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We tried out skipping individual write ups last week, but the response was that you wanted to hear our insightful commentary (or mindless blathering), and as we’re such obedient bloggers they’re now back in all their glory! We go pretty hard this week, with a slew of gigantic tunes which will turn your world into a party – go, go, go!
One of the recent trends in dance music has been a move away from spacious, minimalist productions and a resurgence in popularity for maximal, schizophrenic, 4 minute sensory overloads that can almost be too much for our tiny human brains to handle. One of the names riding the crest of this rave-tastic wave is Rustie, and if you’re a fan (as we are) of his brilliant debut album Glass Swords, you are sure to enjoy “Afterburn”, a belter of a track from Bobby Tanks. This will appear on his Afterburn EP released on May 14th. We’ve heard the whole thing. It’s dope.
Continuing in the maximalist vein is this apocalyptic bass-hop banger from Jaycek. “Dreamer” starts off light and bright, but the synth stabs and vocal samples are soon obliterated by squelching bass and skittering drums which underpin this all out aural assault.
Cutting back to some sparser, but probably even more danceable production values, we have “Yo Vogue” by French Fries, who is a real Frenchman, but whose influences seem to be a mix of US dirty south hip-hop, UK bass music and Juke. One gutter bassline and the vocas of “I want to see you vogue, bitch” are all you need to have a good time, just press play and find out. And yes I know this is a month old, but when shit’s this good, who cares!
This is another big old, hell of a lot going on, speaker rattling beast of a song. “Harlem Shake” has the bass-weight to set off any party, and even incorporates some jungle noises (as in lions and monkeys, not the type of music!) into the mix. For the moment, we just have a YouTube rip, but hopefully this one will get a release soon.
Here is Rustie’s nearly 2-hour long BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, which, ina cunning tie in, features the Baauer track above. Mixing between the no holds barred space age rave music from himself, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice, and recent hip-hop, Rustie continues to remind us why he is so highly praised as a producer and selector. Check out the full tracklisting here and a fawning Pitchfork review (in their album reviews section nonetheless!) here. Do yourself a favour and check this out.
This Buraka Som Sistema cut is the third single from their globetrotting album Komba, and as is their wont, it’s a fusion of tribal rhythm’s and club ready bass. Turn this up loud, wait until about the 40 second mark then just lose it to that jittery percussion and hyperactive, wiggly synth. Look out for a Beatport release on May 7th.
“The End” is a hard-hitting techno track, with blistering bass, and clean, efficient production. It’s intelligent enough to sit proudly in anyone’s record collection, but propulsive enough to smash up any rave, and you really should give yourself 5 minutes to sink into Attaque’s electronic world.
Attaque – “The End”
The Jefrees, Mad Decent’s freebie experimental label, has been featured on nearly every DMP since is creation. That trend has not slowed down this week.
Italian production duo Crookers (pictured) pretty much never disappoint, and the EDM stalwarts deliver again with a festival ready remix of their pal Isa GT’s track “Algeria.” Trust us, trust Crookers, and press play.
Isa GT – “Algeria (Crookers Remix)”
Right kids, you’ve had your fun, your bright lasers and your confetti, your sugary synth builds and all engulfing bass shudders – now its time to get into something a bit darker. “Downtown,” the lead track from Ooko Sex Sells EP, is a menacing, jittery track, with a mildly perturbing vocal turn and feeling of tension that is never quite released. “Sex Sells” is less oppressive, and the Nu Leng remix puts a crispy techno spin on proceedings, but it’s “Downtown” I keep returning to, so check it out.
Ballroom’s a really interesting genre that’s seeing a resurgence thanks to DJs like MikeQ of Fade To Mind. Ballroom originated in the NYC 80’s house scene, it was a primarily gay movement at the time but is now just a twisted off-shoot of bass music and house, with a revivalist essence. Chicago producer Starfoxxx takes the vogue movement to an even more modern setting, infusing the essential “Ha” track with a bassy, near dubstep element of low end distortion.
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