Each week we’ll be partnering with The QR Network to compile a short recap of notable tracks that we didn’t have time to cover during the previous week. We hope you enjoy our selection and if you have any tracks you’d like to see here, please feel free to use our contact form or post your suggestions in the comments.
RudeLies & Debris – Animal (feat. Jex)
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RudeLies and Debris have teamed up with Jex to bring us what they’re calling, “future room.” The hits on every other beat of the drop, with the horn accents, are what I imagine they’re drawing from big room, but this is largely a future house track. Big room rears its head again in the second breakdown where you have a fantastic synth accompaniment to the absolutely stunning vocals from Jex. She brings an airiness to the lyrics while also giving listeners that euphoric sensation that comes from listening to powerful vocals. The harmonizing is perfect between electronic and organic elements in this track. The second drop doubles down on those LoaX style kicks while adding an extra layer for energy. Overall, this is a short, dynamic, invigorating addition to the future house collection. If you’d like to learn more about RudeLies’ sound and process, go check out his interview on The QR Network.
88/100
Steff Da Campo – Deeper Love
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With the release of “Make Me Feel” around eight months ago marking the first use of Steff Da Campo’s signature sound, “Deeper Love” would be the fourth song to use this same sound with little to no variation. While this sound is undoubtedly unique, it’s also a bit quirky in that it’s more energetic that most future house while too out of place to be considered bass house. It’s such a sharp synth that uses low passing and pitch blending to bring out the most energy from the melodies. In “Deeper Love,” that sound doesn’t convey much of a melody and largely relies on rhythm to keep the crowd moving. The breakdown has no substance but a sampled vocal, percussion, and basic piano chords. Overall, this signals about the end of this sound’s life cycle. I think it’s time to move on and try something different or evolve this sound.
67/100
Julian Jordan – Never Tired Of You
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The heavily processed vocals in the breakdown are messy and forgettable, as are the breakdowns as a whole. Where this track shines is the fresh, progressive house drop which is sharp, clean, and emotional. It is on the repetitive side with its chords and rhythm, but it tries to redeem itself by putting the vocals back in the mix. Overall, the track is only slightly above average with its most distinctive feature being a fresh spin on a classic sound.
73/100
GRAVEDGR – RAMPAGE (Dr. Phunk Remix)
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The power of the original acapella certainly warranted this star-studded remix EP featuring the likes of Riot Ten, YDG, Schade, and Dr. Phunk. I’ll be focusing on the Dr. Phunk remix because in my opinion, it adds the most unique elements and makes the best use of the original acapella. The first breakdown is short and relies on solely the vocal to ramp up the energy, which it does very well. The first drop mixes together hard kicks, pitched vocals, and hardstyle screeches in all the right flows. The second break really shines by vocoding the acapella into a fantastic melody and then following up on that, we get a full-on hardstyle break to capitalize on the euphoria built from the previously mentioned melody. The only letdown of the track is that the second drop doesn’t adequately increase the energy over the first, choosing to make minor changes instead of say, doubling down on hard dance or hard-psy elements to switch things up.
84/100
Steve Aoki & TWIIG – Hoovela
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TWIIG is finally back after more than a year of musical silence. Seeing that name back in my feed brought me such joy but I’ll be honest in saying that the track itself is a letdown. It picks up where “Tarantella” left off with the same tempo and triplet psy-trance pattern. Whereas “Tarantella” had a fun and playful melody on top of the psy-trance base, “Hoovela” uses the same elements from its predecessor and putting them with uninspired melodies from “Baila de Favela” that will stand out to no one. It’s an absolute shame that this is TWIIG decides how to make their return; with a year-old formula that adds nothing new over the original. Here’s to hoping for more TWIIG music in the future, and that they pair their sounds with more creative minds than the cake-throwing master, Steve Aoki.
69/100
k?d – Polluted Blood
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The entire album is filled with atmospheric, almost soundtrack-like tracks which all have a sense of drive about them. There’s always movement, momentum, and a sense of moving forward that gives these tracks a unique progression. “Polluted Blood” is the most minimal of the track and also the most impressive because at its core, it’s still conveying those same progressive elements even with its simplistic approach. There are two distinct drops, with the second building upon the first in a logical manner while standing alone as a great drop. The album is a testament to k?d’s unique ear and style, it may not be for everyone, but it’s a journey for anyone who is willing to put in the time and sit through this track and the album as a whole.
86/100
Dimatik & Uberjak’d – Shakuchi
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In recent years, the psy-trance trend has proven itself unavoidable in big room, hard dance, hardstyle, and trance itself. It retrospect, it’s the logical follow-up to the Melbourne bounce trend from a few years back. Either way, artists Maurice West to Toneshifterz to Slushii have put psy in their tracks here and there. When you see two bounce pioneers like Dimatik and Uberjak’d come together on a track, it instantly raises expectations. The track starts with what can only be described as an 8-bit flute that carries a unique Celtic melody. While the melody is great in the first break, the lack of side-chaining and swing makes the track feel very un-syncopated and choppy when the first drop hits. It’s almost a sense of confusion because there’s not really a prominent bounce in the track, everything feels like it’s on the same place and hitting your face all at once. The second breakdown is fantastic, however, and sounds like any other top-tier big room breakdown with pitch-blended synths and great variations on the original melody. The second drop is another disappointment as it seems to be copied direction from the first with no discernable changes. The problem with this track is that there are a lot of great, unique elements in here, but it’s held back by the psy-trance setting. Had they invested more time in blending the unique synth with the psy-base, they could have had a real winner on their hands. KSHMR’s label seems to follow this trend of releasing unique but unfinished tracks that could have benefited from just a bit more tweaking and oversight.
79/100
Dannic & Thomas Newson – No More
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After this track lost to Jay Hardway and Mike Cervello’s track, “EDM Bubble” on the official EDM Reviewer Instagram page to be featured as a full review, we thought that we would go ahead and include it in the recap to make sure we gave some sort of consolation price. The one thing about Dannic is that, while his sounds are similar from track to track, he changes things up just enough to prevent them from sounding stale or reused. The closest track to “No More” is probably “Can You Feel It” but the latest one has a much better breakdown and overall cleaner mix. The track is one of the best implementation of the groove formula, keep the beat going all the way through the track while keeping the elements on top dynamic enough to hold attention.
84/100
Jonth – Break Away (featuring Jex)
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“Break Away” is another outstanding release from the Swedish producer, Jonth, who once again brings his melodic gifts to a memorable future house track. Jex brings her airy vocals to guide the breakdowns of this track and the way she shifts between octaves in the middle of the melody simply gives me the chills. The oscillating synth in the first breakdown compliments her voice perfectly while remaining dynamic in its accompaniment. The drops employ a call and response structure which alternate between the strong chords and a Brooks-esque bass which is perfectly serviceable and utilizes a range of effects to keep the song dynamic. The second drop builds upon the first by adding a fist-pumping, powerful melody that’s emphasized by syncopated kicks to bring out the most energy possible. Overall, it’s another fantastic addition to the Jonth discography. If you’d like to know more about Jonth, go and check out his interview on The QR Network.
87/100
We hope you enjoyed our recap of selected songs from last week. If there is a song that you felt should have been on here, be sure to leave it in the comments below and we’ll do our best to give our take on it. Certain songs were not included because they will be covered in more detail in the following days so make sure you’re following our social media pages to see all of our latest posts!
Wiwek & Kuenta I Tambu – Black Panther
Jay Hardway & Mike Cervello – EDM Bubble
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs such as Chocolate Puma, Kris Kiss, Riot Ten, Fabian Mazur, and RudeLies.
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