Heads put L.A.’s ultimate glitch auteur Nosaj Thing into the IDM camp, but his latest remix of rap superstar Drake’s “Forever” demonstrates how much his mature style owes to West Coast boom bap. This is actually a remix of a remix, with Lil Wayne, Kanye, and Eminem all adding verses to Drake’s original hit. While the initial version was powerful enough, Nosaj’s gives it a dark, edgy intensity that truly complements the supreme lyricism on offer.

What a long, strange trip it’s been to this moment in music. The headlines are all too familiar – major labels are dying, download this, download that, blahblahblah… All the hubbub over technology and filthy lucre has obscured what is becoming increasingly clear: 2009 may be the best year for music in a decade – a veritable golden age, if you will, captured in a twelve-month period.

This weekend in LA is a one of a kind evening of LA’s master beat-makers. While many electronic artists in the UK have discovered the open-minded audiences here, the main draw for many in the dubstep and hip-hop communities is the budding talent pool of artists here in LA.

It was an intensive week for music’s early adopters this past week in Los Angeles. Hipsterdom centered around events featuring two artists: electro indie rockers Handsome Furs and L.A.’s own beatmaster general Nosaj Thing. This past Thursday, Handsome Furs – a duo side project compression Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and his hot wife, Alexei Parry…

Nosaj Thing has quickly garnered attention from outlets as dispersed as the BBC, The Fader and Giant Robot magazine. Called an “essential purchase”, “startlingly good” and “the future of hip-hop and what producers will be biting in the next couple of years”, Drift, the electronic, beat-driven debut LP has already topped the Bleep and Boomkat…