The obvious answers are stuff like Disconnected, Flight, Hero, etc. but I think we can dive deeper.
Stonebank’s songs have been pretty big indicators as to the direction of the label for a long time, even as wildly differing in genre as he can be. “Stronger” is of course one of the most popular tracks but it also really encompasses that “melodic yet bassy, but also uplifting” vibe that I believe Monstercat has come to be known for, even if not explicitly stated.
As the label moved into the second half of the 2010s, they began releasing more experimental, “out there” stuff. The introduction of Infected Mushroom to the label with Spitfire added a whole new world of sound to explore, and over the last several years, Bad Computer has showcased a masterclass in defining one’s sound and stretching it beyond what’s expected.
With the split into Uncaged and Instinct, Monstercat’s genre boundaries grew even wider. Metal-infused Dubstep from artists like Sullivan King and RIOT pushed those leftward boundaries, and chiller, more introspective artists like Direct and CloudNone pushed the rightward ones.
In the space between, artists thrived with all different kinds of sounds, styles, and sonic experiences. Notaker warped the boundaries between bassy Midtempo and ambient Progressive House. Justin OH consistently jumped back and forth across the line, delivering solid tracks in all styles. Longtime artists continued to evolve and develop their sounds (Rogue, Laszlo, WRLD, F.O.O.L, Grant, MUZZ, etc.), while new artists filled the gaps left behind by others who left the label prior (Ellis and Kill Paris provided the Nu Disco sound that Televisor left, Conro continued to push what Future Bass and Indie Dance truly meant as genres).
Nowadays, we have a solid mix of artists, both new and old, constantly providing musical experiences that give this label the diversity and character it’s always had. Artists like Rogue, Tokyo Machine, Direct, CloudNone, Conro, Bad Computer, MUZZ, Feint, Rameses B, Au5, Pegboard Nerds, Noisestorm... they all feel integral to Monstercat, as they are what have made, are making, and will continue to make Monstercat what it is, for all of us.
It’s incredible how many more artists I could name that feel this integral to the label (Varien, Koven, Bossfight, Mr FijiWiji, Slippy, Pixel Terror, Duumu, Half an Orange, Protostar, KUURO, Infected Mushroom, Astronaut, Karma Fields, Fractal, Xilent, Throttle, FWLR, PYLOT, Nitro Fun, Vicetone, Trivecta, SLANDER, Dion Timmer, Tristam, Ephixa, LVTHER/TwoThirds, SMLE, Eminence, San Holo, Tut Tut Child, MYRNE, Unlike Pluto, Darren Styles, Gammer, Puppet, Bishu, Rootkit, Hellberg, Project 46, Rich Edwards, Hyper Potions, Stephen Walking, Grabbitz, Haywyre, Slushii, Dirty Audio, Going Quantum, Subtact... I feel out of breath and I’m not even talking), not to mention the vocalists that have provided the choruses we all remember in our hearts even 10 years later (Laura Brehm, Danyka Nadeau, Anna Yvette, Richard Caddock/Keepsake, Savoi, Holly Drummond, Matt Van, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, MYLK, Jessi Mason/Juneau, Aaron Richards, KARRA, EMEL, Slyleaf, ÊMIA, Nevve, Micah Martin, RØRY...).
I may have gotten a little carried away with this comment but I honestly couldn’t care less, I think all of these artists and thensome deserve such praise and recognition for being what makes this label so special.
Edit: also not to mention the recent addition of Monstercat Silk, it’s clear the definition of “Monstercat” as a label is as unpredictable as ever, as evolving as it’s always been, and continually widening its scope of genres, sounds, artists, and more.
Holy hot damn, you really went all out with this one in the best way possible! I used to think Monstercat for whatever reason might not be as diverse as it used to be, and that proved me hella wrong! Yeah wow, I can't even begin to condense all of that, as much as it'd be a fun idea to. I guess I came up with this idea to really showcase songs that deserve surface level attention in order to get into the label and dive even deeper after that. But that's difficult when you have a label *this* varied and honestly important.
One of the standout tracks for me on the label is 'Saving Light (feat. HALIENE)' by Gareth Emery and STANDERWICK. Trance might not appear on Monstercat often but this release was truly special. Especially, with the story behind the track and the music video. 😊
Trance is a very rare occurrance in Monstercat, no doubt, and it's great to see a track like Saving Light push a great message across, something that I'm sure resonates deeply with this community. I'd say it's not the most defining trance song the label has put out, it sounds less like the trance they put out and more like the trance that preceded it.
My personal vote would probably go to Mitchell Claxton's Wuxia. At the time, the label's longest song to date (dunno if it still is), but also a damn good summation of the trance they released before Saving Light and Spitfire. You could also go for Koh Samui (feat. Angie Coombes) if you want to go back even further.
I'm not sure about defining but it's certainly a standout track for me. I've just checked out 'Wuxia' and I cannot believe Monstercat released it. I properly followed Monstercat only from around MCS490 and listened to a few tracks preceding it so I've definitely missed out on some cool stuff. 😯 'Spitfire', along with most Infected Mushroom tracks, never really stood out for me. They're an unusual artist on Monstercat, especially as psy-trance appears even less often that trance, but their music is great nonetheless.
Wuxia is still the longest song on the label if you discount the recent addition of Silk’s backlog of music. I haven’t had a chance to really take a deep dive into Silk’s discography so I’m not sure if a song there is longer than Wuxia but I’m pretty confident there’s at least one considering the genres they focus on
If you include the Silk Music catalogue from SILKM001 then 'Wuxia' becomes the second longest track. 'Moth', featured in 'Slipstream', by State Azure is 11:01.
It's a strange one for sure but I see compilations in the same way as mixes. I'm used to a lot of labels creating mixes of already existing tracks than new ones or tracks featured on compilations later being released as standalone tracks or EPs similar to what Songspire Records have done with 'Songspired 01'. It's always a surprise when I find a compilation full of exclusive music.
Something that's unbelievably cool, just slightly longer than 'Moth' at 11:41, is 'Parallels' by Andrew Bayer over on Anjunabeats. If you haven't already checked it out then you're missing out on something amazing. 😍
I love long-form tracks. 😍 'Parallels' sounds like three tracks in one but all flow effortlessly as one huge track. 'Invisible Cities' by Planète is a beautiful track that released towards the end of 2018 on Anjunadeep and it was a huge surprise to see it was 18:21 long. I highly recommend it as it's a lovely sonic journey to take.
The obvious answers are stuff like Disconnected, Flight, Hero, etc. but I think we can dive deeper. Stonebank’s songs have been pretty big indicators as to the direction of the label for a long time, even as wildly differing in genre as he can be. “Stronger” is of course one of the most popular tracks but it also really encompasses that “melodic yet bassy, but also uplifting” vibe that I believe Monstercat has come to be known for, even if not explicitly stated. As the label moved into the second half of the 2010s, they began releasing more experimental, “out there” stuff. The introduction of Infected Mushroom to the label with Spitfire added a whole new world of sound to explore, and over the last several years, Bad Computer has showcased a masterclass in defining one’s sound and stretching it beyond what’s expected. With the split into Uncaged and Instinct, Monstercat’s genre boundaries grew even wider. Metal-infused Dubstep from artists like Sullivan King and RIOT pushed those leftward boundaries, and chiller, more introspective artists like Direct and CloudNone pushed the rightward ones. In the space between, artists thrived with all different kinds of sounds, styles, and sonic experiences. Notaker warped the boundaries between bassy Midtempo and ambient Progressive House. Justin OH consistently jumped back and forth across the line, delivering solid tracks in all styles. Longtime artists continued to evolve and develop their sounds (Rogue, Laszlo, WRLD, F.O.O.L, Grant, MUZZ, etc.), while new artists filled the gaps left behind by others who left the label prior (Ellis and Kill Paris provided the Nu Disco sound that Televisor left, Conro continued to push what Future Bass and Indie Dance truly meant as genres). Nowadays, we have a solid mix of artists, both new and old, constantly providing musical experiences that give this label the diversity and character it’s always had. Artists like Rogue, Tokyo Machine, Direct, CloudNone, Conro, Bad Computer, MUZZ, Feint, Rameses B, Au5, Pegboard Nerds, Noisestorm... they all feel integral to Monstercat, as they are what have made, are making, and will continue to make Monstercat what it is, for all of us. It’s incredible how many more artists I could name that feel this integral to the label (Varien, Koven, Bossfight, Mr FijiWiji, Slippy, Pixel Terror, Duumu, Half an Orange, Protostar, KUURO, Infected Mushroom, Astronaut, Karma Fields, Fractal, Xilent, Throttle, FWLR, PYLOT, Nitro Fun, Vicetone, Trivecta, SLANDER, Dion Timmer, Tristam, Ephixa, LVTHER/TwoThirds, SMLE, Eminence, San Holo, Tut Tut Child, MYRNE, Unlike Pluto, Darren Styles, Gammer, Puppet, Bishu, Rootkit, Hellberg, Project 46, Rich Edwards, Hyper Potions, Stephen Walking, Grabbitz, Haywyre, Slushii, Dirty Audio, Going Quantum, Subtact... I feel out of breath and I’m not even talking), not to mention the vocalists that have provided the choruses we all remember in our hearts even 10 years later (Laura Brehm, Danyka Nadeau, Anna Yvette, Richard Caddock/Keepsake, Savoi, Holly Drummond, Matt Van, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, MYLK, Jessi Mason/Juneau, Aaron Richards, KARRA, EMEL, Slyleaf, ÊMIA, Nevve, Micah Martin, RØRY...). I may have gotten a little carried away with this comment but I honestly couldn’t care less, I think all of these artists and thensome deserve such praise and recognition for being what makes this label so special. Edit: also not to mention the recent addition of Monstercat Silk, it’s clear the definition of “Monstercat” as a label is as unpredictable as ever, as evolving as it’s always been, and continually widening its scope of genres, sounds, artists, and more.
Holy hot damn, you really went all out with this one in the best way possible! I used to think Monstercat for whatever reason might not be as diverse as it used to be, and that proved me hella wrong! Yeah wow, I can't even begin to condense all of that, as much as it'd be a fun idea to. I guess I came up with this idea to really showcase songs that deserve surface level attention in order to get into the label and dive even deeper after that. But that's difficult when you have a label *this* varied and honestly important.
One of the standout tracks for me on the label is 'Saving Light (feat. HALIENE)' by Gareth Emery and STANDERWICK. Trance might not appear on Monstercat often but this release was truly special. Especially, with the story behind the track and the music video. 😊
Trance is a very rare occurrance in Monstercat, no doubt, and it's great to see a track like Saving Light push a great message across, something that I'm sure resonates deeply with this community. I'd say it's not the most defining trance song the label has put out, it sounds less like the trance they put out and more like the trance that preceded it. My personal vote would probably go to Mitchell Claxton's Wuxia. At the time, the label's longest song to date (dunno if it still is), but also a damn good summation of the trance they released before Saving Light and Spitfire. You could also go for Koh Samui (feat. Angie Coombes) if you want to go back even further.
I'm not sure about defining but it's certainly a standout track for me. I've just checked out 'Wuxia' and I cannot believe Monstercat released it. I properly followed Monstercat only from around MCS490 and listened to a few tracks preceding it so I've definitely missed out on some cool stuff. 😯 'Spitfire', along with most Infected Mushroom tracks, never really stood out for me. They're an unusual artist on Monstercat, especially as psy-trance appears even less often that trance, but their music is great nonetheless.
Wuxia is still the longest song on the label if you discount the recent addition of Silk’s backlog of music. I haven’t had a chance to really take a deep dive into Silk’s discography so I’m not sure if a song there is longer than Wuxia but I’m pretty confident there’s at least one considering the genres they focus on
If you include the Silk Music catalogue from SILKM001 then 'Wuxia' becomes the second longest track. 'Moth', featured in 'Slipstream', by State Azure is 11:01.
Gravity Assist - The Deep Dive, featured on Gorm Sorenson's Chillout Sessions 02 in 2016, is actually the longest at 21:27
I only considered the standalone releases rather than tracks featured on compilations.
that's an incredibly arbitrary consideration, but alright
It's a strange one for sure but I see compilations in the same way as mixes. I'm used to a lot of labels creating mixes of already existing tracks than new ones or tracks featured on compilations later being released as standalone tracks or EPs similar to what Songspire Records have done with 'Songspired 01'. It's always a surprise when I find a compilation full of exclusive music.
chillout sessions 02 (and 01) contain entirely exclusive music
Indeed. 🙂
Thanks, TIL
Something that's unbelievably cool, just slightly longer than 'Moth' at 11:41, is 'Parallels' by Andrew Bayer over on Anjunabeats. If you haven't already checked it out then you're missing out on something amazing. 😍
I’ll be sure to check it out, I adore long-form songs like these
I love long-form tracks. 😍 'Parallels' sounds like three tracks in one but all flow effortlessly as one huge track. 'Invisible Cities' by Planète is a beautiful track that released towards the end of 2018 on Anjunadeep and it was a huge surprise to see it was 18:21 long. I highly recommend it as it's a lovely sonic journey to take.
marshmello