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.

Jonas Blue – Polaroid (R3HAB Remix)

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We recently did a whole piece on the state of R3HAB in 2018 and covered how prolific he’s been with his Spotify-friendly releases. This remix is the third remix of R3HAB’s that follows this sort of fresh,  future house sound. It just dawned upon me that this is derived from Steff Da Campo’s sound a bit but R3HAB uses more of a straight rhythm while Steff has an extreme amount of swing in his tracks. This remix is serviceable and will undoubtedly pop up on many big DJ’s weekly podcasts. In the end, it’s forgettable music, but fun while it lasts.

75/100

NEVERGLOW – Ginkgo

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NEVERGLOW has been on our radar for quite some time since his remix of Hardwell’s iconic “Spaceman.” There’s an unique, dark energy to all of this duo’s tracks that has carried over from release to release. “Ginkgo” is an excellent testament to the production capabilities of this duo as they combine a multitude of distinct ethnic elements along with Brazilian bass, bass house, and energetic brass. The breakdown has a fantastic atmosphere to it and the second drop builds upon the first in a meaningful way by switching up the melody while maintaining the same essence. We only wish that there had been an extra eight bars in the beginning to set the stage for this amazing track instead of jumping right to the buildup to the first drop.

84/100

KSHMR, B3nte & Badjack – The Spook Returns (Da Tweekaz Edit)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZOd3zgeEqw]
Da Tweekaz never fails to impress with their source material, remixing soundtracks from Frozen and the Hunger games to their incredible tour de force with Jagermeister. Their remix of KSHMR’s second Halloween collaboration, appropriately credited to Da Tweekaz as an edit, isn’t as solid as some of their other offerings unfortunately. The first transition from the breakdown to the build is marked by a sudden and off-putting tempo change, unlike other songs which gradually shift the tempo to where they want to be. The first drop is just the same melody transposed into a hardstyle synth and hardstyle kicks underneath. The second breakdown is a bit more fluid but the second drop uses the same drop melody from the original which just sounds way too hectic and disorienting sped up and over hardstyle percussion. I imagine that this sound would still play well at a Halloween party but for regular listening, I think that the whole track is just a bit too messy.

68/100

Dani L. Mebius & Alvaro – Beat Back

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“Beat Back” marks the comeback of Dani L. Mebius after more than two years without a release and Alvaro coming back into the mainstream after releasing some other moombah, trap,  and carnival tracks. It doesn’t seem like much has changed for the two as they both come out swinging with this festival-ready track that sounds straight out of 2014 in the best way possible. Dani L. Mebius brings his electro and trance influence and Alvaro brings some modern energy and flare to the track. The track follows a trance arrangement with three drops with the middle one being melodic, almost straight festival progressive house in this case, similar to some of R3HAB’s best stuff from his heyday. Overall, this track fits in well with this current nostalgic big room festival era while adding enough newness to justify itself as a premium release in 2018.

82/100

Bassjackers Vs Wolfpack – Zero Fs Given

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On the other side of the nostalgic spectrum, you get some big room garbage from Smash the House. They had really picked up their game in the past few months with some good stuff from Futuristic Polar Bears and Cuebrick. However Bassjackers & Wolfpack have taken us back to the dark times of “Brasil Connect” which is to say this is one of the absolute awful showings from all parties involved. You’ve got Bassjackers coming off their mediocre Spinnin’ EP and label heads Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike still brushing off their showing at DJ Mag. Although to Like Mike’s credit, he does seem to be breaking away and doing some more original stuff on his own. At any rate, this is an awfully generic and downright offensive track.

44/100

Martin Garrix feat. Mike Yung – Dreamer

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Mike Yung has one of the most heartwarming stories in the industry, you can learn more about him in this amazing piece by the Pitchfork. You may have seen his viral post with Martin Garrix about the obstacles he’s had to overcome and how he has been using his talents to make ends meet on the streets of New York. Knowing this man’s backstory does make this song all the more moving and impactful as you see a man who has brushed with viral and television fame in the past but still hasn’t had the break he needed to turn music into a comfortable living instead of just a means of surviving. Martin Garrix gives him the perfect instrumentals to belt out his messages. There’s plenty of effective soul tactics utilized and Martin plays perfectly into them, never dominating the track or breaking with the tone. In the end, we all get to hear this man’s fantastic talent and hopefully he’ll be receiving the recognition and opportunities he deserves as a result of this collaboration and subsequent exposure. Be sure to check out Mike Yung’s Facebook page for more information on this incredible man.

91/100

Nicky Romero vs Trilane & Kokaholla – Bittersweet (ft. Quarterback)

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If you check out Kokaholla’s Instagram post, you’ll see that one of his captions says that he wrote this song in his kitchen “featuring my dear friend [Quarterback] with the support of international EDM superstar [Nicky Romero].” In Nicky Romero’s plug for the track on Instagram, he only tags Trilane in his caption. It just brings into question who exactly did what in this four-person collaboration. At any rate, it’s hard to see how it took four people to make this generic track. The vocals are standard far, the instrumentals could have been taken from any progressive house flp from YouTube, and the vocals get lost in the drop which is just sloppy production. The rhythm is one we’ve heard thousands of times before and overall, it’s a forgettable track. Progressive fans will be happy to see this genre back on Protocol after their abysmal showing in their ADE sampler which we covered here.

61/100

Galantis – Emoji

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It’s always good to check in to see what some of the pop EDM artists are up to from time to time. Galantis has come out with a delightful, light-hearted house track that features extremely airy female vocals and tasteful vocal chops in the drop. It reminds me of KSHMR’s track with Will Sparks called “Voices” as they both capitalized on airy vocals and had a joyful bounce to it. There’s not much else to say here other than it’ll be a pleasant track to hear at some of the parties that only play mainstream EDM.

82/100

RudeLies & Reece Taylor – Can’t Stop

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These two up-and-coming artists are back on the incredibly solid and prolific label, Strange Fruits. “Can’t Stop” starts off with some pretty lackluster vocals and bass house breakdown fare. Then the drop hits you with that RudeLies swing and sharp synth. The second breakdown is more of the same from the first but does add some subtle melodic elements which help its case a bit. Sirens and risers are added to the second drop to add some energy and there’s some interesting rhythmic elements going on there to make it stand out from other implementations of the tactic. Overall, the drop carries this track and makes the breakdowns worth sitting through. To learn more about RudeLies and his management, check out their interviews on The QR Network.

77/100

Wolfgang Gartner – Excalibur

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There are certain pillars of the genre like Deadmau5, Skrillex, and Diplo who helped bring EDM into the mainstream. In my opinion, Wolfgang Gartner and Mord Fustang also deserve a place alongside Deadmau5 for their work in bringing electro house into people’s homes and listening devices. A frequent collaborator with promising up and coming artists like JayKode and Aero Chord, Wolfgang Gartner has done a great job of balancing the old sound with the new but with the release of his latest EP, he’s gone back to his original sound with enough melodic flare to make it worth a spot on your playlist in 2018. Excalibur starts with some dramatic but uplifting piano chords before heading into that 8-bit synth and then the old school electro house percussion paired with power chords. There is a wonderfully pitch-blended synth and airy percussion hit which lend some diversity track as well a modern feel. The track goes on a bit too long for its own good but that’s also the style.

83/100

This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs such as Debris, RudeLies, Greater Than, Kris Kiss, and Chocolate Puma. 

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