Los Angeles (April 18th, 2016) Firepower Records is proud to announce the next release of our Shellshock Compilation, Kamikaze, and we’re getting early reports that it’s already setting flammable material ablaze thousands of miles away. The release of our yearly Shellshock Compilation also gives us a chance to reach out to you, our extended Firepower Fam, and celebrate the fact that you are what make us so strong.
Since its humble inception in March of 2012 by Troy Beetles— Datsik by his nom de guerre—Firepower Records has evolved into a bass music behemoth, releasing heavyweight producers like Datsik, Protohype, Getter, Barely Alive, Truth, Bear Grillz, Mayhem, Antiserum, Fox Stevenson, Must Die, PhaseOne, Terravita, ETC! ETC! and Trolley Snatcha and featuring Hip Hop and Rock royalty like Snoop Dog, Trinidad James, KRS-One, DJ Paul KOM of Three-6 Mafia and Travis Barker of Blink 182. The Firepower Family currently claims 65 artists and counting and on May 13th, the label will showcase the best and most badass it has to offer. As a show of overwhelming support, some of dance music’s heaviest hitters have signed on by offering tracks exclusively for the ShellShock Kamaikaze release. The tracklist reads like a bass music “best-of” list. If Bass Music had a fantasy league, this would be a winning line-up.
But Firepower is more than a disjointed and disconnected series of artists and tracks. We like to consider ourselves more of a Family and the ShellShock Kamikaze release as more of a family reunion. Firepower Records is a label and an internationally respected dance music brand, but it would be nothing without the like-minded artists, friends, neighbors, and fans that hold it all together and keep it alive.
There’s no finer example of the familial nature of the bass music world than the first collaboration on the Compilation. Datsik and 12th Planet come together with a dub infused “Party In The Sewer” featuring Elan, and it’s massive. A one-man wub factory, Datsik smashes the track with his signature wobbles, while 12th planet puts his creative beat creation and swampy sound techniques to work. Next, returning family member Bear Grillz throws down with “Nap Gurlz”. The disco hook pumps your impulse to dance and the drops will snap your neck if you’re not prepared. A quick word though–this track is in no way associated with the good people of Nap Girls, and if you’re interested in who they are, check them out! Protohype and Stratus put in work with “Let’s Do This”, and as expected the two artists march us through a spectrum of sound structures so diverse you lose your mind trying to keep track. Soltan continues to impress us with his creative vision. With “Turn Up” he takes Bass Music to the edges of the known universe and then hits lightspeed. Soltan is easily one of the new visionaries, and we should all be watching him closely.
EH!DE and Funk4mation peel the roof off with “Come Back”, and the Bass living under the basement of this track is scary and mad. EH!DE’s been crushing it recently, but it goes without saying that this has been the year of Zack The Lad. His release Black Sheep began the Firepower Records release calendar in 2016 and we just can’t get enough. It has been said that Datsik only has a few artists loaded into his personal iPod, and one of those artists is Zack The Lad. Here, he offers us “Won’t Stop”, and his production skill is immediately superior.
Spag Heddy is back with “Hugs and Stuff”, and we couldn’t be more stoked. A definite fan favorite, Spag Heddy has released nothing but fire. The opening wraps the listener with sonic sunshine and then slams your ass to ground. That must be the “Stuff” in the title. Init, Goldplate, and Hami all put in on “Greens”, and with all three of these stellar talents maximizing potential, the result is an epic facemelter. If there’s any way to guarantee the crowds will run a mosh pit on you, hammer this track through the sound system.
It’s been a while since AFK rolled out a release with Firepower Records, and we’re glad to have him back. “Death Gun” showcases the frenetic and yet focused musical mind of AFK. The synth takes us all over the sonic map, and we love it. We also love Drum and Bass, and what’s bass music without a little heavy Drum and Bass? Leave that to MineSweepa. “No Face” takes bass very seriously. The shift to Drum and Bass is perfectly placed in the track and by the time it hits, you’ve separated your mind from its corporeal lodgings. Rounding out the EP is Twine. They do nothing but amazing work, and it’s clear by the complexity of their productions. “Dayjahvuh” is another reminder that Bass Music is nowhere near finished evolving. The beat structure, with its diversity of fills and intricate sound designs, is both groovy and heavy.
The collection of talent contained in the Shellshock Kamikaze Compilation represents the best of what bass music has to offer and we’re happy to be sharing it with you.
The tracklist for Shellshock Kamikaze is:
- Datsik & 12th Planet – “Party In The Sewer” (feat. Elan)
- Bear Grillz – “Gurlz”
- Protohype & Stratus – “Let’s Do This”
- Soltan – “Turn Up”
- EH!DE & Funk4Mation – “Come Back”
- Zack The Lad – “Won’t Stop”
- Spag Heddy – “Hugs And Stuff”
- Init, Goldplate & Hami – “Greens”
- AFK – “Death Gun”
- MineSweepa – “No Face”
- Twine – “Dayjahvuh”
For More Information on Firepower Records
https://soundcloud.com/firepowerrecs
https://www.facebook.com/FirepowerRecs
https://twitter.com/firepowerrecs
www.youtube.com/user/FirepowerRecs
For Press Inquiries, contact:
Lee Underwood
Publicity Manager I Firepower Records
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(Los Angeles) April 6th Since its humble inception in March of 2012 by Troy Beetles—otherwise known as Datsik—Firepower Records has evolved into a bass music behemoth, releasing heavyweight producers like Datsik, Protohype, Getter, Truth, Bear Grillz, Mayhem, Antiserum, Fox Stevenson, Must Die, Proper Villains, PhaseOne, Terravita, Infuze, and Fei Fei, and featuring Hip Hop royalty like KRS-One and DJ Paul KOM of Three-6 Mafia. The Firepower Family currently claims forty-four artists and counting. On May 5th, the label will celebrate an impressive milestone: the 100th release! As a show of overwhelming support for this special achievement, some of dance music’s heaviest hitters have signed on by offering tracks exclusively for the Shell Shock Legends release. The tracklist reads like a bass music “best-of” list. If Dubstep had a fantasy league, this would be a winning line-up.
But Firepower is more than a disjointed and disconnected series of artists and tracks. We like to consider ourselves more of a Family and the Shell Shock Legends release more of a family reunion. Firepower Records is a label and an internationally respected dance music brand, but it would be nothing without the like-minded artists, friends, neighbors, and fans that hold it all together and keep it alive.
Harnessing the chaos is Sharra Duggan, one of the few female executives at the helm of an international dance music label. In September of 2012, Sharra was asked by Troy jump into the fray and steer the label in the right direction. In 2013, after a number of hugely successful releases, she changed her full-time occupation to “Label Manager” and moved to LA where she resides today. She sits at the helm of one of the biggest Dubstep labels on the planet. Together, with Troy Beetles acute music sense and her gregarious personality and tenacious work ethic, Firepower has garnered an extremely loyal artist base that returns to release on the label year after year. Getter and Protohype, for example, helped establish the heavy Firepower sound that fans have grown to love. Protohype offers two tracks to the Shell Shock Legends compilation: a collaboration with Datsik and Init called “Turf Wars”, and “Recon”, a collaboration with the Australian based PhaseOne. Getter throws down, too, with a massive heater called, naturally, “The Heat”.
As the label evolves, Troy and Sharra continue to engineer a shift in how we perceive bass music. By welcoming the Trap and Hip Hop influences of artists like Antiserum and Tha Trickaz, Sub Antix, and Minesweepa, they push the often stifling Dubstep genre towards and through the edges of its know universe. “Boom”, a collaboration between Antiserum and Tha Trickaz, is a wicked look into the sound Firepower successfully integrated into the Catalogue.
Troy and Sharra are also aware that it takes new blood to sustain the Firepower movement. Arguably, one of Datsik’s most notable additions to the Firepower Family was the Bass phenom Twine, whose meteoric success has seen him rise through the ranks quickly enough to be featured prominently on festival stages and festival playlists all over the world. Twine offers up “Insanity” featuring the inimitable word-smithing of Mayor Apeshit to the Shell Shock Legends compilations, and it’s a filthy, swampy, mind-splitter.
Since 2012, Firepower Records has progressed from one release every other month or so to the release-per-week machine the label is today. In the process, Troy and Sharra cultivated and nurtured a family of artists that really loved working with the label. It became a Firepower Family, and the members ultimately devoted themselves to the label, rewarding their hard work with loyalty. Sharra’s leadership and Troy’s clairvoyance allowed the label to weather the “Dubstep is Dead” storm, not by pushing back in a futile attempt at self-validation, but by becoming a business chameleon and adapting to the changing landscape. Firepower Records outsmarted the critics by focusing on the fundamentals and the truth driving the passion.
Shell Shock Legends is all the proof you need.
Tracklist for Shell Shock Legends:
1. Datsik, Protohype & Init – “Turf Wars”
2. Antiserum & Tha Trickaz – “Boom”
3. Infuze & Proper Villains – “Galaxia”
4. Datsik – “Troynado”
5. Protohype & PhaseOne – “Recon”
6. Truth – “Break Out” (Feat. Taso)
7. Twine – “Insanity” (Feat. Mayor Apeshit)
8. Datsik & Bear Grillz – “Fuck Off”
9. Getter – “The Heat”
10. Minesweepa – “PaperChase” (Feat. Alexander the Great)
11. Sub Antix – “Mr. Miyagi”
12. Downlink & Terravita – “The OG”
13. Helicopter Showdown & EH!DE – “Balderdash”
For Press Inquiries, contact:
Lee Underwood
lee@firepowerrecords.com
Publicity Manager I Firepower Records
Pre-Order The Unbearable EP on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-unbearable-ep/id954377886
LOS ANGELES (January 14, 2014) On January 27th, Firepower Records will release Bear Grillz’ The Unbearable EP, and with the level of bass this EP packs, it’s fair to say that hibernation is officially over.
The EP kicks off with “Praise It”, a bouncy homage to the Reggae and Dub inspired rock of the early 2000’s. The track toggles between live-sound and hard-as-nails Dubstep sections. The live-sound sections are a clever use of classic instrumentation and offer the listener a unique dual experience. The track “Triple Threat”, a three way collaboration between Bear Grillz, Datsik and Firepower Records footsoldier Twine, offers up the same kind of vibe. There are two musical experiences at work here—one resembling a full band playing on stage and another slamming the listener with a full-on bass and synth audio assault. The staying power of the dub sound is massive, and it has proven to be so influential through the history of music that it flows seamlessly from the dub rock genre into it’s harder electronic music iteration, Dubstep.
“Shark Attack”, however, takes no prisoners. It’s as aggressive and in your face as its title suggests. The shark attack tune made famous by the Jaws movie franchise lurks beneath the surface, and like the predator, this track will tear you up.
We all knew Bear Grillz was a promiscuous forest dwelling creature, but his track “DTF” seals the deal. It’s a peak hour electro house banger with some solid progressive synth tying everything together. But the message is clear, and you’ll want to be dancing next to someone you’re crushing on when the track slams festival sound systems this year.
It should be said, though, that Bear Grillz has an unorthodox hibernation schedule. Instead of shoving marmot flesh into his maw and then sleeping away the cold winter months, Bear Grillz has been touring North America on his marathon 45 date Oasis Tour with Mitis and Cry Wolf. Terravita has invited him onto their upcoming Gunpowder tour and he’s earned a spot on Firepower Records Label boss Datsik’s massive Ninja Nation Tour. It looks like the bear and his duck won’t be resting any time soon.
The Tracklisting for The Unbearable EP is:
1. Bear Grillz – “Praise It”
2. Bear Grillz – “Shark Attack”
3. Bear Grillz – “DTF”
4. Bear Grillz, Datsik & Twine – “Triple Threat” (Feat. General Jah Mikey)
For More Information on Bear Grillz:
https://www.facebook.com/itsbeargrillz
https://soundcloud.com/itsbeargrillz
https://twitter.com/itsbeargrillz
For Press Inquiries, contact:
Lee Underwood
lee@firepowerrecords.com
Publicity Manager I Firepower Records
Pre-Order Down 4 My Ninjas on iTunes here: http://smarturl.it/D4MNpre
LOS ANGELES (November 11, 2014) Firepower Records is set to release Datsik’s forthcoming EP Down 4 My Ninjas. Boasting collaborations with Hip Hop legends KRS-One and DJ Paul from the Academy Award winning Rap collective Three 6 Mafia, Datsik shows that sometimes moving forward means cultivating a deep respect for those who’ve paved the path ahead of you.
In what’s proving to be another banner year for Datsik’s Firepower Record label, we’ve seen an onslaught of bass music’s heaviest hitters challenge the paradigms of what genres are supposed to be. While some producers may be risk-averse when it comes to experimenting with their sound, audiences across the globe have rewarded nearly every Firepower Records artist within the past year with prestigious spots on the Beatport Top Ten charts. It’s worth mentioning that every Firepower artist goes through Datsik first, so his willingness to experiment and his forward-looking vision is, in no small way, responsible for the successes his label has enjoyed.
Down 4 My Ninjas is a representation of that vision and that deep respect, and it’s a gift to all of Datsik’s fans, his ninjas, that have been with him every step of the way. The EP is also a homage to the Hip Hop influence on American Dubstep. From Mayor Apeshit’s filthy lyrical swordplay in “Katana” to DJ Paul’s Dirty South “Zero Fucks” attitude in “Get Smashed”, you’d probably find the EP filed in the Hip Hop or Rap sections in record stores of the past. Fast forward 20 years and the lines are blurred. What Datsik has done is given a classic genre new potential energy to burn. All it needed was Datsik’s signature Bass forward approach. What we have left is a formula for Future Hip Hop.
“No Requests” features Hip Hop MC and sage KRS-One, whose unmistakable vocalism and characteristic swagger is recognized and respected in both underground and mainstream circles. While other artists were ushering in the Hip Hop revolution, he was keeping it honest. He reminds listeners that there’s a difference between Rappers and MC’s, mainstream Rap and conscious Hip Hop
It may be easy for Datsik traditionalists to lament the loss of certain familiar sounds, but Down 4 My Ninjas is a study in artistic progression. Both “Astronomical” featuring Walt Grizzly and Datsik’s collaboration with Twine, “When They Drop”, riffs on classic Gangster Rap beats; close your eyes and imagine Ice Cube, Easy E, Dr. Dre, and Snoop spitting lyrics in a cold garage in Compton donned head to toe in silver and black Raiders gear. Both the tracks are loaded to the brim with bass, and the synth arrangements are designed to disrupt your inputs/output signals in ways unimaginable two decades ago, even to N.W.A .
Certain questions remain, though. Do these collaborations speak to a shift in business tactics? A melding of EDM and Hip Hop? A shifting demographic? Will this be a passing phase or the new paradigm? Or is Hip Hop so classic, so important to our national consciousness that what this really indicates is a return to our Hip Hop roots? Whatever it is, Down 4 My Ninjas shows a natural progression in maturity any serious artist must undergo. It’s a game-changer, and Datsik is leading the charge.
The Tracklisting for Down 4 My Ninjas is:
1. Datsik – “Katana” (Feat. Mayor Apeshit)
2. Datsik – “Get Smashed” (Feat. DJ Paul K.O.M of Three 6 Mafia)
3. Datsik – “No Requests” (Feat. KRS-One)
4. Datsik – “Astronomical” (Feat. Walt Grizzly)
5. Datsik & Twine – “When They Drop”
For more information on Datsik:
www.datsik.ca
www.facebook.com/djdatsik
www.twitter.com/datsik
www.soundcloud.com/datsik
www.myspace.com/djdatsik
For Press Inquiries, contact:
Lee Underwood
lee@firepowerrecords.com
Publicity Manager I Firepower Records I Twitter: @lee_underwood_
Pre-order Encore on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/encore-ep/id903153118
LOS ANGELES (August 7th, 2014) Max Hype, the 24 year old Bass Music phenom and self proclaimed herald of Dub Hop, is Protohype. On August 19th, Firepower Records will release his much-anticipated 5-track EP Encore.
Originating in the hip hop world, Protohype’s fusion with bass music has created a new sound, Dub Hop, which combines the gritty low end of Dubstep with trunk rattling hip hop drums. This progressive sound has led him to new heights in both the bass music community and the Hip Hop world. Encore is the pinnacle of Protohype’s skill thus far and is a perfect example of how heavy doses Protohype’s signature brain-bursting Bass can counterbalance with more mainstream electronic musical elements.
Choosing to work with vocalists that compliment his intense ground and pound style—rather than upstage it—Protohype has put forth an EP that is perfectly designed for all kinds of fans and venues, from the armchair bass head, to the frenzied festival rager.
Encore begins with a full on audio assault. “Fight to Hold” featuring Jeff Sontag launches listeners into the stratosphere immediately. Sontag’s soaring vocals compliment the dual combination of euphoric progressive synths with their heavier and meaner buzzsaw counterparts. Protohype keeps us high with his take on the classic sounds of Riddim in “Encore”. Ras contributes his Hip Hop lyricism to the track, which will undoubtedly create opportunities for massive fist-in-the-air-sing-alongs anywhere this track is played.
Firepower label boss and evil genius Datsik collaborates with Protohype on “Zero” by hammering the track with his wicked bass-forward production style, and “Playing with Gold” featuring the sister duo Duelle brings us all back to earth again. Pairing the duet’s songbird vocalism with searing synth stabs unites two seemingly opposing genres into a unique, intense, and emotional headbanger. Featured also on the EP is a massive remix of “Encore” by Firepower footsoldier Twine. There is no doubt that Twine’s sound evolves into a more and more precise musical monster with each track he releases. His Remix of “Encore” is no exception.
The track list for Encore is:
1. Protohype – “Fight To Hold” (Feat. Jeff Sontag)
2. Protohype – “Encore” (Feat. Ras)
3. Protohype & Datsik – “Zero”
4. Protohype – “Playing With Gold” (Feat. Duelle)
5. Protohype – “Encore” (Feat. Ras) (Twine Remix)
For more information on Protohype:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/protohypemusic
Twitter – https://twitter.com/protohype
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/protohype
For press inquiries, please contact:
Lee Underwood
lee@firepowerrecords.com
Publicity Manager I Firepower Records
Today marks the release of the Barely Alive’s Internet Streets Remixed
, another collaboration with Disciple and Firepower, which means that the summer festival season is about to get a lot filthier. With remixes by heavy hitting phenoms like Diamond Eyes, Twine, and The Frim, and a VIP cut of “Candy Kids” designed to take you from sanity to madness faster than the speed of sound, this is an all out assault against mediocre Bass Music. If the success of Barely Alive’s original EP is any indication of their talent at shaking the earth, then the Remixed EP is set to shatter all expectations.BUY BARELY ALIVE REMIXED ON BEATPORT HERE: http://smarturl.it/DISCFP02Beatport
BUY BARELY ALIVE REMIXED ON ITUNES HERE: http://smarturl.it/DISCFP02iTunes
Stream Barely Alive’s Internet Streets Remixed Here:
Follow Barely Alive:
facebook.com/BarelyAliveMusic
twitter.com/BarelyAliveUS
youtube.com/BarelyAliveHD
Follow Disciple Recordings:
facebook.com/disciplerecordings
twitter.com/disciplerecs
disciplerecs.com
@disciplerecordings
Follow Firepower Records:
facebook.com/firepowerrecs
twitter.com/firepowerrecs
firepowerrecords.com
@firepowerrecs
Lee Underwood
Loader of Cannons I Publicity Manager I Firepower Reccords