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.
TV Noise & Blinders – Fire
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Starts off with repetitive, hypnotic elements. Fantastic collaborative effort, brings Blinders airy woodwind sound back with TV Noise aggressive bass house style. Second breakdown, Glitch Mob esque electro synths. Harmonizing jungle vocals are an interesting touch for the brief moment they last. Then the double length builds on the repetitive elements of the first build. The second drop is copy and pasted from the first with no discernable additions which is a shame that they couldn’t build upon it to create some new mayhem.
84/100
Mike Williams x Mesto – Wait Another Day
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Follows Mike Williams’ structure of carrying a single melody throughout the track. Shares the similar bright vibes but the harmonic minor key really gives this simple melody some character. If there’s one thing you can say about this track, it’s catchy as hell. I’ve been humming it all damn week. The vocals are a great touch. The way the vocals blend with the vocoder and synths is truly special and gives me the chills every time. Mesto adds his sharp future house style into the drop to reign in Mike Williams’ usual loose synthwork. The combination is simple yet oh-so effective in capitalizing on this extremely catchy melody. There is enough variation in the melody with the versus of the lyrics and the beginning of the second drop. Incredible progression. The radio edit also ends with a fantastic piano section which makes it perfect for streaming services, proving that it is possible to make Spotify-ready tracks without entirely selling out.
91/100
Dropgun – Drought
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In one of the first apparent deviations from their style in quite some time, Dropgun doubles down on funk and future house here in “Drought.” The first breakdown has an incredibly powerful electro-influenced section that is really unexpected but a bold risk that pays off. The drop itself uses some of the same tricks and sounds from their previous tracks and honestly has a bit too much going on in the high frequencies which makes the track sound a bit hard. There is a new call-and-response that has a bit starker contrast to their other tracks that goes back between their signature synth and a new, swingy banjo-esque pluck. The second breakdown introduces their signature vocal effect that leads into the exact same arrangement as the first with no modifications whatsoever. The first half was so jam-packed with elements that it’s hard to imagine what they could have added on top, but it’s still disappointing to see another great track that runs out of steam before the end.
83/100
Chocolate Puma x Pep & Rash – Together Forever
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Of all the signature styles, Chocolate Puma has perhaps the most subtle as it appears to be just a general old school groove that they carry from track to track. In their solo tracks like Reality, you can see their style in their purest form which harkens back to the underground house scene that they rose up in almost three decades prior. Now in their second collaboration with Pep & Rash, they carry over similar vocals to their first track, “The Stars are Mine.” The lyrics are a bit too short and loops a few too many times for my taste and I found myself becoming irritated at the repetition. The drop uses the same chime from the first track as well but in a 4/4 rhythm this time. Overall, I hope they release an instrumental version as the chording in the second breakdown are spectacular but ruined by the repetition of the vocals. The thing about repeats is having a short or long enough loop to either make it rhythmic or dynamic to hold the track together. This vocal is in the unholy middle ground and really holds the track back.
71/100
Laidback Luke x Jewelz & Sparks – We Are One (feat. Pearl Andersson)
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After spending the past six months releasing collaborations with Afrojack, right after their track with Hardwell, Jewelz & Sparks has partnered with Laidback Luke to bring a truly surprising track. After experimenting with taking their sound to progressive house, this time around they’ve gone and turned it into something completely new. The track starts with some progressive house vibes with original vocals from Pearl Anderson accompanied by a distorted piano synth which is serviceable and solid. The drop has the same bassy elements that we’ve come to expect from Jewelz & Sparks, but the chromatic lead from Laidback Luke’s “Milkshake” is clean and infectious. The previous progressive elements pile on in the drop to give the track a unique feel and provide some cohesion to the arrangement. The second breakdown elevates the first, doubling down on the melodies and into an appropriately modified second drop with some added effects. Overall, it’s a fantastic direction for the Jewelz & Sparks and another unique addition to the Laidback Luke discography.
86/100
Justin Mylo & SWACQ – Rave Alert
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After circulations around festivals for almost a year, the long-awaiting ID from Justin Mylo and SWACQ is here! The track starts with a pulsating hum that carries the simple breakdown melody. Then the chimes takeover that melody on top of some Axtone-style percussion and some full-bodied kicks which lend itself to the rave atmosphere this track has and will continue to be played in. The risers kick in to build up to the first drop. SWACQ told The QR Network that this track began shortly after the release of “Guerrilla” and you can hear some of that influence here in “Rave Alert.” Due to the similar key, risers, and call and response structure, “Rave Alert” is also reminiscent of Borgore’s surprise big room track, “Elefante.” At any rate, the rest of the track is similar to the first half, the second breakdown does start with a bit of Justin Mylo’s future house twist on the break melody. All in all, “Rave Alert” is a great example of keeping big room alive and well with some genuinely good new tracks.
85/100
SCNDL – Fallin’ Deep
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We’ve lost another one. While other bounce producers like Tyron Hapi and Joel Fletcher have made pop songs that maintain their roots and styles, SCNDL has thrown his entire past out the window with his latest track on HUSSLE, “Fallin’ Deep.” We get a generic future bass track with little to no personality in an obvious vie for Spotify streams. Now, I’m not knocking the changing landscape nor am I lamenting the “good ol’ days.” The issue is the execution. There are two examples I would like to bring up: Parker and Oddcube. You may have known these two artists when they were making big room as Jake Sgarlato and Wolfsnare respectively. Instead of taking those beloved names and forcing their new style on their fans, they’ve started new aliases to build a new fanbase for their new musical direction. This is perfectly fine and an honest way to pursue different genres. Another example is Joel Fletcher, who I mentioned earlier. While he still makes bounce tracks more often than his pop songs, the songs he has done have been pretty great and use some of the same elements from his other songs. “Embers” featuring vocals from Bianca, takes his bounce synths to a midtempo track which was a unique fusion at the time and worked really effectively as he was exploring new genres. Rant aside, “Fallin’ Deep” is just another by-the-numbers future bass track about falling deep in love. Hopefully SCNDL can find some way to reconcile his new musical direction in the future.
30/100
Tom & Dexx, Aaron Lindt – What Is Mine (feat. Adam)
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“What is Mine” is yet another fascinating release for the ever-growing label, DIFFERENT RECORDS. If you’ll recall, this is the same label that released the fantastic track from REGGIO and Sansixto a few months back. At any rate, “What is Mine” combines Aaron Lindt’s signature lead in the drop with some of the melodic flares from Tom & Dexx, who have been venturing into pop music after releasing their track, “Ice on Fire” which has some of that same melodic flourish. The vocals from Adam are powerful and appropriately emotional backed up with piano riffs from Tom & Dexx in the breakdowns. It all comes together for a fluid and cohesive track that’s a pleasant journey from start to finish.
84/100
Fabian Mazur – Settle (feat. Zac Poor)
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Fabian Mazur has always gone back and forth between releasing absolute bangers alongside some softer, pop tracks. This round, we’re treated to one of his lighter tracks with vocalist, Zac Poor, who lends a fantastic modern soul feel to the track. It blends the best parts of R&B and indie vocals with Fabian Mazur’s subdued instrumentals. Full of swing and dynamic bass, “Settle” is a great example of how a producer can make good pop tracks while still keeping within brand and simply making good music. While this track isn’t going to be a classic, it’ll be nice when it pops up on your Spotify playlist or in your local coffee job.
85/100
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!
W&W x Armin van Buuren – Ready To Rave
Frontliner – I’m The Melodyman (Sander van Doorn Remix)
John Christian – The House Is Mine
Headhunterz Just Dropped a Diss Track!
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs such as Seth Hills, SWACQ, SaberZ, Steven Vegas, Micah Martin, and Tom Wilson.
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