Monstercat 017 – Ascension Ascends the Label Even Further

Over the past two years, we have watched this next label transform from the likes of a promising, transgenre EDM collective with loads of potential into the fierce jungle feline you see before you today.

Monstercat is most certainly where it’s at when discussing labels that have set the tone for the next few years of electronic dance music releases.

How, you ask?

Well, that next part is a bit tricky.

To begin, this Vancouver-based music label has elucidated talents from some of the most unheard of, eclectic groups of musicians in all of dance music. Not only have they championed said undiscovered artists onto the scene, but these new talents have proceeded to swell their fair share of waves in this vastly expanding ocean we affectionately refer to as the “EDM-o-sphere.” A quick glance at the “current roster” on the official Monstercat web page will reveal a staggering number of widely popular producers you may not have necessarily associated with MCat.

7 Minutes DeadAstronautAu5BrakenCase & PointDirectDotEXEDzeko & TorresDroptekFalcon FunkFavrightFractalHaywyreHellburgInsan3lik3KrewellaLets Be FriendsMr FijiwijiNoisestormPIXLPegboard NerdsProject 46, Rameses B, RazihelRogueSouleroSplitbreedStephen WalkingThrottleTristamTut Tut ChildVarien and Vicetone.

(Just to name a few of our favorites.)

However, words will only get us so far. You need to HEAR what we mean.

Without hesitation, the fat cats over at MC have released their 17th compilation LP to date. So far, “Monstercat 017 – Ascension” has garnered attention from every corner of the EDM world, making this their most supported album to date! With a four-hour laundry list of tracks, fantastic production quality throughout, and loads of prodigal EDM producers on top of it all, Monstercat presents to you a release that will only serve to exacerbate their stranglehold on the EDM industry.

Keep it up boys and girls.

Risky Business: Empty Hearted – Designer Drugs & Alvin Risk [HUGE NEW SINGLE][HEAVY]

If you’re in the Greater Chicago Area, you’re probably cursing about how the hell you’re going to commute home in a wicked thunderstorm. But we’ll leave the weather to Tom Skilling. Because we’ve got a titanic track that everyone can dig, rain or shine.

If you haven’t heard it yet, Alvin Risk will be a name to remember. And that’s about the third time we’ve said that, so you’ll just have to be down with the lingo the next time we post about him. Discovered and signed by Skrillex in 2011, you had to figure this producer would just keep climbing. After dropping his most recent hit Skyclad, Risk extended his capacity for creating brilliant music even further. This time with Designer Drugs for an incredible dubstep single, Empty Hearted. 

With overwhelming production quality, this track should receive a strong response from fans, critics, or a combination of both – like us. Building up with a groovy, deep house intro – intoxicating, trance-like vocals drop into a metallic, electronic rock orchestra. Some call it dubstep.

But one dose of this track could be taken differently. Early symptoms may include excitement, foot-tapping, and head bobbing. Subsequent symptoms may include hysteria, confusion, and head-banging. If this specific track is any indication of the potential, we could only hope to see Designer Drugs and Alvin Risk collaborate again in the future.

And be sure to enjoy the other Alvin Risk gem I rediscovered today.

Just because music is Fun.