Happy Holidays everybody! Hope everyone had a great few days, filled with food and family. Be sure to rest up because in only a few days New Years will be here, and you’ll have to party the night away. We here at RaverRafting figured we’d help you out and give you some tunes to vibe to.
Para One & The South African Youth Choir – Elevation
We’re going to start off this week with some fun and bouncy house. Delivered from the always reliable Ed Banger Records, Para One provides the soundtrack to the beginning of your night with this uplifting record. It’s tough to imagine having a bad night when you have The South African Youth Choir “Elevating” your spirit with a boost that blows the roof of the place and brings your mood with it.
Vladimir Cauchemar – Aulos
An aulos was an ancient Greek woodwind instrument much like today’s flute. The main difference being the aulos was held vertically and not horizontally.
While this fact seems random, it makes all the difference in this tune from artist Vladimir Cauchemar. The aulos immediately catches your ear and sparks your curiosity, while the bassline is somewhat familiar and reassuring. It’s the marriage of these two seemingly disparate elements that works like a charm.
This is the first release from Vladimir Cauchemar and there isn’t too much about him online. We’ll be keeping our eye out for any releases from this new talent.
Culture Shock – Bunker
We’re moving now from the curious to the powerful.
Culture Shock is a name we know and love, and “Bunker” is a great display of his energetic productions. The song is centered around a perfectly foreshadowing vocal and an ever-evolving bassline. What sounds like a simple drop is varied with the addition and subtraction of singular elements throughout the song. It highlights Culture Shock’s production capabilities that he can make something that sounds so simple yet so layered. This song truly does get better with each listen.
Gorgon City – Grooves On The Vinyl
Gorgon City released this heavy tune at the beginning of December abd it’s just pure tech-house goodness. Big bassline, dark sounds, you could imagine this song pumping through a dark and sweaty club late at night.
They doesn’t always bring the heat, in fact many of their songs are lighter and more radio friendly. However, you can tell this is a reminder that while they can tug at your heartstrings, they can also move your feet when they desire.
yaeji – raingurl
There’s a whole bunch of great things in this song, so let’s take some time to unpack it. The loungey vibes instantly transport you to an after party. It’s the kind of song that you listen to while you are dead on your feet, but you don’t want to go home yet. When you’re waiting for the sun to come up to signal the end of your night.
But that’s not the star of the show. Yaeji’s vocals are what take this from a good song to a great song. Her sound is raw, seemingly not produced or manipulated. The dreamlike state that’s put forth by the backing music is enhanced by Yaeji switching between Korean and English. It’s peculiar and new, but oddly comforting.
CHOOOOOOON of the Week
Major Lazer feat. Nina Sky, Ricky Blaze – Keep It Goin’ Louder
This might not be a sound that many people associate with Major Lazer. Major Lazer started out as a collaboration between DJ Switch and an up and coming producer named Diplo. They made heavily influenced Caribbean inspired dance music. They even used to play about 4 or 5 minutes of straight Reggae to clear out crowds at festivals. They wanted to make sure that only die-hard fans were there (how times have changed).
Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do is a killer record. This song was probably only the 3rd most popular song on the record behind one song that has been heard the world over and one song that has been used in countless DJ sets (“Pon De Floor” and “Hold The Line” respectively).
While both of those songs have a wider reach because of their uniqueness, “Keep It Goin’ Louder” has the best spirit of the bunch. It’s a song about having fun. It’s as simple as that, just some lighthearted fun with your friends. It’s hard to hate on a song like that.
Thanks for tuning in this week. The Spotify playlist is below, feel free to listen to all the songs featured in the Shuffle Button.
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