By: Jesse Bilbija

With electro-house giants such as Steve Aoki, MSTRKRFT and Girl Talk headlining shows that continue to fill The Wall with legions of fist-pumping Nipissing and Canadore students, it has become clear to me that electronic music has found a loving home in the heart of North Bay. With that said, Spotlight Magazine is here to help by offering you, the reader, a steady source to keep you up-to-date on all of the newest and hottest electronic tracks, artists and events.

Girl Talk

Greg Michael Gillis — more commonly known as the mash-up maestro Girl Talk — is a Pennsylvania native that has caused quite a stir the electronic scene since the release of his debut album, Secret Diary, in 2002. Having released two EPs and three albums since then, he has clearly proven his worth as a recording artist. He has left a considerable mark on the musical world — hopefully one that will continue to grow as time goes on.

For those who are unfamiliar with mash-up music, it’s exactly what the name implies — multiple pre-recorded songs that are mashed together to create something new. As simple as that may sound, blending different vocals over instrumentals effectively is exactly the opposite. Girl Talk often chooses to use 10 or more tracks in a single song. Needless to say, the man has some serious skill. By the end of a three minute song, such as my personal favorite “Play Your Part [Part 1],” I feel like I’ve hopped in Doc Brown’s DeLorean and listened to all of the top 40 smash’s of each year as they passed by the windshield. For those of you who want to take a listen, be sure to check out his myspace at www.myspace.com/girltalk. Better yet, you can catch him performing live at The Wall on Thursday, October 21st with Green Go! & The Balconies. Tickets are $35 and are selling quickly, so hurry if you’re interested.

Track’ed Down; Each week, I will post a few of my favorite finds from my track hunts for all of you who are looking for that last epic tune to complete your party playlists. You can find any of these on iTunes and purchase them legally (because you’re a good person), but, for those of you tight on cash, we all have our ways around buying music.

F*ck You (Brass Knuckles Remix) – Cee-Lo

A nice mix by Brass Knuckles that takes the original laid-back vibe of this tune and transforms it into a full-fledged banger that will get the crowd on their feet. The catchy vocals are combined with a flavorful breakdown that will leave you wanting more.

Barbara Streisand (Original Mix) – Duck Sauce

The dynamic duo known as Duck Sauce (DJ Armand Van Helden & A Trak) have finally released the fully mastered version of this pop-house killer. Having first heard clips of this during the summer, I had been counting down the days until they finally dropped it. The upbeat melody will leave you fighting to keep yourself from looking like a cheap bobble head doll. For an entertaining remix of it, check out WLDCT’s ‘Drums of Steel’ bootleg.

Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Remix) – Two Door Cinema Club

Not necessarily a new track, but definitely one of my favorite remixes of a TDCC song. The light melody combined with a steady bassline and glitchy-electro accents work incredibly with Alex Trimble’s vocals on this track.

Hot-N-Fun (Boys Noize Remix) – N.E.R.D Feat. Nelly Furtado

This remix of this smash by N.E.R.D dropped in late June, however, in my eyes it still deserves all the attention it can get. It keeps all of the amazing vocal work from the original and adds the Boys Noize flair with a meaty bass-filled breakdown.

Tik Tok (Bob Sinclar Remix) – Sean Paul

It has been a long time since anything with Sean Paul’s name in it has gotten a second play on my computer, however, for some reason (quite possibly Bob Sinclar’s amazing re-work), I can not keep this song off my speakers, check it out!

Look forward to reading more on the music that North Bay loves.