MSTRKRFT
Toronto electro duo formed by Death From Above 1979's Jesse F. Keeler. Brought punk intensity to bloghouse with distorted bass and aggressive production. Part of the transatlantic expansion that proved the scene wasn't just a Paris phenomenon. Keeler applied Death From Above's aesthetic to electronic production—that same physical intensity, that same willingness to push equipment until it distorted. Their 2009 album Fist of God captured the moment when bloghouse had spread from Paris to New York to Toronto to London, when the sound had become a shared language across cities connected by blogs and file-sharing sites. The Toronto strand of bloghouse—MSTRKRFT, Crystal Castles—brought a harsher edge, more aggressive, less interested in French touch elegance than in making electronic music that could compete with punk rock for sheer intensity.
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Fist of God
Toronto electro duo's second album. Brought punk intensity to bloghouse's transatlantic expansion. Jesse F. Keeler—formerly of Death From Above 1979—applying that band's aggressive aesthetic to electronic production. Proof the sound had escaped its Parisian origins and become a distributed scene connected by blogs and file-sharing sites. The Toronto strand of bloghouse—MSTRKRFT, Crystal Castles—was harsher, more aggressive, less interested in French touch elegance than in making electronic music that could compete with punk rock for sheer physical intensity. Released in 2009, as bloghouse was approaching its peak moment before the 2010-2011 fragmentation. Fist of God captured the moment when the scene had spread from Paris to New York to Toronto to London, when promoters were booking acts based on Hype Machine buzz, when blogs had replaced traditional gatekeepers. The sound was distorted bass, aggressive production, punk intensity translated to electronic music. Proof that bloghouse's distribution methods—blogs, MP3s, internet infrastructure—could support a genuinely international scene.