Category: Music

Artist Spotlight: ATHRS performs at Imagine 2018


Punk EDM Rocker ‘ATHRS’ Reflects on Performing at Imagine 2018

athrsimagine2018

ATHRS reflects on his IMF 2018 experience.

Punk Rock electronic artist, ATHRS, born Mike Torres, performed for his second time at Imagine Music Festival (IMF), this year in Hampton, Georgia. The Orlando, FL, native often performs in the Southeast and said Atlanta’s premier electronic music festival is one of his favorites.

“I love performing in Atlanta, this is my second year at Imagine. Glen and Maddie throw one of the best festivals out here and it’s always so amazing to be a part of it,” said Torres.

Rock and EDM have been in an intertwined relationship ever since Skrillex burst onto the DJ circuit after leaving his post-hardcore band “From First to Last.” Steve Aoki was a signer and guitarist in the scream band “This Machine Kills,” EDM powerhouse, Zedd, was once a member of death core band “Dioramic,” and bass legend, Bassnectar, also was once in a metal band. Some acts leave the “rock sound” almost entirely, trading guitars for synthesizers and hard bass, at times only referencing their roots in mashups or remixes.

ATHRS has managed to evolve into EDM while keeping his pop punk influences intact. This has allowed him to create original music that melds the two genres in a genuine way. His opening show on the final day of Imagine was a nice warm-up for concertgoers who weren’t still recovering in their tents or asleep at home from the night before. Torres played for an intimate show for a crowd at the Six Feathers stage, splitting the set between his laptop and DJ Controller, and grabbing his guitar to leave behind the booth and rock out on stage and right in front of his audience.

ATHRS grew up on pop punk music and says he is influenced by bands like All Time Low, Greenday, and blink-182. He also has a penchant for DJs like Kayzo and Borgore, and says Adventure Club is one of his biggest influences. ATHRS got to experience Adventure Club at Imagine this year. The pioneers of vocal dubstep put on an epic show full of lights, lasers, and their signature sound, famous for attracting many fest-goers into the electronic scene in the first place.

“I was super hyped to see Adventure Club. They killed it. It was an ABSOLUTELY epic show,” said Torres.

ATHRS thinks the diversity of sound within EDM music has attracted more and more people to American EDM music and events. He uses his platform to produce a unique combo he calls “pop-punk electronic” with vocals characteristic of punk rock, interwoven with synths, energetic beats and high energy drops. His songs vary from highly rock influenced to more house influences like his single, “Shed Your Skin.”During his performance of “Under My Skin,” a cut from his upcoming EP, Torres croons about not letting the world get to him before a crescendo of heavy, melodic guitar riffs, with a dance beat picking up to join the melange of sound

During his performance of “Under My Skin,” a cut from his upcoming EP, Torres croons about not letting the world get to him before a crescendo of heavy, melodic guitar riffs, with a dance beat picking up to join the melange of sound.

“People are hungry for real talent, drive and ambition, and that’s what I hope to bring them. They also get to see [my] vulnerability. I think it really comes through in the music,” he said.ATHRS’ fans, those who saw him at Imagine, or people who want to hear his unique brand of punk EDM, can catch him next at Uncle Lou’s entertainment hall in Orlando, October 14th.
ATHRS’ fans, those who saw him at Imagine, or people who want to hear his unique brand of punk EDM, can catch him next at Uncle Lou’s entertainment hall in Orlando, October 14th.

ATHRS’ latest EP “Pop Punk is Dead” will be releasing soon and a music video for his single, “Rollercoaster” was recently released on Youtube. Fans can find more of ATHRS’ music on Soundcloud, athrs.com, and Spotify.

[Hip-Hop/Rap:] Eminem – Lucky You (feat. Joyner Lucas)


Lucky You (feat. Joyner Lucas) – Eminem

Check out Eminem’s latest video from his recent album, Kamikaze, a banger featuring Joyner Lucas, “Lucky You.”

[Commercials with Cool Music:] [Bass/Electronic:] Nora Khalif – My Favorite Things (Urban Noize Edit)


[Commercial with Cool Music:] My Favorite Things (Urban Noize Edit) – Nora Khalif

Commercials have increasingly turned to EDM to be featured in their adverts. Car companies have probably been sampling the electronic genre’s gems for quite some time, since the rise of dubstep almost a decade ago. Volvo stepped up and featured a remix of a traditional song (along the lines of Toyota’s Bippity Boppity Boo EDM Remix).

In a rare twist however, a full version of the remix was also released and uploaded to Youtube. Often when EDM is used in commercials, the song will be a snippet produced only for the commercial and a full version is never released. Volvo made a smart move featuring Urban Noize’s remix of the song which also has a full version. Enjoy it above!

[Commercials with Cool Music:] Microsoft Surface – The Salmon Sisters [Throwback to PS2’s Amplitude:] Garbage – Cherry Lips


[Alternative Rock/Pop:] Garbage – Cherry Lips

Go baby go go, (yeah we’re right behind you)
Go baby go go, (yeah we’re lookin’ at you)
Go baby go go, (oh, we’re right behind you)
Go baby, go baby, Yeah we’re right behind you!

Microsoft’s recent ad for the Surface Go has surfaced feelings of nostalgia in many people who heard the song featured in the ad, Garbage’s “Cherry Lips.” For me personally, I first heard the song on the Playstation 2 music game, Amplitude.

From the makers of Dance Central, the unconventional music game had you piloting a space ship that coasted along “tracks” of music. Each track had notes that you would blast and after getting through a “section” or “verse” with no misses the track would blast away and disappear and it’s element would continue to play for awhile. Each track was broken down into vocals, bass, drums, synths and FX, and basically the better you play the game the better the song would sound, you could also choose to completely ignore the vocals track to make an instrumental version, or only play the drums and bass for an acoustic/percussive “remix.”

It wasn’t until it resurfaced in the Microsoft ad that I found out more about Garbage and that the lead singer actually wasn’t Gwen Stefani (it sure sounded like it to me). Enjoy the ad and it’s original music video above and below take a look at what it was like playing the song in Amplitude.

 

[EDM Origins: Throwbacks] [Big Room / Prog. House] Michelle Williams – We Break the Dawn (Karmatronic Remix) // [Mid 00s Trance] Above & Beyond – Satellite & Can’t Sleep (Araabmuzik Flip)


This is another EDM Origins post. As the name suggests, without tunes loke these, we may have never gotten to the point where dubstep, trap, glitch, and future house would have become  popular.

Karmatronic’s remix of Michelle Williams’ “We Break the Dawn” takes an incredibly different spin on the song pulling a total 180° from the original. From a slow, pop-laden R&B track to a complex, layered and simply moving progressive track, everything about this song is top notch. The remix benefits from a faster BPM, making it more danceable, and wavy, calming synths accentuating the hook/chorus.

Can’t Sleep – Above & Beyond

Above & Beyond has been a name in the electronic genre for decades. They’ve released groundbreaking music, long before many of today’s acts even existed. Two popular favorites include the transcendental vocal trance cut, “Satellite” and the equally deep in trance elements, “Can’t Sleep” which has been remixed by Araabmuzik, Above & Beyond themselves, and countless others.

[New Music] [Alt. Rock] Alex Clare – Open My Eyes


[Acoustic Alternative:]
Alex Clare – Open My Eyes

British singer-songwriter, Alex Clare, released “Open My Eyes” yesterday on Youtube. The multi-talented singer has released music spanning many genres including, electronic, blues, alternative rock, pop, drum & bass, and R&B.

This acoustic single invites his sultry smooth vocals over acoustic guitars and minimalist soundscapes. This gives the track a deep atmosphere, something present in many of Clare’s songs. Clare is most popularly known for his electronic single, “Too Close” that was featured in numerous ads and commercials, particularly, Microsoft’s ad for Internet Explorer 9.

[Throwback] [German Rock/Alternative:] Tokio Hotel – Dogs Unleashed (2009)


Throwback Jam: [Alt. Rock/German Rock]

Dogs Unleashed – Tokio Hotel

We are dogs unleashed,
Out of control
Full of dreams, nobody knows
Unleashed, time to escape
We don’t wanna suffocate…

Today’s throwback highlight is to German alternative rock band, Tokio Hotel. The band took the world by storm quietly after the release of their 2007 album, Scream. “Dogs Unleashed” continues their melodic foray into dark, but still light rock and has a nice catchy hook/chorus.

“Dogs Unleashed” comes from their 2009 album, Humanoid. Fun fact: I was on a school trip in Rome, Italy when I heard one of the band’s most popular singles, “Monsoon.” It played on the Italian equivalent of MTV, with it’s accompanying video. I also was introduced to Mika’s “Relax, Take It Easy,” a light-hearted dance-disco EDM cut, also released in 2007.

When I returned to the States, I found Tokio Hotel had become very popular and was beginning to make waves  in the US. Select singles became available in the US iTunes store. “Monsoon” was also featured in Guitar Hero: World Tour (the international themed iteration of the popular game).