What’s up everybody and welcome back to the Shuffle Button. This week, as always, we’ll be mixing it up. Our meander through electronic music will take us from disco and drum n bass all the way through to dubstep and psytrance. Now, let’s kick it off.
Låpsley – Operator (DJ Koze’s Disco Edit)
Starting off edition 43, we’ll be highlighting DJ Koze’s disco remix of “Operator.” Featuring the crooning Låpsley pining for her love, this track is a wistful yet catchy tune.
Låpsley’s soulful voice is beautiful and is the perfect complement to DJ Koze’s groovy melodies. Even with its melancholy lyrics, “Operator” has an upbeat rhythm that will have you dancing all day long.
Danny Byrd – Holy Star
Keeping this upbeat and dancy train going. We’ll be focusing on yet another track from Danny Byrd. Released in September, Byrd’s newest album Atomic Funk is filled with wall to wall jams. In fact, this column has included nearly a third of the album in various posts.
The album ranges from the poppy to the deep and, in this case, to the soulful. For “Holy Star,” Byrd sampled classic house tunes and vocals to make a modern track with old school vibes.
However, Byrd can’t go a full track without showing a bit of an edge. As “Holy Star” hits its halfway point the beat changes and the gospel vibes take a back seat to some harder drum and bass.
After dipping his toe in the deep end, Byrd brings the soul back to finish off an incredible groove.
Chase & Status feat. General Levy – Heater
Last edition, we hit the A side of Chase & Status’s new jungle themed EP. This week it’s time to turn it over to the B side. Showing off the slower and more rhythmic side of jungle, “Heater” takes its time and focuses on classic ragga melodies. Where “Retreat2018” took you to the club, “Heater” has a more mellow vibe.
Skream – Blue Eyez
Following this ragga tip, we’re taking it back to 2006 to listen to some original dubstep.
The term dubstep means many different things to many different people. Depending on where you’re from, you might imagine very different sounds. In the UK, dubstep had a dark and brooding mentality instead of the aggressive, and in your face sounds that became popular in the US in later years.
“Blue Eyez” is a great example of a dubstep song that’s very aware of its roots. Hell, for most of the song it sounds like a dub song. It’s only when the bass kicks in at 3:45 that you start to understand what UK dubstep really feels like.
Mark Sherry meets Space Frog & Derb – Follow Me (Psyburst Mix)
As we travel east of the UK and into Europe, we stay with the dark music vibe, but take it in a very different direction.
“Follow Me” has hard-hitting bass and a fast pace that makes you go crazy on the dancefloor. Once the beat hits it’s damn near impossible to stand still.
It’s one of those tracks that needs to be heard in a big space; a song that can easily fill an arena from wall to wall and jack up the crowd in the process.
CHOOON of the Week
Katy B – Katy On A Mission
In 2010 the world was introduced to the “female face of dubstep.” Originally just a B side to “Louder,” “Katy On A Mission” is Katy B’s only single to go gold. The song is incredibly well rounded and still sounds fresh as ever.
The production is so crisp. The rhythm is powerful yet it washes over you. Katy’s vocals are soothing, mischievous, and flirty. Her imagery is so vivid that you can visualize walking through the club with her.
The dark and off-kilter production combines with Katy’s hypnotic lyrics to impart a surreal quality that is incredibly rare in electronic music. “Katy On A Mission ” is truly a song that completely captures a feeling that is immediately recognizable but so fleeting that you can barely put a finger to it.
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