ILLfest has announced a stacked Phase One lineup to descend on Austin, Texas in September 2021. The two-festival is scheduled for September 17th and 18th at Austin’s Travis County Expo Center. Organizers have recruited a bevy of high-profile EDM talent for the festivities, tapping bass music heavyweights REZZ and RL Grime as headliners along with house titans Chris Lorenzo and Malaa, electronic superstars What So Not and Mija, and famed dance-pop duo Snakehips, among others. ILLfest will also feature some iconic artists outside of the dance music spectrum. Texas native Devin The Dude, a fabled rapper known for his woozy hit “Doobie Ashtray,” and dream pop duo Phantogram will both hit the stage in September. A 10-day ticket window wi...
Nitti Gritti has unveiled his second release of the year, an emotive future pop single called “Matrix” with Jimmy Levy. The producer and vocalist tandem have become quite the dynamic duo, working on such hits as 2019’s “Eyes On You” and 2020’s “All In.” They’ve hit their sweet spot with their latest single, which homes in on the soaring production talents of Gritti and the crooning vocals of Levy. “Matrix” opens with a distant electric guitar progression that unfurls into a lush beat, with Levy’s heartfelt lyrics piercing through. They tell a story of a couple fighting for the survival of their relationship, trying to break free from the vicious cycle of heartbreak. The electronic ballad is taken to new...
Fans first caught wind of a stunning unreleased Nitti Gritti track when he played it during his set at the Beyond Wonderland at the Gorge Virtual Rave-A-Thon in June. Today, the wait for the mystery banger is over after Nitti Gritti kicked off 2021 with his first release of the year, “Where I Belong” with RUNN. “Where I Belong” is a heartwarming journey of soaring vocals, punchy basses, and soulful melodies. The introduction starts with breathtaking vocals from RUNN, who takes the track to euphoric heights. The melodic chorus floats high in the clouds as Nitti Gritti’s instrumental guides listeners with nostalgic sound design. Soaring synth elements collide with hard-hitting drums in a fierce display of Nitti Gritti’s unique and flawl...
House music star Dr. Fresch and Grammy Award-nominated producer Nitti Gritti have been making waves in their respective lanes for years. Combined, they’ve released on some of the industry’s leading labels, including Musical Freedom, Never Say Die, and Insomniac Records. Now, the talented artists have teamed up for one of the year’s most explosive collaborations. “Cold Day In Hell” is a midtempo masterpiece that draws on 80s-inspired synth work and industrial elements. Embracing a darker style than their fans may be used to, the duo’s collaboration provides a fresh and exciting sound to round out 2020 in spectacular fashion—a sentiment echoed by Dr. Fresch. The track’s music video reflects its eerie energy perfectly. It features young makeup artist and TikTok drag star @theonlyma...
Seasons be damned, SIDEPIECE are here to prolong summer through their sun-kissed house sound. Never to be pigeonholed into one sonic space, SIDEPIECE’s Party Favor and Nitti Gritti have both built reputations for gliding through the electronic genre spectrum with the precision and grace of a heart surgeon. Whether they produce dubstep, Latin, or even nu-disco, they consistently churn out pristine arrangements with mass appeal. While each artists’ more popular music is rooted in the shadowy alleys of trap and bass, at its core is musicality with a bedrock of classical training. Harnessing their innate ability to devise authentic, poignant melodies, the duo recently manifested their love of house music into SIDEPIECE and watched the collaborative project mushroom into a bon...
Miami native Nitti Gritti has been known to incorporate many styles into his own unique sound. From catchy pop music to gnarly bass numbers, the red-hot producer has touched on nearly every genre across the spectrum. Now, he’s enlisted the help of his friend and fellow musician Mario, the R&B superstar perhaps best known for his hit 2004 single, “Let Me Love You,” for a brand new amalgamation of styles. “Another Way” is chock-full of late 90s and early 2000s R&B influence. The introduction and verses’ rhodes piano chords and soulful, romantic lyrics call to mind works from the likes of Usher or Boyz II Men. However, the production elements that guide those sultry and nostalgic notes forward are very much at home in 2020....
As more and more artists and promoters look for new ways to connect with fans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the live concert industry continues its transformation into something wholly different than it was just a few months ago. In an announcement that sounds more like a Black Mirror promo, dubstep maven Carnage has just announced that he is headlining “Road Rave,” a drive-in music festival in Orlando, Florida. Joining Carnage on the bill are fellow bass heavyweights Riot Ten, Nitti Gritti, GRAVEDGR, and Blunts & Blondes. Can you imagine the adrenaline-fueled, car-honking riot that is going to ensue when these trap and dubstep kingpins throw down? The show does, of course, come with some social distancing guidelines. For example, all cars must...