Hey, kids! Trixie here, for the first time on the new site. As many of you know, I’m finishing up my Master’s Degree at Rave School (as my roommate calls it), so this semester is already driving me to want nothing more than a good release. While shaking it on the floor to some dance punk is good for half of what ails me, I’m really missing my undergrad days when I would hop in the car, drive to the nearest (or not so nearest) party and lose it to some boshing, hard progressive house or drum and bass. As such, I’m sharing with you what I have been caning while programming microchips and writing lit reviews:

FC Shuttle have put out a lovely little double A-Side called Smaul02. “Zzzipper” is a humming slow burner, a perfect track for an opening DJ to warm a crowd up without knocking them out to early. “Hippozaun” starts out bubbly before finding a groove that effortlessly straddles anticipation and dread, two feelings ravers know go hand in hand more often than not. It’s perfect for opening the main set.

Zzzipper — FC Shuttle

Hippozaun — FC Shuttle

Both of these are available via eMusic– I’m not going to hand these out, since it’s both sides of a single, and I’d like to see someone supporting dance music artists again.

Next up is Hokkaido & Newman with “Sushi Room.” The release has three versions– Main, Dub, and Original, and they’re all good (and really distinct, unusual for progressive trance). I haven’t the SLIGHTEST idea who these guys are. All I know is that on the dub mix of this driving, 4 am and no where near close to going home gem, they bang harder than anything I’ve heard in a long time while still keeping a melody.

Sushi Room (Dub) — Hokkaido and Newman

The rest of this EP is also available via eMusic.

If four on the floor isn’t really your speed, CLS & Wax have put out two slices of great drum and bass. “Full of Strange” is not so intelligent as to be only appropriate for cocktail parties (and everyone knows you can’t dance with a martini in your hand) but still manages to be pretty, late 90’s space sparkles threaded through rat-a-tat machine gun fire high hats. The flip is a little deeper, with a pinch of nu-jazz funk rendered pretentiousless with a synth arpeggio that calls to mind Zelda games on the Super Nintendo.

Full of Strange — CLS and Wax

Race is On — CLS and Wax

(Again, these are from a single– you can find these on eMusic.)

Finally, if you just can’t dance to anything that doesn’t have indie rock cred and you’d rather be seen out without pants than phat ones, Sufjan collaborater and long-time friend of Resonator (through Shaun) My Brightest Diamond has a remix album on the way. While most of it is unlikely to have glowstick wavers shove their heads in bassbins, the Gold Chains Panique Mix of “Freak Out” makes me crave a wide open, sweaty, dark dance floor like an overheated raver craves free bottled water.

Freak Out (Gold Chains Panique Mix) — My Brightest Diamond

Given the thesis crunch, the last might be the most appropriate one for me to lose my mind to these days… If you’re freaking out in your cubicle or classroom, give these a chance and make people jealous that you’re so cool that you can shake it in your desk chair like there’s nothing at all on your mind.