• Heavy presence of Afrojack signature
• Average breakdown segment
• Energetic but overused structure
Events and gatherings around the world are getting delayed or cancelled, one after other. Fortunately, all things digital somehow have fortunately remained unaffected with this, and the thirteenth of Friday brought forward more music to amp-up our spirits. Among the list, we saw an eye-catching collaboration between two veterans: Afrojack and Fedde Le Grand. Add to that, we have reputed vocalist MC Ambush to do the vocal duties, what could possibly go wrong? Titled generically as “1234”, this production hits a few snags but shines.
One can never get enough of the Dutch heavyweight Afrojack and his endeared Festival-ready signature arrangements. Known for his rampant but creative use of heavy synth leads, he has better represented the Dirty Dutch sub-genre over the years. Joining him in his efforts this time is none other than Fedde Le Grand, who has scored several hits over his remarkable journey. He commenced this year with “To The Top”, a funky Bass House production released on his label.
Before we start with the instrumental, we noticed another thing. Wall Recordings, after being independent for nearly a year, seems to have come full circle: back to Spinnin’ Records. This management decision came out of the blue, however, the esteemed label now being directly under the leading global brand of Warner Music Group (WMG), this could mean better exposure for Afrojack’s imprint.
Heading back to our subject, “1234” begins with MC Ambush’s vocal hyping up and rising towards the drop, chanting the epithet of the track. Hitting unhindered with the unmistakable squeaking leads, the drop draws a parallel with “Turn Up The Speakers” or “Hands Up”, sharing the same schematics. As the filler between the eight bars teases a grand melody hook to be played out, we waited for the breakdown to arrive. To our slight disheartening, the following section slackens from exploiting this. Using a not-so fitting de-tuned synth sound instead of the expected textbook supersaws, it chooses to keep up brevity and move to the outro, unfulfilling the actual intensity it promised to deliver.
Nevertheless, “1234” is still a veritable club weapon to be utilised, barring the fact of its somewhat overused blueprint.
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