Fresh off a holiday, we’re going to change the usual formula, but only a little bit. No drum and bass this week. But we will feature some old songs that you’ll remember either as samples in newer songs or dance floor classics. We’ll also throw in some techno and some hectic acid/breakbeat/house that will give you a heart attack. Let’s get it underway.
Owen DCS & Matt “Jam” Lamont – Everything
We’ll start it off with something deep but that will still get us moving towards the dance-floor. Owen DCS and Matt “Jam” Lamont bring a song that starts brooding and moody but evolves into something more upbeat.
“Everything” leads in with a down-tempo garage groove and a break-beat bass-line. As the song builds and new elements come in, the sound gets more and more complex. What started as a seemingly simple song becomes a multi-faceted and groovy track.
By mixing and matching sounds from classic house tunes, “Everything” becomes more than just the sum of its varied parts.
Hardrive – Deep Inside
Louie Vega has been an instrumental figure in the New York/New Jersey house scene for almost thirty years. He has released music under a multitude of aliases.
As Hardrive, Vega released his first collaboration with Kenny Dope. He liked the sound so much, he kept the alias and released “Deep Inside” a year later. The tune itself has a mellow dance feel.
The standard house bass-line gives the song some energy, but the tones sitting underneath the vocal suppress a bit of the energy and bring a wistful vibe.
You may recognize the vocal from “Fade” as Kanye West sampled it on The Life Of Pablo. But as you can tell, the original has a bit more of a dance groove than Mr West’s interpretation.
Camisra – Let Me Show You
To bridge us with the more energetic portion of the post, we’re throwing Camisra’s “Let Me Show You” out there. This is another one of those iconic dance tunes that you’ve heard countless times in many sets played by both big name deejays and relatively unknown opening acts.
It’s a summer dance tune that has a pool party vibe. The high trance tones laid on top of a pumping bass-line just scream day party.
moistbreezy – Rush Hour
Now that we’re up to speed, let’s kick it into high gear. In “Rush Hour”, moistbreezy heaves us straight onto a more hectic flow. There’s tons of things going on in this record, so let’s try to pick them apart. That way, we can fully appreciate how good these disparate elements play nicely together.
The aggressive acid house sounds are the first things that dominate your ears. The police sirens hiding not so subtly underneath emphasize the madness that “Rush Hour” is throwing down. Underpinning the song and driving the hype train is a drum and bass paced break-beat bass-line.
The break down that slows things down brings its own combination of mismatched elements. Ragga and rap vocals combine with dub style instrumentals to fling any semblance of balance completely off kilter.
The urgency and madness of this track make for a hyper and hectic listen that jacks up your heart-rate and energizes you to do dumb stuff.
Wax Wings – Gravedance
Finally, we’re swinging onto some techno. Right at the start, it’s easy to tell that “Gravedance” will not be your run of the mill dance music track.
When the drop hits, Wax Wings show exactly the hand that they were holding the entire time. A heavy layer of grime hits you as wave after wave of synthesized beats wash over you. It’s at once overpowering and energetic. This song doesn’t make you want to dance so much as it forcibly moves your feet for you.
Wax Wings is the crazed Willy Wonky on this boat ride and the listener is simply along for the ride.
CHOOON of the Week
Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone
After we picked our way through that heavy dose of hectic music, we figured we’d wind it down with something familiar. “Better Off Alone” is like comfort food for dance music fans.
Everyone knows “Better Off Alone”. It’s a happy tune that encourages you to bop your head right along. It’s timeless with a simple vocal that everyone can sing along to. It has a great mix of house vibes with a euro-trance twist.
Simply put, it’s our happy music.
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