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.
RetroVision – Get Up
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I’d like to start out by saying how much I appreciate RetroVision putting eight bars of a break before starting the buildup to the drop. This should be the bare minimum that producers should put into their tracks instead of starting songs with a buildup. It’s better for DJs and better for Spotify. Back to this song in particular, the break melody is driven by brass instrumentation and features a simple but catchy melody supported by some quirky chords. The drop melody feels like something we’ve heard before, but the sheer amount of effects and details still makes this sound unique. Another excellent structuring choice was having the third section of the drop be used for an entirely new sound that builds upon the earlier elements. In this case we get a bouncy bass house section which just elevates the track to the next level. Overall, this arrangement should be the bare minimum standards that producers should strive for and RetroVision adds enough character to this track to make it stand out as a noteworthy release this week.
85/100
Dropgun – Tomorrow Never Comes (feat. Bryan Finlay)
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The track starts off with some original vocals from Bryan Finlay which follows an extremely familiar chord progression. You can hear Dropgun’s signature vocoding and synths layered underneath them. The drop contains the frenetic melodies and energy you’d expect from a Dropgun track. However, we’ve been hearing this sound from Dropgun for almost a year now. While they have been transposing it into other genres, you could place any of these similar sounding tracks together and not know which are new and which are old. It’s still very much their sound, but at this point in 2018, there are some other producers coming up who have taking their sound as inspiration and are starting to make some interesting tracks. So unfortunately, while this track would have stood out last year or even a few months ago, in the end it comes off more as just another Dropgun release rather than something special. To learn more about Dropgun, check out EDM Reviewer’s interview.
77/100
Kroshwell & Cytrax – Haunted
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“Haunted” takes the sound from Cytrax’s collaboration with Dave Mak, “Black Diamonds” and use it in the drop, while the breakdown came from Dave Mak & Kroshwell’s collaboration, “Army” on LokoSound. That being said, that makes “Haunted” somewhat of an epic Frankenstein between those two excellent songs and brings them together for a fairly solid offering from Sativ Records. The track really shines in the second eight measures of the drop which forgoes the typical four on the floor big room beat for a breakbeat pattern and a slew of new elements and effect. Essentially, things just go wild and I think it would play well in the middle of a festival set to switch things up which maintaining the commonalities the crowd would expect from the set. The breakdown has a simple but euphoric melody as well as a fun triplet fill which adds a unique feature to the track. Then the extended buildup teases the drop which is nearly identical to the first. Harkening back to the structure I was talking about in the RetroVision review, Haunted features an extended buildup rather than splitting the sixteen bars between a breakdown and a buildup. This structure is better than just an eight-bar intro, but still not as great as the latter option. To learn more about the founder and owner of Sativ Records, check out his interview on The QR Network.
81/100
Steff da Campo & SMACK! feat. Kiyoshi – Count That (R3HAB Edit)
Just last week, I mentioned how R3HAB’s recent electro house offerings sound like they were ripped off from Steff da Campo and now we see this release which proves that R3HAB had been aware of this artist for some time now. The clearest similarity can be seen in R3HAB’s remix of “Don’t Leave Me Alone” which could easily be mistaken for a Steff da Campo track. All I’m saying is that I think this pair of artist have been working together long before this release. At any rate, back to the track at hand, “Count That” is a serviceable addition to the Steff da Campo discography while SMACK! and Kiyoshi adds their signature underground vibes to the breakdown. The drop isn’t anything special as we mentioned before, Steff da Campo has sort of been running this signature sound into the ground as of late. If nothing else, this track serves as a culmination of R3HAB & Steff’s partnership over the past few months and so I hope that both artists start heading in new and interesting directions which SMACK! and Kiyoshi begin finding their own sound and developing solo names for themselves.
71/100
TIBA Feat. Emanuela Delaj – Embrace (Pharien & Gustaf Bjornberg Remix)
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“Embrace” seems to be a spiritual follow-up to Pharien & Gustaf Bjornberg’s previous collaboration, “Who You Are” which follows the same arrangement but doubles down on that classic progressive house sound. They take Emanuala Delaj’s vocal from TIBA’s original future bass track and adds the chording that is the staple of the progressive house genre. As some of you may know by now, progressive house is not of my favorite genres, but over time I’ve grown to appreciate some of the emotional touches which are the hallmark and what I consider to be the main attraction of the genre. This remix exemplifies though qualities and delivers on what true lovers of the genre expect and is another worthy offering from these two rising talents on their 2-Dutch debut. To learn more about Gustaf Bjornberg or Pharien, be sure to check out their interviews on The QR Network.
82/100
Wasback – Frostbite
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It’s been a while since the release of PURGE from Wasback & Funkz, which seemed like a hard shift in Wasback’s emotional style into one driven by darker energy. However, after that they went back to business as usual putting out a progressive house remix and a future bass track. “Frostbite” takes us back to their darker side with this sort of trance meets groove vibe which isn’t a combination you hear too often. There are some significant flaws in this track which stem from the fact that there is only a single main melody and synth that’s used in both drops as well as the single breakdown. There’s also the fact that it starts off straight into the buildup which is something I’ve been trying to nail home during this entire recap. Taking both of those things into consideration makes it easy to see why this was released as a free download, however, it does still serves as a sign of growth for the Italian producer and hopefully a sign of more interesting and diverse releases in the future.
73/100
Forever Lost – Play Me
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Here on the recap, there are sometimes where I just find songs a bit too late to include them in this piece, one of my greatest regrets was not finding “Get it Done” by Forever Lost included whenever it was released as it is hands down one of my all-time favorite hardstyle tracks and I highly recommend you check it out if you get the chance. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of Forever Lost’s unique soulful elements which really adds something new to the genre in my opinion. “Play Me” continues that sound going so far as to include a soulful vocal chop in the rawstyle drop which starts off the track. While that amount of energy certainly isn’t for everyone, it’s still a fascinating touch. The breakdown fleshes out those vocals which dynamic chording underneath for support. The hardstyle break section just gave me goosebumps with it’s pure range and in the way it seems to replicate the chills you get from hearing an exceptional vocalist. It’s just amazing to how much soul and human emotion that one duo can convey only using ones and zeroes through a computer. The rest of the track follows the typical hardstyle structure but just when you think it’s business as usual, the final drop of the track throws a major curveball by changing the entire key of the track, similar to how they did in “Get it Done.” It throws you for a loop in the best way possible. Forever Lost is definitely one to watch and we’re excited to see where they’ll be taking their sound next.
89/100
Da Tweekaz & TNT ft. Matthew Steeper – Together
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Also last week, we covered Da Tweekaz’s remix of “The Spook Returns” and stated that they seemed to be slipping, and now with this latest original release, it seems it would be more accurate to say that they’ve stagnated. “Together” is a fine track, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t have the same craziness or character like the infamous Jägermeister or some of their excellent remixes of movie soundtracks. What we get instead is some fairly standard fair with some generic, original male vocals, a Sub Zero Project type drop, and ordinary hardstyle melodies for the break and second drop. It’s all good and well and would fit into a hardstyle set just fine, but it’s nothing to write home about which is disappointing when you see two top talents like Da Tweekaz and TNT come together on a track.
80/100
Maddix feat. Kris Kiss – Shuttin’ It Down
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One thing that has always stood out in Maddix’s productions is confidence. While some of the melodies and rhythms might not be anything new, the releases still seem powerful and almost fresh because there’s the strong sense of energy and confidence that takes over your body and forces you to recognize that this is more than a decent track. “Shuttin’ It Down” sees Maddix team up with one of EDM’s most recognizable voices, Kris Kiss to deliver another solid offering on Revealed Recordings. It starts off with an extended buildup, which again I think would have been better to have taken a “calm before the storm” approach given how the energy of the track never lets up throughout its entire runtime. Either way, we’re greeted with original vocals and catchy adlibs from Kris Kiss which has that undeniable sense of flow which leads up to the first drop which is fairly standard Revealed fare. It’s a call & response structure which combines synths from older releases “Lose Control” and “Mantra.” Again, it’s just effective and paired with Kris Kiss’ vocals interspersed, it’s an unstoppable force. The breakdown keeps the same melody a more contained manner heading into the same buildup and drop from the first second. That’s the biggest flaw with this track especially given that Maddix has been known to create two unique drops recently in tracks like “Soldier” and “Keep it Jackin’.”
83/100
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!
Audien & ARTY – Never Letting Go
Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman vs Futuristic Polar Bears – Acid Drop
Skan – Sadaweya (feat. Highdiwaan)
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs such as Seth Hills, Foxa, Leah Culver, Debris, and Sativ Label owner, Marvin Nolze.
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