This week has certainly been one for the books which lots of nostalgia and evolution. Alesso dropped a stunning EP, Sander Van Doorn took a surprising turn, and Ummet Ozcan made an incredible homage to an icon of the scene. 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!
Sander Van Doorn – 500 (PCM)
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This man has been all over the place lately and I love it. Last release, we got a psy-trance track fused with hardstyle from Frontliner and this week we go back to old-school electro house. It blends Sander Van Doorn’s underground house style with his euphoric trance melodies and the result is a throwback track with just enough modern production touches so that you know it was made this year. This style of music certainly isn’t for everyone due to it’s repetitive nature but those who’ve been longtime fans of the genre will find a welcome bit of nostalgia with this one. Props to Sander Van Doorn for keeping things fresh while respecting his roots as well as the industry’s.
85/100
Ummet Ozcan & Mo-Do – Eins Zwei
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Speaking of throwbacks, OZ Records has just released “Eins Zwei” which is Ummet Ozcan’s modern take on Mo-Do’s iconic track from 1994, “Einz, Zwei, Polizei” which is based on the German lullaby which translates to “One Two Police, Three Four Grenadier, Five Six Old Hex, Seven Eight Good Night.” Unfortunately Mo-Do committed suicide back in 2013 so it’s great to see Ummet Ozcan paying homage and including him in the credits of the track. Hopefully listeners will look him up and learn more about him as I did for this review. Back to the track at hand, it’s a nice fusion of Ummet’s signature simple yet heavy melodic style but this time which an uptempo Melbourne Bounce flair to it. There’s plenty of effects on the vocals to ramp up the energy similar to Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs W&W, “Arcade.” This track has two unique drops, the first utilizing the vocals and the second based on the melody introduced in the second breakdown. It’s a fun track and an honorable modern tribute to a music legend.
87/100
Dubvision & Syzz – Enlighten Me
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Enlighten me seems to build off the new electro sound from Dubvision starting from “Are You Listening” back in January. It’s fresh but also not one of my favorite signature sounds out there. I appreciate that Dubvision teamed up with Syzz to add a bit more motion and progression in the track. It’s been a while since Syzz has ventured back to their progressive roots and this is a welcome and modern take on it. Overall, “Enlighten Me” builds on the new Dubvision sound in a unique way and Syzz brings a subtle heaviness which they’ve perfected in tracks like “90s Better” and “Be My Love.”
82/100
Dion Timmer & Micah Martin – Internet Boy
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Not many producers have quit the range of Dion Timmer who can move from sub-genre to sub-genre and create solid tracks as if this has been his style all along. This time, he’s teamed up with one of my favorite vocalists, Micah Martin to bring us what seems to be an electro house track from the peak deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner era. Not to mention that the track is in the same key as deadmau5’s iconic track, “Ghosts ‘N’ Stuff.” The sense of longing in Micah’s voice mirrors Rob Swine’s vocal mix of the track and “Internet Boy” goes the extra step of adding autotuned female vocals to contrast with Micah’s powerful tone. The breaks, chords, and melodies are all superb however I do take issue with the arrangement of the track. It thrusts us right into the drop just thirty seconds in and doesn’t take the time to establish the atmosphere or build any sort of progression. The second breakdown handles the pacing much better but still feels rushed in its three minute total runtime. I wish that Dion Timmer had taken a step back and fleshed out all of these amazing elements and maybe gone a bit easier with the intro and introduced the elements at a slower pace. Hopefully we’ll be getting some remixed from these stems or a VIP that will space out these elements.
84/100
Skytech – Out of my Mind (R3HAB Edit)
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Another week, another R3HAB track. I know that we seem like we’re beating a dead horse by reviewing another R3HAB track, but it’s really a fascinating phenomenon. The way we’re seeing R3HAB and MOTi pushing out weekly tracks seems like the new business model and I’m very interested in seeing how it pays off in the long run. For this track, there is some interesting vocoder work combined with subdued, modern percussion and atmospheric pads. The vocals get a bit repetitive after a while but it’s a nice callback to older R3HAB & Skytech tracks from 2014-2015. The drop builds on the R3HAB’s new wonky chromatic synth in stale fashion. It’s yet another serviceable addition to the rapidly growing discography and nothing more.
74/100
Blinders – Relieve
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“Relieve” is Blinders’ follow-up to “Leaving” and “Breach.” While this style seemed like yet another ripoff of Brooks’ future bounce style, Blinders has really stepped into his own and taken this sound over. Here with “Relieve,” we get an absolutely powerful track with a fantastic drop melody that I’ve been humming ever since I first heard it. The breakdowns brings in Blinders’ unique percussion and what I assume is a vocal sample from a pack I’ve never come across. While of course I’ll always advocate for original, credited vocals, I can’t deny that I greatly enjoyed the ones he chose for this track. Overall, “Relieve” is this week’s nearly perfect track with two full breakdowns and a killer drop melody. I wish we could have gotten two unique drops but this melody is so solid, I’m truly happy with this entire track and is one of the few I will listen to all the way through.
89/100
Julian Jordan & Seth Hills – Backfire
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As much as I’ve been rooting for him, I’ve not fully enjoyed many of Seth Hill’s releases since “Bass Level” with Crisis Era, especially the sample-ridden abomination that is “Whisper.” In Seth Hills‘ interview with us, he mentioned that he’s been working on finding his sound and making tracks that he feels proud to play out at his shows and of course I will always respect an artist’s personal drive and creativity. As long as he or she is making whatever they enjoy, who am I to stop them? My only job here is to comment on the sidelines and with “Backfire,” I’m so happy to say that I’m back onboard this Seth Hills train. Julian Jordan has a knack for bringing out the best in his collaborators like with Timmy Trumpet, Olly James, and Steff Da Campo. Here in “Backfire,” we have a culmination of the best parts of Seth Hill’s recent tracks like “Fire,” “Bass Leve,” and “Whisper.” We have a dark, melodic bass house track that’ll light up any dancefloor with its simple yet powerful melody. The first break sets the atmosphere and the second accomplishes something truly rare by creating a breakdown that builds off the energy of the first drop and really gets my body swaying. The second drop is also different from the first by adding some rhythmic variation which is so greatly appreciated! It does wear a bit thin after a while but I applaud the two of them for making something new instead of copy and pasting the first drop and just adding a bit of white noise like so many other producers do. Overall, it’s a great, energetic track and my only complaints are that I wish the second breakdown had cut down on the build and added more to the percussion section.
85/100
Deorro, Elvis Crespo & Henry Fong – Pica
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Last time Deorro ventured into Latin Music with “Munequita Linda,” I almost gave it a 90+ due to it having such diverse elements and progression. However with “Pica,” it feels a bit too forced and harsh for me. The higher tempo and simplistic melody revolving around the tonic note just didn’t do it for me. I appreciated the tempo change in the second break which I could see playing very well live. The vocals are certainly very lively and typical Latin accompaniment sounds authentic. The music is very energetic on its own and I think adding the EDM percussion to it just makes it too much energy for me to handle in normal listening conditions. I usually enjoy fusions of genres and cultures but this is a miss for me.
73/100
Alesso – Time
After being applauded for his throwback track, “Tilted Towers,” on Ninja’s EDM Album, Alesso has returned with three new old-school tracks in his new mixtape series, “PROGRESSO.” While I would say that my favorite melodies appeared in the mixtape’s namesake track, “Progresso,” I wanted to talk about “Time” because of how it has the potential to please both his old fans as well as his new mainstream fans. Sticking within the confines of house structure, “Time” uses subtle electro chording to back up the expertly edited vocals. These vocals provide most of the motion to the track up until the two minute mark where Alesso takes over in guitar solo type fashion which is such an amazing touch. Other subtle progressive elements seep their way into the track by the end that you’ll certainly be left wanting more by the time its finished playing. I know this week has been filled with mostly positive reviews but I’m seriously just so happy with everything these artists are doing. Whether it’s new artists finding their footing or veterans sticking with the times and improving their craft. This has been a fantastic week for music both in the tracks themselves as well as the direction the industry is heading.
86/100
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!
Sidney Samson & Lil Jon – Mutate (2k19 Festival Mix)
Above & Beyond vs. Armin Van Buuren – Show Me Love
Myon feat. Alissa Feudo – Perfect Ghost (Myon Club Mix)
Dave Winnel – Lily Of The Valley
Legna Zeg – Black & White (ft. Nekro G)
Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman vs. Paul Green – Pyramids
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs. Check out their interviews with Damien N-Drix, Anikdote, and Herobust.
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