Hey everybody and welcome to the Shuffle Button. This week will be heavy on horns and nostalgia, which as far as we’re concerned is a great cornerstone to any mix. Yes, we know we did something similar last week, don’t worry these songs are different.
Avicii – Fade Into Darkness
For at least another week, the Avicii remembrance continues. His productions really left such a big imprint that it’s hard to truly capture what we lost. When he was at his best, his productions were emotional songs that made you want to sing at the top of your lungs with all of your friends.
“Fade Into Darkness” was one of the first songs that led him on the path that would bring him to towering heights. It was made in the beginning of his electro-pop journey and still has all the tell-tale signs of the progressive house sounds that made him a household name in the electronic music scene.
His music was often ridiculed by electronic music purists, but it’s hard to argue that this is anything less than a festival anthem.
Danny Byrd feat. MC GQ – Salute
Danny Byrd has been on fire with his releases in the past 6 months or so. His style has always been about bringing the old school back and “Salute” is the latest in this mission. MC GQ jumps on the track to help magnify that old UK rave feeling.
The ragga style combines with some classic vibes when the emcee jumps on the bouncy and fun beat. Byrd’s production is the perfect vehicle for MC GQ to turn back the clock.
Too Many Zooz vs. KDA – Warriors
Sticking with the horns, KDA brings Too Many Zooz’s “Warriors” already bouncy tune to the dance-floor. The exalting power of the melody laid over a break beats backing creates an atmosphere of pure celebration.
It’s a song that captures listeners immediately and wills them to bring the party to a fever pitch. It’s got summer festival tune written all over it.
Hannah Wants – Bamboozle
Taking us from the sunshine to the club, Hannah Wants delivers a massive tune in “Bamboozle”. The Birmingham deejay and producer has produced some dark club, late night power.
This is not your run of the mill tech-house track. It starts innocent enough with a lead-in that has the classic beat and symbols like any other song in the genre.
Then the drop delivers straight fire. The tune is filled with distortion laced acid-house beats overlaid on bass that hits you right in the chest. It’s a dance-floor weapon that racks up casualties as listeners’ minds go blank while they rock to the beat.
Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop (That Thing)
In this one we’re getting a little bit away from the electronic music theme that RaverRafting promotes, but for Ms. Lauryn Hill, it’s forgiven. She’s one of, if not the best female rappers in history. A woman who always has a lot to say and has never held back.
Released in 1998, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was her first solo effort after being with the Fugees for several years. The major single off her album, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” is one of Lauryn’s crowning achievements. It was all over the airwaves and dominated pop music let alone rap music at the time of its release.
The fact that this was one of the most popular rap songs of the 90’s and the subject matter has substance and isn’t just about money, girls, and drugs shows her mastery of songwriting.
She’s truly a generational talent that we’re all lucky enough to have been able to see with our own eyes.
CHOOOOOON of the Week
Tiësto – Maximal Crazy
Tiësto is not a name that needs introduction. His career in dance music has spanned decades and many changes in the dance music scene. His early reputation was earned due to his masterful trance songs. It’s a massive part of the reason that he’s long been seen as a trance legend.
However, like so many trance artists in the late 2000’s and 2010’s he started experimenting with other, more popular genres. His foray into house and electro was disliked by many. If you wanted to hear pure trance Tiësto in 2012, it wasn’t happening.
However, to say that he wasn’t producing monster hits would be a false statement. “Maximal Crazy” is a mixture of trance, house, and electro. The beats have definite house undertones and the drops have a lot of electro elements. The breakdowns are all trance, but they mold back into house pretty quickly.
This is a lot of words to basically say, many people didn’t like this song because of its house roots, but man, many people did because it absolutely bumps. It’s a club banger through and through.
All of those contributions from different genres that we mentioned before bring different elements to the track. The electro hits hard, the beat is massive, and the trance sounds give it an extra facet that many big room house songs don’t have. Tiësto, knows what moves crowds and all of these sounds came together to make something that does exactly that.
For more information on Hannah Wants’s new song “Bamboozle”, you can find a full track review here.
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