This week, we’ll be covering a few pop songs and comparing their effectiveness. Then checking in on the state of big room and the plight of reused assets. To start it all off, we’ll be checking in on one of hardstyle’s greatest: Da Tweekaz. 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!

Da Tweekaz – Scatman

When it comes to the longstanding genre of hardstyle, no producers come close to making the genre relevant and accessible as Da Tweekaz. Not only do they make the genre fun, they stay true to its roots and make sure each track they put out is top-quality. Here with their free download, they’ve taken a classic and turned it into a 2019 banger filled with all the melodies and touches you’d expect from the veteran producers. “Scatman” is an amazing track, however I wish they had added more than just translating the iconic melody with a hardstyle style. Regardless, they still did an admirable job taking this track into the current era of EDM.

88/100

OUTRAGE, GIANTS & TBR – Invincible

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Last week, I made some comments on the new torchbearers of big room and some of the hurdles they have to overcome, but two of the names I mentioned were OUTRAGE and TBR, and now they’ve teamed up with GIANTS for their first release on the third generation of Loca Recordings. A track worthy of an Armada sub-label, “Invincible” represents the what big room has to offer as these three entities fuse trance in the first drop with melodic big room in the second. The first drop is a bit too much like a DJ intro with its flat bassline and arps, but the melody in the break more than makes up for it. It’s euphoric, memorable, and fun as hell. I’ve been humming it for quite some time now. Loca has scored a real hit with this release and having heard some of what is to come, this label is on its way to solidifying itself as a source for fresh, festival music.

85/100

Skytech & Tommy Jayden – Looking at Me

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I tore into Tommy Jayden for his last collaboration with Steff Da Campo for being overly derivative of his own style, but this week he’s taken that sound and put it into a fresher track. Speaking of Steff, his release this week was actually pretty decent, and I really appreciated the two unique drops that he put in there with David Puentez. Back to the track at hand. Skytech & Tommy Jayden have brought the next evolution of Tommy’s melodic bass sound with great fills from Skytech’s progressive side and a newfound power through the use of effects. The sample pack vocal is serviceable and one I haven’t personally come across before. I have a soft spot for this type of hypnotic, pitched down vocal and the atmosphere they create. Overall, this is a really solid, danceable track from two of R3HAB’s crew.

83/100

Wolfpack & Diego Miranda – Elev8 (feat. Fatman Scoop)

Speaking of fresh festival music, “Elev8” is not that. Fatman Scoop almost sounds like a vocal pack at this time. His voice has been on some iconic tracks, but here it just fades into the mediocrity of the whole track. It’s not catchy, it’s not energetic, it’s just there. When people bash on big room, tracks like these give them the fodder to do so. Absolutely nothing new is brought to the table by this Smash the House release.

55/100

Ken Takano & Victor Tellagio – Prisoner

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Since “Departure,” I’ve really fallen in love with Ken Takano’s sound. However, his last release with the talented Robby East had me worried about his lack of creativity in taking his sound to the next level. This week, I was proven wrong with his next hit with Victor Tellagio. “Prisoner” that brings back that soulful nostalgia with it’s longing vocals and pairs it with Ken’s awesome future house signature. In this track, there are so many ornaments that it borders on busy, but overall, I think it’s a great melody held together with vocals and the standard house percussion kit. Thoroughly delightful, Ken and Victor take no Prisoners on Future House Music’s new EP. Notable mention, Foxa’s track “Can’t Stop Me” has been on repeat on my playlists as well!

86/100

TV Noise – Lasers

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In the past year or so, TV Noise has released at least nine tracks in the key of F minor. While that is the frequency that is most widely regarded as the “phattest,” most artists outside of dubstep work to diversify the keys they work in. In the case of TV Noise, it leaves them with a lot of overlap in their sounds and songs. While I’ve often touted the praises of having a signature sound, I don’t think that reusing samples and one-shots qualifies as an evolution of sound. As we saw last week, other artists are coming closer and closer to replicating that TV Noise (in the same key) which means it’s time for TV Noise to make some serious steps to keep their music fresh. I would love to see them draw on some of their melodic strengths that we saw in their remix of “So Far Away.” With “Lasers,” we’re left with just another TV Noise track that builds on “808” and “Bring it Back.” For me, this is the last time that I’ll enjoy their sound with these minimal changes. I still like the track, but my tolerance for reused assets has run out.

76/100

Sick Individuals – We Got It All (feat. MPH)

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There’s no denying that lower tempo tracks are better for mainstream audiences. Sick Individuals has also been making pop tracks before it became a “thing,” so by no accounts would I call them sell-outs. Their pop tracks carry many of the same melodic qualities as their club ones with a lighter, upbeat flare which is great for easy listening. Would I be able to pick out a Sick Individual pop song on a playlist of similar tracks? Probably not, but their tracks feel like they put an honest amount of effort, care, and emotion into these tracks outside of what their known for. That deserves some credit; however, I have seen better translations of signature sounds into other genres like Husman and High ‘N’ Rich.

75/100

Mike Williams – Wait for You (feat. Maia Wright)

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Let me preface by saying that I think Mike Williams is going to be one of the big players in the future house genre. Analogous to Don Diablo as Maurice West is to W&W. Now that I’ve said that, “Wait for You” Everything about this track is generic from the melodies to the synths. I sort of hear a bit of “Lullaby” in the track, but this song could have been made by anyone. The vocals, while original, may as well could have been from a sample pack. Forgettable, flat, and lifeless. Even some of the greats have lackluster pop tracks so that is what I will chalk this up as.

52/100

Brevis – Extra Guac (ft. Moeazy)

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I realize that I don’t dedicate enough of this recap to talent outside of the larger labels, and so I decided to check in on one of the Soundcloud and Spotify based labels, Lacuna. I remember them as being a largely future house label back in the day and have since gone in a more diverse direction as we covered one of their releases with Vosai a few months back. Now, we’ve got a primarily rap-based track and I’ve got to unironically say, this is fire. It’s bouncy, fresh, and has some dynamic instrumentals. Moeazy breaks away from the Migos flow in favor of a more old-school vibe. It’s a refreshing and hopeful breath of fresh air and a welcome surprise from the ever-evolving label.

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! 

Matisse & Sadko – Another Side (feat. Wrabel)

Nanu – Carnage

John Christian – Uno

Tom & Jame feat. Æmes – No Hard Feelings

Stromae – Alors On Danse (Dubdogz Remix)

This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs. Check out their interviews with Tom & Jame, Maurice West, Declain, Adventure Club, and Magnificence. 

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