choose… Let’s look at the rest.

 

Varien – Shadow People (7): Do you hear the melody in the darkness. Eight notes. Two similar sets of four rising and falling softly, behind the deep guttural growls in the night. This is a warning of what approaches. The Shadow People. The warning grows more intense as time goes on. A bassline and wavering strings raise the intensity of the call as the Shadow People draw closer and closer…

 

And then it’s all shrouded in darkness. Everything goes near silent. Only a drowned-out bassline remains struggling to be set free from the clutches of those that lurk in the dark. And if you listen closely… you can hear a heartbeat. But it’s temp and pattern… it isn’t quite human as the title, Shadow People Suggests.

 

The ominous warning breaks free. Switching back and forth between the echoing drumbeats and the bassline now screaming with intensity, louder than ever in a rushed attempt at foreboding suspense. And right when it reaches its climax, you hear five stabs…

 

Then nothing.

 

You have one short minute to escape… before they catch you.

 

Varien – Scrap Metal (5.25): Scrap Metal doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. It comes from a source. A broken-down car or some other defunct piece of machinery. As long as it’s made of metal and no longer of use, then it can be scrap metal. But it always has a history.

 

So, what happened in this metal’s history to make it sound so violent?

 

True, all of the poison in this album is rather aggressive, but an inanimate hunk of metal shouldn’t really be that intense what with the overwhelming dubstep vibe throughout the song. It’s all filled with growls and screams which frankly seem to be a bit of overkill in my book as I’d rather here some of the more cinematic suspenseful portions and while there’s a little bit in this song at the midway point, it’s not quite up to my expectations.

 

And then a possibility lurking in the back of your head begins to awaken.

 

Scrap metal must come from somewhere. A broken-down car or some other form of defunct machinery. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the machinery met its end due to overuse. There’s something out there. Something violent and destructive towards our industrial creations.

 

And all it leaves behinds are scraps.

 

Varien – Mother Superior (7): I would agree it’s always a good idea to respect one’s mother. And it seems that Mother Superior is quite demanding of respect. As soon as she appears on the scene, there’s a familiar vibe that you may be getting used to by now, overwhelming suspense created by simple creepy melodies and echoing electronic stabs with some heavy hitting cinematic drums. A clock ticks in the background counting down to the oncoming wrath. And a mother’s wrath is something to be feared.

 

Mother Superior’s theme hits a lot of the same notes as the Shadow People. That creepy melody and bass heavy suspense leading working together with intense drums into a dubstep drop? Exactly the sense of foreboding that the Shadow People presented. Oh but the wrath here is so much stronger, the growls hit harder and the theme lasts twice as long with a second heavy attack near the end with a slight syncopation to upset the balance before once again hitting the ending of the song with some rapidfire stabs before strangling what’s left of the warnings. It’s possible that Mother Superior is the leader of them, I don’t know how this poisonous world I’m imagining from Varien’s music works down to the letter. Anything’s possible.

 

Regardless, it’s a good idea to respect your mother, but in the case of this song’s poison, it might be a matter of life or death.

 

Varien – Welcome to Hell (7.25): Oh, well what a warm welcome to Hell itself. I guess this is a fair location to visit with all the poison that’s been presented in this album. Oh, but Hell is not a place for relaxation. I have no idea why you’d ever expect that looking at any of the religious sources describing the torturous side of the afterlife. Also, the theme of this album does seem to be quite the gritty violent vibe.

 

Oh, it’s a quiet welcome at first. Just a slight rumble with ever approaching growls echoing in the distance, but when the drums begin and the growls become more prominent, the song takes a slightly more upbeat distorted vibe providing a slight distorted note on every beat. And of course, as it continues on, there’s a climax midway through the song where the basslines reach their full potential with a violent depiction of the horrors that await. I even believe I hear some screams in there at some points, though perhaps the late night is making me delusional.

 

The song ends just as it began, with the faint growls echoing in the distance as they fade away…

 

But they’ll be back.

 

Hell is eternal.

 

Varien – Technical Difficulties (8): Anyways, after abandoning the absolute most horrifying place in all of existence, it’s time to move on to perhaps the best theme in the entire album. Oh, I’m not even going to try and hide behind some lore this time. I’m mostly just trying to use that to give a little bit of variety and atmosphere to the review, but this song? This one needs some special attention to its music.

 

Technical Difficulties has absolutely every strength from any of the other songs on this album and even more. Oh, the beginning has those intense wavering strings that began in Shadow People and of course that leads to the intense bass heavy cinematic drumbeat combo that is present in pretty much every build-up in this album. But after that. Every single moment of this song is absolutely unique.

 

There’s a melody coming from a distant guitar playing off in the middle of all the calm ambience, providing a different strangely soothing flavor foreign to the rest of the album. And the strings do a great job of building up a bit of suspense towards the climax of this song. But unlike the other final drops. This song instead opts to just play a bassline in the background while still focusing on the guitar melodies and strings for the main forefront. It’s actually a beautiful refreshing change of pace with some good drumbeats mixed in there. Making it one of the best songs on the album.

 

Varien – The Sickness (6.5): It’s no surprise that since we’re about two thirds through this album of poison that the sickness is starting to creep in. Poison isn’t the healthiest substance. Oh, and the suspense as this sickness seeps into the body is absolutely overwhelming. Just listen to those quiet voices of longing underlying the bassline and the drums at the beginning there, the moans of those dying from a disease that they’ve inflicted upon themselves. A slightly discomforting bassline rumbles growing ever closer as the drums, as always, build the short song to its climax as the sickness truly begins to take hold. Drums of war. An unbeatable war.

 

The distorted sickness takes a form of a sick bassline that dominates the song by playing long dark notes that display the cinematic dubstep vibe that infects this entire album. The note sometimes holds strong, and yet other times, it begins to waver, showing perhaps a weakness. Perhaps it can be cured. Or perhaps it’s merely strangling the body from the inside out before leaving the song ending the song climatically.

 

Does the end represent death? Perhaps if it were the last song on the album, but there is more to come.

 

Varien – Future Funk (7.75): This is the one of the only songs that could compete Technical Difficulties for the top spot on this album (it loses in the end, but it still stands out among the rest). And so, made up lore is once again not required to make the review of this particular song stand out among the rest. Oh, I could try to make up some story about some sort of funky time travel, but I can’t seem to make the edginess fit with that anyway. But what I can talk about is the variety that this track holds.

 

The first thing I want to highlight is the drum variety this song has over the rest of the songs. Most of the other songs have just the cinematic stabs in the build-ups and a steadier drumbeat, usually at a dubstep tempo, when it comes to the drop. However, this song explores a bit further than that simple pattern. At first, it starts following the two, section trend that the majority of the album uses. Cinematic drums with an unsteady tempo at first, followed by a half-time section at the drop (though interestingly this drumbeat is actually combined with the irregular cinematic drumbeat instead of outright abandoning in it). The second half is where the true variety comes in though. It starts out with the cinematic drums again at first, but then it introduces a new syncopated drumbeat (And if anyone knows me, they know I love syncopation). The syncopation adds a new groove that’s a bit more unique compared to the rest of the album, and it’s allowed to breathe for a second, without the cinematic drums getting in the way (though said drums do come in again a bit later). Long story short, the drumbeat is constantly changing and developing over the course of the entire album.

 

But the despite taking an entire paragraph, the drumbeats aren’t all that’s special about this song. Obviously a song called Future Funk has to have a bit of a groove to it. And that groove is created by the melodies and basslines that are scattered throughout this track. The most noticeable of these is the synth smoothly transforming between several different notes, creating a groove that surprisingly fits quite well with the more cinematic style this album presents. And under that melody, there’s plenty more, an atmospheric vocal sample that serves as the backbone of the track and a wavering simpler synth adding a secondary underlying melody to compliment the first And in the second half, a new bassline is introduced with a low growling arp accentuating that groovy funk to the maximum.

 

I haven’t quite decided whether or not I prefer this over Technical Difficulties, but both are incredibly solid additions to this album that easily stand out above the rest.

 

Varien – Schizophrenia (5.5): The bass heavy stabs at the beginning, overwhelming the forefront of the song during its stay. And yet, everything else sounds distant, a whisper of an arp, a slight build of chaotic strings in the background, and thunderous drums that leave a wavering cry in their dust. Everything in this song is so distant. Except for the bass. The bass. It’s absence in the middle third is welcome, but the song spends much of the time slamming the bassline over the rest of the track, making every other element of this song’s identity seem distant, almost non-existent.

 

What is left of the song when the harsh bass overwhelms every other piece of its identity?

 

What is left of you when harsh thoughts overwhelm every other piece of your identity?

 

Varien – Meteorite (7.75): As the album comes to a close, all that remains is Meteorite: the ultimate mysterious element of the world I’ve attempted to imagine for this album. Perhaps not quite as horrifying as the Shadow People and their Mother Superior. Perhaps not as existentially terrible as Death’s Call that welcomes you to hell. Perhaps not as dangerous as a creature that consumes metal, or a disease that consumes the mind. But Meteorite remains to be the most mysterious of the bunch. Sure, I couldn’t really think of much of an imaginative recreation of Technical Difficulties or Future Funk, but this is different.

 

Looking at the surface, yeah, a meteorite crashed. It happens sometimes. But like I said, there’s an overwhelming aura of mystery. Just listen to that piano melody at the beginning. it starts out soft, distant, combined with what sounds to be a slightly distorted guitar that muffles the simple melody. But as the melody approaches closer and closer to the core of this song, the meteorite that had shattered the surface of this world, the piano becomes stronger, nearly overwhelming the bass as the drums walk closer and closer to the otherworldly wreckage.

 

And then the song explodes into energy, the bassline once again taking the forefront, but unlike in Schizophrenia, the bassline doesn’t completely overtake the song. In fact, the piano is really still thee star of the song, increasing the mystery as it keeps up well with the more intense elements, as we get closer and closer to what appears to be a meteorite. But the guitar and bassline suggest that this isn’t just a hollow husk of extraterrestrial rock. There is something more here. You can hear it, even as the song once again fades into its previous calm demeanor. A subtle bassline stuttering along with the ambience echoing from the drums.

 

And then, for this album’s finale, the final climax of the song depicts an increase in intensity unlike any other on this album. The melody has been cut short, unable to keep up with the ever-accelerating tempo, a combination of the echoing drums from earlier and the rolling bassline that had previously appeared at the midpoint climax. But there’s no more time for the drums to echo. No more time for the bassline to catch a breath as it rises.

 

There’s no more time.

 

Conclusion: Pick Your Poison Vol 1 is a bit on the shorter side of the albums, seeing as ach of the song is no longer than a movie trailer (for good reason). Ten songs, seventeen minutes. If you read this review at a slow enough pace, you could actually finish listening to the album before reaching the end of this review. It’s not cream of the crop for Varien. It’s in fact the first album I’ve reviewed so far where none of the songs have reached an 8 or higher. Now, that doesn’t make it a bad album. None of the songs are bad per se. It’s a shorter experience so it doesn’t need to be exceptionally solid. It’s just a quick exploration into the harsher more cinematic side of Varien. There are a few small duds, but none of them are atrocious enough or long enough to ruin the experience of the album.

 

 

Final Score: (6.75/10)

Daily Hat Track Roundup: May 2019

As we transition into the months of summer and the whether finally starts to get nice where I live, it’s time to look back at all the songs I posted in May. I’ve already posted these all to Twitter, but it may be convenient to view this all in one place. So that’s what I’m doing right here.

 

 

Daily Hat Track: May 1 (Nigel Good & Illuminor – No Way Back Up): Second MC throwback of this Daily Hat Track catchup. I’d forgotten about Nigel until someone on MeWe reminded me. Now, I am basking in this song’s beauty. It’s a bit depressing too, but I like a tiny bit of depression now and then.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 2 (Killgrew – Hyakkimaru): Start out the day with some beautiful Killigrew. The piano in this one is the highlight, especially the chords. Though the Japanese trap vibe is interesting as well.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 3 (Karma Fields & Monarchy – Feint Echoes): Been listening to a lot of Karma Fields today and this one is certainly my favorite. Monarchy’s vocals make for a good tenor that I can stretch to my limits while singing along, and the drop is utter controlled madness. I love it.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 4 (Muzzy – Endgame): Very VERY bad idea to look at any replies to this one. I’m risking enough as it is just posting it, but the apocalyptic Endgame is one of Muzzy’s best so I must share it as Muzzy is another artist I’ve been listening to a lot lately

 

Daily Hat Track: May 5 (Kings of the City – Wrong (Muzzy Remix): Continuing with the Muzzy theme, here’s his best song, though Kings of The City’s lyrical content does influence my opinion. It’s a song about self doubt and existentialism and finding ones way in life. That’s what I like. Also DnB.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 6 (Wintergatan Valentine): Lovely driving bouncy Wintergatan track that I got enjoyed a slight bit excessively while on break at work. Just wish it was a little longer.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 7 (Covenant – I Close My Eyes): I don’t even care what the lyrics are (which is good because I’m currently too tired to decipher them). I just enjoy the relaxing futurepop vibes. Covenant is always do cryptic anyways.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 8 (Karma Fields – Who do You Want to Be (Part II): Who do I want to be? That question arises as I listen to this Skylinesque song from the most recent Karma Fields album. I’m not certain of the answer. It’s not my present self, but I believe I have the power to change that.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 9 (Thermostatic – Northern Ambulance): This very short and mysterious beauty ponders the beauty known as life and how it’s so mysterious and oh so very short.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 10 (Scatman John – Scatman (Game Over Jazz)): Great funky groove with scatsinging as always but this time there’s a saxophone. I love the saxophone.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 11 (Scatman John – Let it Go): Definitely my favorite from Scatman John. The second verse is especially a game changer in the search for self acceptance.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 12 (Vicetone – Home (Eminence remix)): Honestly not a huge fan of any of the involved artiste but this remix works quite well. Of course, self-reflective lyrics do help…

 

Daily Hat Track: May 13 (Veorra – Not Yet): Sometimes, you have to concentrate on the little things of today in order not to be overwhelmed by the mountainous plan that is the future.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 14 (DESERT STAR – Foreign Land): The latest volume of Monstercat Instinct was released today so I’ve been focusing my musical appetite on that mostly. Plenty of highlights. This one for example explores some of my favorite themes of the journey to find one’s self.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 15 (Hybrid – Falling Down): Was listening to some of Hybrid’s older stuff today and I found myself rediscovering this groovy tune (which of course has lyrics depicting the ceaseless chaos we get caught up in because I have some lyrical obsessions apparently).

 

Daily Hat Track: May 16 (Aviators & Lectro Dub – We are not Machines): Aviators and Lectro Dub go together like… I actually don’t feel like coming up with a comparison but they’re good I promise you. This is among the best of the collabs. Significant lyrical quality though Paralyzed is catchier.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 17 (Icon of Coil – Shelter): This song really takes me back to early 2016 when I had absolutely no clue where I belonged. I still don’t but things are better now I think.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 18 (Varien & Veela – Supercell): Varien recently has announced a new album sometime this year. I wonder if it’s possible for my favorite Varien song to be usurped.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 19 (Varien & Laura Brehm – Valkyrie): Long as I’m in a Varien mood, here’s another one of my favorites from way back. The beginning of a gorgeous trilogy.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 20 (Stonebank & Concept – Holding on to Sound): This song… I made a video focused on this song quite a while back. I’m not going to link it though. You have to find that for yourself.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 21 (Scattle – Pacemaker): The discovery I’ve been rocking to today would be Scattle’s Pacemaker. Good groove and plenty of hype within the track. You’ll need to get a pacemaker by the time this is over.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 22 (Celldweller – Switchback (Neuroticfish remix): I’ll be doing a full length review involving the original version of this song shortly, but for now, enjoy the absolute best transformative remix of this classic Celldweller tune.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 23 (Sakuzyo – AngelFalse): I’d discovered Sakuzyo yesterday, but that was after I’d posted that day’s hat track. So now I’m posting one of the songs I’d listened to yesterday today. Shoot, don’t have much room left to talk about the song. Um. Piano is good.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 24 (LukHash – Requiem for a Friend):  I know I’m a bit behind I’ll catch up over time but for now, here’s a cool cross between cinematic, chiptune and synthwave

 

Daily Hat Track: May 25 (Crazy Astronaut – Funky Shit 2014): This song with a slightly obscenely languaged title is just a plethora of nonstop energy. Just sitting here and listening to this song exhausts me in the best way. Then again I can’t exactly call it sitting here because I am boppin

 

Daily Hat Track: May 26 (Cello Fury – Tundra): Three cellists, one drummer. That’s all they needed to make this lovely track complete with a switch up near the middle that provides the song with a new energy right when it’s needed most.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 27 (Mr Fijiwiji & Openwater – Growing Up): One last beauty before sleep. Mr Fijiwiji paints some gorgeous melodies with that piano and I remember Openwater’s cries to escape loneliness resonating with 19 year old me. They still do.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 28 (Wintergatan – Marble Machine): Normally, I post a Spotify link as that’s the music listening platform I spend most of my time on, but this song resurfaced in my queue recently and it’s wrong not to post the music video for this masterpiece.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 29 (Stoneocean – Can’t Stand that Girl): I must share with you this catchy melody that I’ve had stuck in my head for the past 2 days. It’s good while listening to the song but it will not leave my head once it’s over. If I must suffer with this burden, then so should you.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 30 (Celldweller – Own Little World (Growling Machines remix): Going to be finishing up that Celldweller review I mentioned last week soon. So you can definitely expect that this Sunday. In the meantime, here’s an amazing psytrance remix of one of the best songs in the upcoming review.

 

Daily Hat Track: May 31 (Robert Delong & K.Flay – Favorite Color is Blue): I not only find this song ridiculously catchy, but I also find it to be a great vent for when regretful anger leads to depression. At least that’s the existential emotion I’m getting from this song. You know I read way too deep

 

Oh, and as always, you can check out all of the Daily Hat Tracks I’ve posted this year in the playlist below

 

https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=Mnl8CDT3TN2jxaJDZLCG7A

 

Daily Hat Track Roundup: April 2019

Alright, it’s been May for precisely a week, and I still haven’t posed a summary of all the Daily Hat Tracks for April. If you’re following me on Twitter, then this post will be kind of useless to you as I’ve already posed all of these songs and their descriptions on Twitter. I aim to do so daily, but every once and a while, I slack off and later post an obscenely large amount of them in one day. Anyways, here’s thirty songs I enjoyed listening to over the past month so perhaps you can enjoy them as well. Check out the playlist at the bottom to hear all of the Daily Hat Tracks of the year.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 1 (Combichrist – The Evil in Me): This is basically the edgiest I can go before the edge starts to be a detractor rather than a positive aspect. Has that nihilistic mood for the darker times, though it doesn’t cross any lines.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 2 (Bliss – Warriors): I’ve already shared the Guitar remix a month or so back. I was originally introduced to that one and find it a bit more addicting. This one has some cool parts too, but it’s not nearly as good as constant guitar solos.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 3 (Bring Me the Horizon & Grimes – nihilist blues): I’ve been listening to a lot of edgier music as of late. Should probably work on rebalancing my musical diet, but eh this dark vibe is where I’m at right now. There’s a nihilist knocking on my door… And he shares my face…

 

Daily Hat Track: April 4 (Shirobon – Born Survivor): Definitely a nostalgic inspirational tune from a few years back when things were a lot simpler (though still kinda complicated). Good chiptune mood in this one. Has a nice bounce to it.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 5 (H.U.V.A. Network – Something Heavens): It’s incredibly late and so I desire to end the day with some relaxation from the immersive heavenly experience that is H.U.V.A. Network. Good night to all. May your dreams be of something heavenly.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 6 (Seven Lions & Jason Ross – The Sirens: Oh yeah, I forgot about this psytrance/psystep wonder Seven Lions released last year. Looks like there’s a compilation with an extended version out now. Neat.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 7 (Douglas Holmquist & Susanna Lundgren – Something Beneath): The fact that this beautiful inspiring track comes from a Pinball game still astounds me. Then again, Pinout is a very interesting spin on Pinball, so it deserves it.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 8 (Nömak – Schrödinger’s Cat WLP Edit): Here’s a very strange trippy experimental track that breaks apart halfway through to return as something completely different. Such an odd song. I love it.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 9 (Lauren Bousfield – Two Swans Duct Taped to the Side of the Coke Machine): Long as we’re doing experimental madness, here’s a shorter fascinatingly enjoyable mess from Lauren Bousefield. The song title isn’t shorter though. Not short at all.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 10 (Varien – Born of Blood, Risen from Ash): This one’s only about a week old but the combination of 2012-2024 Varien and 2026 – 2018 Varien really works here. Really looking forward to everything else Varien has coming for us over the next year.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 11 (Freezepop – Phantoms): I have no idea what this song is about. Well I know it’s about a post mortem dance party but other than that I’m at a loss. Fun song though!

 

Daily Hat Track: April 12 (Stephen & IN-Q – Start a Fire): Not my usual genre to post but Stephen does occasionally dip very slightly into electronic with a synth here and there. This mostly acoustic intro to his album is among my favorites from him.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 13 (Joachim Pastor – Reykjavik): Been a while since I posted some Hungry Music. Joachim Pastor with a chill drive as always. Good funky grooves. Beautifully mysterious melodies. Odd outro for a hungry song but I don’t really mind.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 14 (Arkasia – Those From There): Not an Arkasia expert, so I can’t necessarily compare this to songs from the rest of his discography, but this one certainly is magically immersive. Love the subtle vocal flavors added here and there.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 15 (Andy Blueman – Sea Tides): Honestly kind of tired tonight so here’s the trance track that started this week’s Discover Weekly on Spotify. Don’t have all that much to say about it. My reviews are thousands of words long. Let me be lazy on occasion.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 16 (Inofaith – Dawn is Late): I’m up a bit late tonight though not as late as this song suggests. This comes from the same EP as Nocturne which I posted a while back. Inofaith has released only a handful of tracks but this one is among the best of them.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 17 (Ashbury Heights – Science): If I had made a list of the best songs of 2018, this would have been near the top. One of my favorite Ashbury Heights songs as well, though The Looking Glass Society has some better ones. Anyways, this song is about depression!

 

Daily Hat Track: April 18 (Space Buddha – Mental Hotline): Mostly sharing this because I find the voice at the beginning of the song to be an amusing asshat. The rest of the track bangs though. If you do need help with mental issues, call a hotline if need be. Just don’t call this one.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 19 (Hilight Tribe – Esperanza): I’m trying to maybe finish up my review by the end of the day so um here’s a groovy trance song with a guitar. Enjoy that for nine minutes why don’t ya?

 

Daily Hat Track: April 20 (Neuromonakh Feofan – Ядрёность): For the track that was supposed to be posted on my birthday, I would like to share this Russian DnB and dubstep. I always find this band to be incredibly interesting.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 21 (The Future Sound of London – Point of Departure): For the Easter Daily Hat Track, I give you the first immersive track off of this album I just discovered by this artist I just discovered. Gonna be listening to more of this as I wash the dishes.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 22 (Neuromonakh Feofan – Нейромонах Феофан): Another Neuromonakh Feofan song because why not, they’re addicting. This is their titular song. Titular as in named after that artist, not the album. One of their best.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 23 (Chris Keya – Totentanz): One of the many highlights of this week’s Discovery Weekly. Solid drumbeat. Plenty of great guitar rocking throughout. Plus a couple of good melodies to jam to.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 24 (OVERWERK & Nikon – Calling): OVERWERK and Nikon are a great combination that gets better with each iteration. The most recent iteration of yesteryear being this agnostically themed track with the best Arpwerk from I’ve even heard from OVERWERK

 

Daily Hat Track: April 25 (VNV Nation – Space & Time): One of my very first VNV Nation songs continues to also be one of my very favorites. Really captures the beauty of the chaos of this world. Spoke to me quite well when I’d discovered it 3 years ago and it still does.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 26 (Mazmoneth – Kali’s Day Off): As this day comes to a close, may I introduce some odd ambience to end your day. A few melodies too. Ok actually there’s a lot of interesting stuff in this song and it develops greatly over time so I’m gonna stop listing it all.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 27 (OVERWERK & Mars – Know): Another OVERWERK track today. This is the runner-up to Calling on the State album and the best non-Nikon song. There’s a bit more darkness and doubt in this one despite being called “Know.” Great groove in places too.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 28 (Stonebank & EMEL – Stronger): Stonebank released a new song recently and for some reason, as I was listening to it I really wanted there to be a surprise DnB drop added in there towards the end. It didn’t happen so I had to listen to my fav from him again.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 29 (Ace Ventura & Antimony – We Dream): We Dream. It’s who we are. Best psytrance if the past week. Some inspiring relatable vocals (I’m definitely dreamer) and a great mysterious sound that feels both familiar and unique at the same time.

 

Daily Hat Track: April 30 (Neelix & Caroline Harrison – Makeup): 4 months in and I still haven’t shared my favorite song of all time? This psytrance masterpiece has such an intricate hidden message that I just don’t have the room to fully analyze it in a tweet. I’ll have to review it someday.

 

 

 

Full Daily Hat Tracks 2019 playlist here:

 

https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=8wlLYj9RQmOw_1JrDn2TAw

 

Daily Hat Track Roundup: January 2019

I’ve been posting these every day on Twitter for the past month so if you’re not following me yet, there’s a direct link in the menu if you simply scroll up. Or you could click on this one right here. Either will do. The wording of these short micro reviews may work better in a daily setting so this whole collection might seem a little disjointed but I’ll work on that tone a bit better as time progresses. Oh and at the bottom of this post I also have linked a playlist of all the 2019 Daily Hat Tracks so you can listen through that if you’d like.

 

https://twitter.com/BeretBeats

 

If you’ve already been following me for the past month, then this isn’t going to be much new content for you, but it’s a nice recap of what I’ve been listening to as of late.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 1 (Donbor – Backward): Discovered Donbor today. Fantastic discovery. I’m a bit mixed on some of his albums, but this album in particular and this song in particular is outstanding. Love the guitar in the beginning and everything else that follows

 

Daily Hat Track: January 2 (DROELOE – Looking Back (Manu Dia remix)): This remix stole the spot for today’s track minutes ago. Loved the original lyrics about the internal struggles of adulthood and this remix with music box vibes and the other melodies that greatly improved upon DROLOE’s style.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 3 (Durs – Redemption): Couldn’t hold myself back from posting psytrance for too long, now could I? This one’s got some exceptional basslines to keep me in the groove. Had a lit of fun with it on loop this evening.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 4 (Moby – Like a Motherless Child (Broken Places Remix)): Spotify’s Release Radar made sure to deliver this captivating remix to me. Broken Places does a better job of matching the emotion of the song’s lyrics than Moby himself. At least, that’s my preference.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 5 (Andy Hunter & Christine Glass – Amazing): Didn’t really discover much new music today, but that’s not gonna stop me from posting something. How about a classic? Andy Hunter was my biggest introduction to EDM and this is my current favorite song of his hailing from 2002.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 6 (The Avener & Ane Brun – To Let Myself Go): Beautiful tracks with a good drive are one of my weaknesses. Here’s a recent discovery of mine from that category. Listen carefully to every single element and instrument as you listen to this one. Because each one is a small part of a masterpiece.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 7 (Comaduster – Far From Any Road): This ominous entrancing track definitely caught my attention today. The tone of the song has nice unsettling feel to it. And the lyrics are even more unsettling so if you’re into that (I am) then make sure to give it a listen!

 

Daily Hat Track: January 8 (Ashbury Heights – November Corrosion): Embrace the break of day with yesterday still in motion

 

This song is actually about pulling an all nighter due to existential crisis. I’m posting it now because I forgotten to post a track last night so yesterday is still now.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 9 (Ecepta & Azaleh – Shadow Truths): It’s way too late for me to still be up so here’s a chill vibes Daily Hat Track that I heard today. Let us all read and rest in the shadows.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 10 (Ehrling – Groove): The main reason I live Ehrling’s stuff is the saxophone. The saxophone is likely one of my favorite instruments in existence. If you’re unaware of my love for the saxophone, then your ignorance of my saxophone loving shall soon fade away.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 11 (Torul – Ausverkauft – Frozen Plasma remix): My favorite track from today’s Release Radar is the great Futurepop synthwave combo that is this Frozen Plasma remix. Haven’t delved into the lyrics quite yet but the vibe is great regardless.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 12 (Infected Mushroom – Bust a Move): Classic Infected Mushroom song and totally not a hint at what album I’m reviewing next.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 13 (Lemon Jelly – 64 aka Go): This song is a journey in two ways. Firstly, the theme is about embarking on a lengthy journey so that’s that. Secondly, the variety within the song (especially the guitar at the end) makes it a journey through sound.

 

BONUS THREAD (worth the read I promise): https://twitter.com/BeretBeats/status/1084941640366804993

 

Daily Hat Track: January 14 (Justice – Planisphere): I’m not certain why Spotify decided to put a nearly eighteen minute song in my Discovery Weekly, but it was still well worth the time to listen to every last bit of it.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 15 (The Other Colors & Marie Mööre – Pretty Day (Remix): Today’s weird enough already so let’s add some more weird to it with this trippy edgy track with the cutest lady singing about how pretty death is as everything around her descends into madness.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 16 (Eddie Bitar & Psycrain – Vertical Poetry): Who wants more psytrance? I’m always wanting more psytrance. Eddie Bitar is a recent discovery of mine. His collabs with Psycrain are his best and this is the best of those so this is the best Eddie Bitar.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 17 (Bjørn Torske – Clean Air): Yeah, I know it’s the 18th but this is the track I meant to post yesterday and I’m sorry for being so late on it. But I ain’t gonna get stressed I’m gonna take a step back and breathe the clean air that is this beautiful track.

 

Daily Hat Track January 18 (Sean Tyas – Chrome): This week’s Release Radar was mostly a flop. This is the only one that really stands out to me. It may just be trance with pseudo-inspiring lyrics at the beginning but it’s good trance with pseudo-inspiring lyrics at the beginning

 

Daily Hat Track: January 19 (Sesto Sento – Louder): It’s getting louder and louder and louder and louder. It’s getting LoUdEr and LoUdEr and LoUdeR and LoUdEr. It’s getting LOUDER and LOUDER and LOUDER and LOUDER

 

Daily Hat Track: January 20 (Ehrling – Tequila): Is it cheating to do to Ehrling tracks in one month? Because this one has an even more energetic upbeat melody (plus more sax, always more sax, the EP is called Sax Art and it is flawless).

 

Daily Hat Track: January 21 (Ghost – He is (HEALTH remix): Today’s track has a slight bit of edge and despair to it. An emotion that might ward off some listeners but I’m definitely into it. Though as you may see this Friday, I have limits to how much edge I can take…

 

Daily Hat Track: January 22 (Henry Saiz & Band – Downfall (Overture): Great song about finding beauty within the inevitable chaos of this world while also focusing on the similarities and differences between what we dream of and what we see in reality. Plus the music is just plain ol’ good

 

Daily Hat Track: January 23 (Ashbury Heights – Penance): Finishing up Friday’s review so I haven’t listened to much else. Here’s a sneak peak of the edgiest review yet! Not the best song on the album because I’m leaving the best for later but there’s some good existentialism in here.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 24 (Etherwood – In Stillness):  What a beautiful album opener. Such a gorgeous track about slowing down in life to finally find peace.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 25 (Neelix – Mosquito (Interactive Noise remix): It got really late this Friday. Here’s a new remix of one of Neelix’s more creative songs with synths made of mosquitoes. It’s not quite as good as the original (this one is less subtle and not as majestic) but both are worth checking out.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 26 (Yanni, Marc Russell, David Scheuer & Tinatin Japordize – What You Get): Today’s track comes from a brand new discovery of mine, Yanni. Dude has a massive discography but I’ve only just brushed the surface with these genius piano melodies and the surrounding almost cosmic environment.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 27 (Royalston – Oscilla): DnB songs are always good. Take this Royalston track for example. The melodies in the middle of the song really have a soothing feel to them, but the variety the rest of the track offers is pretty great too.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 28 (The Anix – Mask): It can be quite easy to hide behind a mask. I sometimes wonder if I’m hiding under a mask even from myself (nonsense I know). Well, The Anix tackles masks in this song. If we wear a mask, what truly hides behind in the shadows?

 

Daily Hat Track: January 29 (Sesto Sento – Musik Make U Feel (Live mix)): So basically I listened to a bunch of music that would be fun to party to. Except I was working at the time so not really a party. But feel that musik. This and Louder are great tracks for getting in that partyin mood

 

Daily Hat Track: January 30 (Mind.in.a.box – The Dream): I go a little bit overboard with this guy’s stuff when reviewing. The story is real dense here so here’s a sneak peak at tomorrow’s review. Fittingly I chose the song, The Dream from the album Dreamweb.

 

Daily Hat Track: January 31 (Pendulum – Propane Nightmares): Sorry if today’s tracks seem a bit lazier. I’m trying to do my best to match the tone of each day (if that makes sense). I listened to a lot of Pendulum today and while this track isn’t a new discovery, it definitely is a classic.

 

https://open.spotify.com/user/beretbeats/playlist/4CIZYAQAzctqYqFG89HIv2?si=0ZHfkQeIQw6QhRE6vUVEmg