If you are an avid electro fan and blog reader, then you've definitely stumbled upon the term "Fidget House." Well, I'm here to explain what the hell this genre, that I used to fervently deny the existence of, is all about, or at least what I understand it to be. This sort of music has been the shit, if you will, for about a year now and seems to be in somewhat of a decline as the viscious blog audience is already hungry for something new (here's a discussion on this topic via Discodust (LINK)). Well, as far as I have observed, Fidget House tends to have these characteristics:
Fidget House
1. A busy/bouncey house beat that likes to play with snare rhythms and sample breakbeats
2. Bass synths with heavy use of LFO or filter envelopes to give it a fidgety/wobbly/wonky/other commonly used yet horribly undescriptive word (It's almost like a cry baby pedal effect) sound
3. Common use of cut up vocal samples (often from old school tracks) that act almost like percussion
4. The majority of it comes out of the UK. If you are listening to British electro, there's a very good chance that it's fidget house.
I'm still going to tag fidget tracks as electro since they appeal to electro fans more anyways. And if you're one of those people that is wondering what the next thing is, look to house, its been around for a while and still running strong and continuing to innovate/reinvent itself. Here is a selection of genre defining tracks and artists, starting with a excellent mock track:
Is This Fidget? A Musical Commentary - Brabe
Awesomely sarcastic track. He's got the sound down to a tee. However, this is NOT a Fidget Track to play live, but rather to simply enjoy and laugh with.
Restless (Fake Blood Remix) - UNKLE
Probably my favorite fidget house artists is Fake Blood (EDC BITCHES). He's the shit. He made one of the best dance tracks of 2008 with Mars, but here's something you might not have and definitely should. There was a good month when he was my favorite producer.
Bonkers - Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden
It makes sense that Armand would start making fidget house, as it was probably a very easy transistion for him and he does it very well. This is one of the songs that made me finally admit the existence of this genre.
Half In Love With Elizabeth (Foamo Remix) - Mystery Jets
One of the best tracks of 2008 and one of the best dance tracks out there. It's amazing. Can't wait to see Foamo at EDC. Also very jealous that the kids as UCSB got his first US performance EVER.
Licky (Herve Gets Low Remix) - Larry T & Princess Superstar
Herve is one of, if not THE giant of this genre and scene. He's got a ton of material which should all go and get, or I might just do a big post at some point. Can't stress enough how important Herve is to this music.
Protect & Entertain (Crookers Remix) - Busy P
Believe it or not, this is definitely fidget house. Crookers are said to be one of the first artists to create this genre, and I definitely see it. If you don't believe me, listen to this track again and you'll hear it.
The Kiss (Jack Beats Remix) - Kissy Sell Out
The goal of Jack Beats in this song seems to just show off the fact that they can make their synths make crazy ass sounds, and I love it. They're one of my favorite fidgeters for sure, as their better songs are incredible, overshadowing their iffy songs. Refer to earlier post on them (LINK).
Meddle (AC Slater & DJ Skeet Skeet Remix featuring Goldielocks) - Little Boots
I'm not a big fan of AC Slater, but he's one of the champions of the fidget sound. This remix is pretty good, and the last two tracks I've gotten from him have been a huge improvement. Maybe my opinion will significantly change about him in the future, I'm definitely open to it.
It Ain't Love (Bird Peterson Remix / JFK Edit) - MSTRKRFT
Probably the best thing to come from the new MSTRKRFT album is this remix. Bird Peterson is also playing EDC, in case you forgot.
Apologies for not posting any Sinden, but he's another Fidget House producer that's made a name for himself and worth checking out. He's does a lot of collaborations with The Count Of Monte Cristal (aka Herve), which should tell you almost everything you need to know about him.
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