10 New Artists You Need to Know: February 2014

 

DJ Snake

DJ Snake

Sounds Like: A moshpit in the trap

For Fans Of: TNGHT, Major Lazer, Baauer

Why You Should Pay Attention: His tweet-happy “Bird Machine” was possibly an explosive highlight of your favorite DJ’s summer festival set, and his Lil Jon-assisted drink-spiller “Turn Down For What” continues to rocket up the Hot 100. While the Frenchman born William Grigahcine made his name as a Lady Gaga co-producer, he’s been perfecting his own venomous, unforgiving, primordially grooving version of bass music you can headbang to. Beyond lung-collapsing amounts of low end, he also peppers his music with Middle Eastern scales: Grigahcine is half-Arabic on his mother’s side, but also finds inspiration from Timbaland and Scott Storch’s similar experiments in the late Nineties and early 2000s. “It’s been missing from the airwaves for a while,” he says, “so I just decided to bring it back.” by CHRISTOPHER R. WEINGARTEN

He Says: ”It’s like a fucking rock concert at my shows now. People truly don’t give a flying fuck about their bodies when they hear a track they love. Absolute pandemonium! In terms of my stuff being aggressive: I’m a pretty peaceful guy in private, but I adopt a very aggressive approach when it comes to getting shit done and getting shit done right. It’s only natural that it comes out in my music. I’m a product of my environment, so I partially blame Metallica, Mobb Deep, Lil Jon, and Dolly Parton for my aggressive nature. Especially Dolly. She’s the most turnt up of them all.”

Hear For Yourself: The instant party “Turn Down For What”