There isn’t an agenda or theme to this week’s recap. It’s just a collection of songs that I felt compelled to talk about. 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 post your suggestions in the comments!
Modestep & Virtual Riot – Nothing
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If you ask a producer from any genre who they look up to as someone who is truly talented, a significant amount will mention Virtual Riot for his melodies and presets he’s created for his tracks. Honestly, it’s not a name I’ve ever associated with that but the more I listen to his music, the more I see it. Modestep is also known for his unique fusion of trap, dubstep, and future bass and this track definitely highlights the best of these two producers. They’ve taken a popular structure and put in as many unique elements as possible without alienating the core fans of this type of music. There are calming vocals in the breaks followed by 8-bit melodies with raw power and emotional appeal. Then the drop hits with a simple melody but the cleanest, heaviest synth that brings the best from old-school dubstep and processed it with modern techniques to create something that sounds entirely fresh. It’s a joy to listen to every time and even gave me goosebumps on occasion and that’s not something that happens all too often in the world of dubstep. I highly recommend you go check this track out even if you aren’t the biggest fan of bass music. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you hear and feel.
93/100
Jonth – Take on the World
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Here with his second release of 2019, Jonth has made his debut on Lowly which has been releasing tracks from some of the best underground producers. Unfortunately, they have an issue with keeping all of their records properly sorted and listed which makes it difficult to keep track of their discography on some platforms. Either way, “Take on the World” builds on past Jonth tracks like “Viper” and “Break Away” while improving on the elements from the two tracks. It’s fantastic to watch a producer truly evolve their sound instead of getting complacent with what has worked in the past. The one thing holding this track back are the vocals which you can find in other tracks here. I hope that he’ll be looking for vocalists to sing over his track in the future as he continues to improve and take his music to greater heights.
82/100
Cazztek & Damien N-Drix – Thumpin’ Like
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The STMPD family has gained a new family member with this new track from Damien N-Drix & STMPD alum, Cazztek. It’s great to see these two finally team up because they both have their own slightly different take on the clean, bass house sound with just a hint of ethnic flare. The differences between the two is that Cazztek has a controlled looseness in his songs while Damien N-Drix has a heavier minimalistic approach. With this particular track, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of melodic complexity compared to other tracks from these two. I do appreciate the variation in the two drops in breakdowns, however simplistic. You can read more about the making of this track from Damien N-Drix’s interview on The QR Network.
77/100
Morgan Page feat. Pex L – Gone My Way
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I have no idea why Pex L is credited as a feature in this track because his future and bass house influence dominates the drops of this track. Morgan Page has a knack for creating memorable tracks with vocals and emotions that outlast the usual ephemeral nature of EDM. He also picks fantastic remixers to put their own spin on his tracks but it seems in this case he gave Pex L precedent to put his sound at the forefront of this Morgan Page original. The blend between classic house sounds, bass house, and future house is fresh but the elements seem soft – like they could have been made more impactful if they had sharpened up the sounds a bit. It’s great to see Morgan Page continue to use his platform to present new producers to his fan and this is a nice track to do that with.
80/100
Sunstars x Tom & Jame feat. Kris Kiss – You Know
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The one thing that’s so exciting when you see Kris Kiss on the track is that you never know what you’re going to get. There’s a signature flow he has which he brings to nearly every track but there’s usually something special and unique that he’ll add on top of it to differentiate and complement each track. The way he descents the scale with an almost spoken word vibe then leading into the hook and chorus is just above and beyond what you usually get from features and vocals in EDM. The downside here is that I simply don’t like the direction that Sunstars is taking with their music. While it’s great that they have a signature sound, I find it too harsh and rather enjoyed their old groove sound more. Tom & Jame also has their own twitchy sound which they brought here but they didn’t bring their melodic A-game. The drop essentially consists of two main notes and it doesn’t work for me here. I hope that there will be an remix EP so that other producers can take these excellent vocals and turn it into something truly special because what Sunstars and Tom & Jame did to them is honestly quite the disservice.
74/100
Dillon Francis & TV Noise – EDM O’ Clock
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“EDM O’ Clock” is the bass house equivalent of David Guetta bringing Brooks’ sound into the mainstream with “Like I Do.” Unlike the other track, you can clearly hear Dillon Francis’ playful influence in the breakdown and vocal selection and variations in the second drop with the trap sections. It’s an excellent fusion of style and makes for an absolute banger of a track. The only complaints I have here are the overused horns in the second drop and the dissonant nature of the breakdowns which would work well in clubs but can be uncomfortable in a radio or playlist setting if you’re not in the right mood.
84/100
Jack Back – Survivor
Seeing David Guetta going back to his roots really gives me great joy. The fact that he’s spending time on making tracks he truly loves without the pressure from his David Guetta fans makes the music feel so much more pure than the stuff he puts out under his main project. This house take on Destiny Child’s classic is just a solid ride through and through. The mix is clean, the vibes are good, and the structure is just perfect. It doesn’t stretch out past its welcome like other tracks in the genre and it actually leaves me wanting more when the track finishes playing. Had this been made by any other producer, it probably would have slid under the radar, but even still, I felt it was worth talking about and sharing.
79/100
Olly James – CA$H
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In case you missed the drama of the past week with Revealed Recordings taking credit away from GLDN and giving it to the proper artists behind “Skyline,” AXYS & PVLSE, you can check out the full report on The QR Network. The reason I wanted to include this track by Olly James is because of its similarities to another track released on Revealed by Steven Vegas & Justin Prime, “Smash.” I don’t have all the details on who is ghosting who but there seems to be something going on with producers selling tracks to others while still buying other tracks for themselves. It’s just the strangest ring and I really want to get to the bottom of it. Back to this track itself, I really quite like the hypnotic, fresh bass house elements which really pull me into the atmosphere of the track. I love the muted vocals and oscillating synths. It’s great to see Maxximize supporting tracks from a wide range of artists instead of just a select few like we’re seeing other labels do these days.
85/100
josh pan & Dylan Brady – Wheels
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After what has been a particularly chaotic week for me personally after publishing the story about GLDN, I came across this song and it really just hit the spot. I’ve been a passive fan of josh pan for quite some time, meaning that I would listen and download his tracks when they came across my feed, but I wouldn’t seek them out. I think the reason I really love his music is because of the way he processes vocals to make them echo throughout the mix and supports them with muted percussion and melodies. All of these elements make for some truly relaxing moments in my life and is a welcome change of pace from the normal music I listen to. “Wheels” has a modern indie feel to it and has some truly juicy percussion to back it up. The lyrics are hypnotic and beautiful per usual and the adlibs add so much atmosphere to the track. There is an extra section at the end that I could have done without because the elements it adds are a bit disturbing and nightmarish. The first two-thirds of the track are fantastic and the part you should definitely keep in your mixes and playlists.
80/100
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!
Martin Garrix feat. Bonn – No Sleep
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs. Check out their interviews with the owner of EDM Reviewer, 98.20.11, Airmow & Rubika, KAAZE, and Nino Lucarelli.
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