Three weeks into the new year and we’ve got a surprising resurgence of Vinai and his old bounce sound. As always, 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.
VINAI & Fatman Scoop – Wild
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For quite some time, VINAI was viewed as the epitome of what it meant to be a bad DJ. They focused only on the Rockstar elements of the scene and notoriously copy-pasted their sound into every track they touched. Then things seems to change when they switched up their sound about a year ago when they ventured into higher BPM festival music, some midtempo pop tunes, and future bass. Along the way they released some old bounce IDs to cater to old fans in the process which was a nice touch to pay homage to their past.
They also started their own label, ZEROTHIRTY, which is where this track was released on. “Wild” marks the first track released on the label in almost ten months, which would indicate that the label is coming back, or that it was the only place they could get it signed. “Wild” also signifies a return of bad habits as it so clearly bases itself off of the structure and formula of “Out of This Town” with Hardwell. They both treat the vocals the same way with synth accompaniment and similar drops. One notable difference is that they chose a moombah second half for the drop instead of trap, which is far less effective, as is everything about this track.
The synths used in “Wild” and “Out of This Town” are still the same ones used in their old bounce tracks like “How We Party,” “Louder,” “Sit Down,” and many others. I’m personally conflicted, as VINAI was one of the producers that brought me into EDM in the first place. I came in when Melbourne Bounce was at its height and I rode that wave until it fizzles out and my own horizons expanded. When it comes to VINAI, I have a soft spot, and I will always love their old sound even if it’s been ripped off by themselves to such an extreme degree at this point.
When it comes to “Wild,” I’m both disappointed as a fan and as a reviewer. Even with Fatman Scoop on the track, the vocals are lazy, repetitive, and just boring. The most disappointing part of all of this is just knowing that VINAI likely won’t change their work ethic anytime soon. While I would love to see them progress and diversify their sound in the future, building off their success, it’s far more likely that we’ll just continue seeing them ride on their success without making any major changes to their formula.
46/100
Max Styler – Feel It (Steve Aoki Remix)
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Speaking of Vinai, there are two other tracks this week that are throwbacks to their old sound, and none of them more directly rip that off that Steve Aoki’s remix of Max Styler’s “Feel It.” It’s in the same key and uses the same samples a Vinai and TJR’s classic “Bounce Generation.” Whereas the original “Feel It” was a somewhat fresh future house track, Steve Aoki seemed to feel it needed a festival makeover. Don’t let the “Remix” qualifier throw you off, this is nothing more than a bootleg and it doesn’t really work with the contrasting tones and vibes. The house verses in the drops are quite fun which begs the question of why he didn’t just run with that idea as he has with his previous remixes of “What the Funk,” “Thriller,” and “The Best” all of which were actually great listens.
51/100
Funkstar De Luxe – Sun Is Shining (Firebeatz Remix)
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This Firebeatz remix of “Sun is Shining” is the second prominent Vinai-sounding track this week. Truthfully it builds off more of the Firebeatz remix of “Freestyler,” but there are similarities around the board. This is another issue of tonal inconsistency as the festival vibes don’t blend well with the clubby house vocals and elements from the original. Had this been an original with new vocals, it could have been a nice throwback track, but instead with get this mixmash of tones and sounds that waste the fun vocals from the original and hummable melodies from Firebeatz.
57/100
We Are Loud & Foxa – Turn It Up (ft. Lex Blaze)
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We Are Loud has been on the scene for a strong five years, adapting to new sounds and new labels, bringing a soulfulness each time to whichever genre they venture towards next. After teaming up with Foxa once before on a melodic house track, they’re back at it again with a more energetic club track with original vocals from Lex Blaze. The droning vocals are paired with some subtle vocoder work and classic piano house chords which has some anthemic qualities when all put together. Certainly it’s worthy of a remix EP, but the real star of the show is the clean, phat, swinging drop really rocks the show. The transition to the second break adds some breakbeat elements and is a welcome change of pace. Sadly, the second drop doesn’t add much more over the first except a stronger hi-hat. It feels like there was an opportunity to really take things to the next level but they settled for following the beaten path.
82/100
Charli XCX x Troye Sivan – 1999 (R3HAB Remix)
In this week’s R3HAB report, we get a visit from the ghosts of “Lullaby” with Mike Williams. We previously covered this song on the site and were really big fans of it. However, as those sounds rear its head again in this “solo” remix by R3HAB, we get a somewhat lifeless comeback. There’s nothing else of note here as R3HAB didn’t add anything more to the breaks. In the end, the melody is a bit catchy, and the vibes are fun as they build on the already successful pop hit, it’s just another track to take at face value from our prolific friend, R3HAB.
74/100
Mattjax – Back to 69
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The reason the name Mattjax is familiar to me is because his release over a year ago on Quartzo Records was such a departure from anything I had ever heard from the label. He released this coffee-house, midtempo, lounge track which is so far from the big room and festival tracks they normally release. Shortly after that, he released a progressive track on the Revealed Community label. His versatility intruigued me and now we have an EP which seems to be the best of sound so far. The namesake track, “Back to 69,” is soulful, sultry, and I’d go so far to call it sexy. The bassline and riffing guitars paired with the subdued and perfectly balanced percussion make for a smooth listening experience that will suck you in and leave you wanting more by the time the track ends.
85/100
Loopers – I’m Odd
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If there is someone who has really mastered the art of the bassline, it would be Loopers. It’s also great to see that this signature sound has been brewing throughout his music for years and he has just been focusing in on it recently. It’s an excellent progression and evolution of sound that is always great to see as a fan and listener. When it comes to “I’m Odd,” it strikes a very strong chord with me because you can so clearly see that this is one of those passion tracks that has a lot of value to him. It combines so many different sounds, there’s a western movie-style guitar, then some Tokyo Drift bells in the drop that has a rapport with a heavy bass synth along with an ethnic ornament. It’s a crazy amalgamation but it simply works here. In the breakdown, there’s a hint of an 8-bit synth that adds a video game vibe before the western guitar takes over again. The second drop is sadly identical to the first in every way, but such is the style of Loopers. One can only imagine what an enhanced version of his first drops would sound like, but that will have to remain in dreams for now.
84/100
Keanu Silva – King Of My Castle (Don Diablo Edit)
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After the initial letdown by Hexagon with its first track of the year, we finally have a track worthy of the label by the prolific producer, Keanu Silva. He’s been pioneering his new sound with official remixes over the past year and “King Of My Castle” gives that sound the platform and name he needs to propel into the spotlight. Keanu Silva’s massive bassline and fresh, confident lead come together perfectly for this original mix. There’s no telling where the vocals came from without any credits to be found, whatever the case may be, they do fit well with the track and serve to give it a dynamic element and move the track forward. It seems that Don Diablo and Hexagon have corrected course after their initial disappointment, so here’s to hoping for more fresh tunes and talent in the future.
87/100
WILL K & FaderX – Shine (feat. Scarlett Quinn)
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Since the release of FaderX’s “No Rush,” the trio has been evolving and perfecting their clean version of house music. Here in “Shine,” we have the best example of this sound to date. The progression of the instruments furthered by the fantastically fitting vocals from Scarlett Quinn add an ethereal quality to the track. The melodies from the bassline are complex and scattered to make it harder to pinpoint and predict like other tracks. SPRS is an excellent gateway label to get more mainstream listeners into the “purer” forms of house music and it’s great to see them enlisting new talent to further their mission and keep up a quality discography.
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!
John Christian – Let’s Get This Thing Started
KAAZE feat. Chad Kowal – Better Than This
Trobi – We Can Change (Infinity)
BlackCode & Carlo Ratto – Keep Us Down (feat. Alessa)
ILLENIUM – God Damnit ft. Call Me Karizma (Hex Cougar Remix)
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs. Check out our interviews with KAAZE, Chad Kowal, Birthdayy Partyy, and Conor Ross.
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