Some weeks, I’ll be using the intro to briefly comment on some tracks without giving a full recap review, similarly to what I did last week with the Knife Party EP. This week, I wanted to touch back in on the state of Mike Williams, who I’ve been going hard on for the past few releases. It truly feels like he’s lost his touch in terms of substance and melody. “Kylie” is a shallow track with an extremely simple melody with no effects or dynamic elements to hold your attention. Mike Williams and Dastic couldn’t even be bothered to come up with their own vocals or melodies, instead ripping everything from the original track from Akcent. It’s essentially a 2019 remake. There’s a VIP floating around which brings back his synth from classics like “Sweet & Sour,” so it remains to be seen whether that version will see the light of day. A coalition of upcoming future house producers took it upon themselves to release their own bootleg of the track on the same day the original was released. Jonth, Debris, Clarx, and Chuckie took the original material and elevated it to new heights with improved vocal processing and so much more action in the drop as well as meaningfully extending its length with an incredible second breakdown.
The second track I wanted to briefly touch on was the new original from Brooks. When he released his remix of American Boy, I predicted that it would be the beginning of more progressive-influenced tracks for him. Turns out I was right and whether this captivates audiences as much as his future bounce did remains to be seen. I also felt that his melodies haven’t been as strong since “Like I Do,” which I felt was the perfect track to introduce him to a mainstream audience. But the subsequent tracks haven’t been as catchy in my opinion. However it seems that he’s carved out a dedicated and passionate audience that will follow him wherever he points his finger.
Onto the recap – 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
Papa Zeus – About You
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I’ve about had it up to here with these improperly managed new projects. With hardly a trace of social media evidence, this “Papa Zeus” pops up on Spinnin’ Records with a somewhat decent house track. To try and find more information, I dug through the Spotify. Looking through the credits, it’s attributed to Lloyd Perrin, who’s only other work I could find was on Street Dance 2 soundtrack. If it’s the same person, I guess he just wanted a fresh start in EDM and used his industry connections to get there?
Now, I talk a lot about how sample pack vocals are bad for the industry, and now “About You” marks the first time I’ve seen a label use the same vocal twice in different tracks by different artists. The one used in this track is “Finally” by CeCe Peniston, the same used by Mr. Belt & Wezol of the same name which came out four years ago. I don’t know how the A&Rs at a massive, Warner-owned label could have missed such a huge similarity in their own discography. I imagine if any other upcoming producer had sent this in to the Spinnin’ demo mail, it would have been rejected if listened to at all. Spinnin’ Records has become a haven for nepotism and other privileged (read: wealthy or connected) people in the music industry- people like Sophie Francis, Danny Avila, and GLDN that we know of plus probably others that we don’t yet. That isn’t to say it’s overrun by those types of people, quite the opposite for the most part, but it shows that they’re susceptible to the less savory business dealings that plague the industry at high levels. As for the song itself, “About You” is a fine house track with solid production value and a good arrangement, but the context surrounding it is quite unsettling and perpetuates a worrying trend.
70/100
JUDICI & X-UBERANT – BROKEN
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I didn’t really have much to say about this one aside from the fact that woodwind instruments have proven themselves to be the prevalent trend across big room, bass house, and future house at the moment. Judici brings his signature bass style from his Hysteria release. The reason the rating is low is because of the utterly boring breakdown. Strange Fruits and Steve Void are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with when it comes to new labels, but one could question whether their relentless release schedule will persevere in this industry. We’ve already seen Quartzo begin to drop off in terms of streams with their exhaustive release schedule, so we’ll see if future house is strong enough to prevail.
62/100
Jewelz & Sparks – El Toro
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One thing that has been on my mind for the past few weeks is the idea of nostalgia. And what better way to confront those thoughts that reviewing this new free release from Jewelz & Sparks. It calls back to their old signature style like “Crank,” “Motor,” and “Grand Opera.” At the time, this sound was so fresh and especially pleasant when accompanied by a liquid melody like in “Need You” and “I Can Fly.” To answer the question whether or not “El Toro” captures the magic of their older tracks, it definitely does. But does it build upon that legacy and add something new to it? No, which leaves it at a satisfactory rating and a compliment for providing solid fan service.
75/100
Joel Fletcher & Tom Clayton – BANG
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I’ve mentioned before, but Melbourne Bounce is what made me a fan of festival-oriented house music. I absolutely loved Joel Fletcher’s track with TJR titled “Rollin’” and have been watching the subsequent follow-ups with child-like glee. I was disappointed in the instrumental “Kooka” and adored his original rap collaboration with Sprado. Here we “BANG,” we have a sort of middle ground between “Rollin’” and “Party” featuring original raps but an instrumental second drop. The raps aren’t as strong as “Party,” but it’s an admirable attempt, nonetheless. I wish that Joel had added more energy to the second drop to make it more worthwhile for those who listen or stream the track in full.
79/100
Bali Bandits – Work That Body
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In their last few releases over the past year, Bali Bandits have lost their spark in favor of making more stream-friendly songs. With “Work That Body,” it finally seems like they’ve struck the right balance. In the breakdown, you’ll find their funky style reminiscent of their first track in this style, “KABOOM.” It has a similar melody and references the organ synth from the original. The drop forgoes their future house style in favor of a new-age bass house romp. Clean percussion, synths, and overall production makes this perfect for house sets as well as casual listening. The second breakdown and drop are refreshingly different from the first half. I think having a more hummable melody in the drop would have done wonders in making this a timeless track, but for now, it’s just a pleasant evolution of the old Bali Bandits sound.
84/100
Crossnaders & 22Bullets – Tarantino
When I first heard this track, I was gripped by its old western charm. Then, the melodies wore thin in the break and the drop sounded very familiar. It’s in the same key and is overall very similar to the drop in the Blinders & TV Noise collaboration, “Fire.” After a string of such strong releases, it’s a shame that Dharma let this remake slide past their A&R. It does show that the label is pretty dedicated to pushing this new style of woodwind-based festival music. Hopefully their next track of this style will be more original.
66/100
Hypnotune & Marc Antonix – Hold Me Now
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About two months ago, Peter Rijpkema (Hypnotune), received the news that his hearing has been irrevocably damaged. Undoubtedly the worst news a producer could get who has devoted so much time and industry to music. During this time, he’s surrounded himself with incredible people who have been helping him continue his work as Hypnotune and Pete Robinson. “Hold Me Now” marks the first release since the diagnosis, and there’s no drop in quality compared to his older stuff. Marc Antonix did incredible work honing in on the ideas of the track and mastering it. The track is markedly short with not too much going on in the breakdowns aside from a longing vocal sample. The drop is a wonderful fusion between progressive leads and a future house bassline. The melody is slightly repetitive but gives off very positive and uplifting vibes. I wish more effort had been put into making the breakdowns more creative, but they’re serviceable as they are. It’ll be interesting to see who else Hypnotune collaborates with to finish his ideas and I hope he continues to credit them as he did here.
80/100
LGHTR, Nazen & RKSN – No Limits
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There aren’t many producers keeping dark progressive alive these days, but one of the brighter stars of the genre would have to be LGHTR. He’s been consistently putting out quality dark progressive tracks for the past few years while bringing new melodies and influences into the fray. This time he has teamed up with Nazen, another quality dark progressive producer, as well as debuted RKSN, for which “No Limits” is his first track. The reason this track caught my eye was the guitar-solo-esque melody in the drops. Its call and response structure mixed with extremely catchy melodies is very memorable. The break melody falls a bit flat, going into slightly repetitive territory. The extended build makes excellent use of hardstyle kicks. It would have been great to see that dynamic percussion used to extend the first half of the track to more than just a buildup. Overall, the way the bass is managed in the track is very pleasant and full which is uncommon for the genre. LGHTR also has two tracks coming out this week. I felt that was worth noting because the first is also on Quartzo, which means they’ve released two consecutive tracks with him. The second is a collaboration with Stephan Tosh on his label, Madox Records.
82/100
Snavs – Love
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We round out the week with a superb track from bass producer, Snavs. The song revolves around a sample pack vocal that has been used in some house tracks here and there. They’re edited in a way so that at least for me, they don’t bring anything else to mind except maybe “Strong” by KSHMR and R3HAB. Moving past that, the track has an undeniably energy that got me moving the second the drops hit. He went through trap, carnival, and moombahton in the three drops. The last one goes extra heavy with a new lead before heading into a trap outro. This track blinded me and stole my heart. The way he ends with a sexy sax and electric piano solo absolutely killed me. Great pacing, fantastic energy, and stellar work throughout.
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!
Blasterjaxx: A matter of Perspective
Trilane – Believe (ft. Philip Strand)
RMCM & David Shane – Never Let You Down
Damsterdam, Bangerific & VENRO – Get High
Alesso – Sad Song Feat. TINI (Alesso Remix)
KAAZE & Anna Yvette – Intuition (Dance Valley 2019 Anthem)
This recap was provided by The QR Network which is a site for interviews with producers and DJs. Check out their interviews with Dirty Ducks, Pessto, Cat Dealers, and Jon Casey.
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