“Dark Side Of The Boom”: 6Blocc’s Epic Rework of the Classic Pink Floyd Album

Los Angeles DJ 6Blocc has been mixing up electronica with hip-hop since the late 80’s in addition to dropping over 100 vinyl releases on a myriad of labels and touring the world multiple times.  The legendary DJ now brings bass music connoisseurs what they have lusted after for years; Dark Side of the Boom – a creative, coherent and touching electronic conceptualization of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, the landmark album with production techniques, blissful sounds and psychedelic themes that inspired generations of music producers.

In the vein of the original album, Dark Side of the Boom is inherently experimental.  Though 6Blocc relies on Pink Floyd’s supreme psychedelic soundscape, he applies to it a canon of 808 beats which have become ubiquitous today not only in electronic music, but also hip-hop and pop music at large.  Unlike pop music, however, the artist here tastefully manipulates the breaks and the bass as one is expected to do when reworking such a prolific album.  He even takes the spirit of sonic adventure from DSOTM one step further, creating a fresh, thoughtful and beautiful piece of music, the depth of which we’ve only begun to explore.

6blocc conducting an invisible orchestra

Each track is redone in a specific style, indicated by the name.  There’s “Speak To Me (6blocc’s Dreamstep Remix)” and “On The Run (6blocc’s Acid Funk Refix)” or “Money (+r^P ^$ FVCC R3M!><)”.  Then there’s “Any Colour You Like (6blocc Breaknology Edit)”, the melody and movement of which immediately evokes Pretty Lights Music, acid jazz and future funk.  With pocket drums and a spacious reworking of Pink Floyd’s original sounds, 6blocc takes a timeless song and gracefully hurls it into the genre field of 2015 where breaks and jazz are making the comeback of the century.

The collage of different beats make the album delightfully disorienting.   Yet DSOTB keeps the mesmerizing chill and sonic serenity of Pink Floyd’s original work while adding a bevy of bass-oriented personal touches.  6Blocc’s touch is most noticeable in our favorite of the eight tracks “Us and Them (6blocc’s Alpha Wave Remix)”.  As the name suggests, an ambient wave permeates the back of the song, soothing the listener before a robotic voice chimes in.  “Love is all you are and all you are made of.”  “It is taking over your reality,” the voice continues.  “It feels simple yet very profound.”  The love begins oozing out of you as the inspirational words build in intensity before the tune drops into the pattern of Pink Floyd’s original exploration of “us” and “them”.  Oddly, 6Blocc doesn’t touch on “Eclipse”, originally the final song on DSOTM.  Instead he gives us “Dark Side of the Boom (Sonic Journey Excursion)”, a 35-minute mix of the previous eight tracks.  Bringing you back to the erie beginning of the record, it runs through the journey again, without pause and nuanced to fit the mix format.

We’ve included only a tease of a song here to encourage fans to support 6Blocc and purchase the album (though you can listen for free on bandcamp as well).  It has subtle tricks and turns for everyone, especially fans of Pink Floyd, electronic music, and the omnipotent 808.  It’s a special treat to hear a contemporary bass music version of one of the most influential albums ever, but beyond being a “version” of anything, Dark Side of the Boom leaves a loving, lasting impression all its own.

Connect with 6Blocc:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/6Blocc/
https://soundcloud.com/digital6
http://www.kingzofthejungle.com/artist/6blocc/

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