Dyro is finally back! We’re talking about his latest release on STMPD, a fun remix from Syzz, a killer psy-collab on Revealed Recording, and mentioning a new signature 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 post your suggestions in the comments
Dyro – Bombai
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He’s back! His first release of 2019 is back with STMPD and seems to mark a significant change in his sound. While his past releases on the label have had hints of lighter elements, “Bombai” is a full-on future house track with very little of his old bass sound aside from the lead. Now, as a song, I’m a fan of the melodies. I wish he had put in more variations on it rather than just changing the instrument used to convey it. There is a more sinister aspect to this track that I wanted to address and that’s the similarities between Brooks’, then Blinder’s new style born in “Leaving,” followed by Seth Hill’s track, “Infinite” and now here with Dyro. There’s something strikingly similar about all of them which makes me wonder what’s going on behind closed doors at STMPD headquarters. This is not me saying that they’re using the same ghost producer because all of those artists have significant production abilities and have been sharing their techniques online. However, I imagine there’s some sort of collaboration or guidance that is leading them all towards this sound. At any rate, it’s a strange way to do branding for a label and I’m curious to see where all of those artists are going next with their sounds.
78/100
ABBA – Gimme Gimme Gimme (Syzz Rework)
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A fun free gift this week came in the form of this unexpected Syzz remix of ABBA’s iconic track. Upon first play, it seems like this was a pairing made by destiny because their two styles sound so perfect together. This is the perfect version to play at any festival or club and I hope to hear it on stages around the world. I really don’t have much else to say about it other than that it was a pleasant surprise to see in my Soundcloud stream.
86/100
Atmozfears & Demi Kanon – Move Ma Body
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I’ve recently been experiencing a bit of funk when it comes to hardstyles as the euphoria it once provided has become a one-trick pony. Similar rawstyle drops and melody tricks have lost their appeal for the time being until I came across this beauty from Atmozfears and Dami Kanon. With a simple vocal shot accompanied by bubbly synths and effects, they’ve concocted a fun little mix that doesn’t overplay the hardstyle tropes. The drop is what caught my attention as they rotate through three styles of kicks and atmospheric risers. It struck me as them just throwing a bunch of tropes at the wall and see what worked and I enjoyed it. It reminded me of Excision’s track, “Vault” where he threw every possible acapella and build imaginable during the leadup to the drop. “Move Ma Body” was a gem among a sea of sameness and I appreciated the freshness. I do wish they had done some different things in the second drop, but I’ll take what I can take at this point.
81/100
Alok & Quintino – Party Never Ends
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Seeing these two Spinnin’ Records regulars pairing up for a track seemed inevitable, although I don’t think many people were holding their breath for it. When I first heard the track, I thought it was a follow-up to Tujamo & Salvatore Ganacci’s track, “Jook It” given their similar club vibe, airy lead, and percussion sets. There’s really not much else to the track beyond that comparison, it’s a fine, simplistic track with a fresh vibe to it. I wish they had used some original vocals to make it more memorable, but it’s a decent club track for now.
75/100
Kav Verhouzer – Turbo (feat. Sjaak & Jebroer)
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Almost a year ago, Kav Verhouzer and Sjaak teamed up for “Stop Voor Stap” which was the gateway track for me to get into quirky house tracks. Seeing them back together got me really hopeful for a worthy follow-up but I was admittedly disappointed. Jebroer’s verse was the highlight of the track but Sjaak’s chorus and old school Dutch vibes just weren’t hitting the spot for me. I can’t tell if they were trying to hard to be close to the predecessor or too hard to be different, at any rate, it resulted in a less-than-enjoyable song.
67/100
Sandro Silva, Broz Rodriguez & Calixto – Story of a Violin
To see a hard house veteran, underground big room artist, and one of the founders of big room come together on the same track was enough to grab my attention. I’m also a sucker for well-done string instruments in electronic music which can be surprisingly hard to come by. “Story of a Violin” seems to pair Calixto’s dark melodies with Broz Rodriguez’ bounce vibe and brought together with what I imagine is Sandro Silva’s stage experience to fine-tune the track. The first break is short but sets the atmosphere well enough. The drop is typical Melbourne fair with the violin sample superimposed over the bounce bassline. The second breakdown was a bit disappointing since it just came off as extremely messy with way too much going on in the high frequencies. It’s a shame because there’s some neat ornaments hidden amongst the garbled mess. The second drop goes full hard-psy with the same violin sample over it. Overall, great new faces on Smash the House, currently one of the most praise-worthy active out there for bringing in fresh sounds and talent.
79/100
Skarleth & Victor H – I Wasted All My Time
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Based on the title, I figured they used the sample pack vocal I’ve heard in other tracks, but I gave the song a track a shot and I’m glad I did. As more and more big room producers follow in the footsteps of SaberZ, W&W, Husman, and Maurice West, it’s becoming harder to stand out even with decent melodies and production ability. Many of them emulate elements from bigger tracks but forget to add a bit of soul and emotion behind the melodies and I feel that Skarleth & Victor H captured that here at the expense of mixing and mastering. The track is a bit muddy at points but not quite to the point where it’s deal breaking. Of course I wish it had a cleaner mix, but finding a decent big room track in the key of B minor is such a rarity that I had to download it and add it to my collection. It reminded me of KANON’s Jax Jones bootleg in the same key, but still a strong track on its own.
77/100
MR. BLACK, Infected Mushroom, Skazi – Do It
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I, like many others, was a bit surprised to see Infected Mushroom appear on Revealed Recordings. The psy-trance legends teamed up with Revealed’s go-to psy-producer, MR. BLACK and psy-trance veteran, Skazi for this incredible mashup of talent. Seeing a four-plus minute radio edit was refreshing so that all of these producers could tell the stories to the fullest extent. What I love about this track is that you can see Mr. Black’s psy-style meet Infected Mushroom’s penchant for guitar melodies and Skazi’s knack for finding unique vocals. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard not one, not two, but THREE unique breakdowns! In terms of arrangement, this exceeded expectations by a long shot. The content itself though was somewhat forgettable save for a memorable guitar melody in the middle section. I hope to continue seeing such killer collaborations in the future.
84/100
Daddy’s Groove – Been A Long Time (David Puentez Remix)
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By this point, you hopefully realize that I’m a huge fan of artists having signature sounds. I think that it’s increasingly important given that most people consume media on curated Spotify playlists which means they might hear a song all the way through without ever looking at their phone to see who made it. One of those artists who’s been working on his sound over the past year or so is David Puentez who has been pushing this clean, future house percussive sound. With releases on Musical Freedom and now Heldeep, it’s great to see that sound get spread around. I will say it’s not my favorite signature sound due to its sharp nature which makes it difficult to place in mixes. I’m looking forward to seeing it evolve over time and collaborate with other artists to get their spin on it. Oh, and the remix is about what you’d expect a David Puentez remix to sound like given his sound which is to say it’s fine, quirky, and slightly fresh.
72/100
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!
Blasterjaxx – Never Be Lonely (ft. Envy Monroe)
JETFIRE X REGGIO X Wasback – Cathedral
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs. Check out their interviews with Vlush, Retrovision, Maurice West, and Herobust.
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