Can you feel that Bicep? The rippling, omnipresent, all-powerful Bicep? We sure can. With a tune already in the running for song of the year (“Visions Of Love”), the Belfast duo has arrived at the forefront of the house game and are looking to flex nuts whenever possible. Their latest tune, “Feel It”, is a bit of Todd Edwards-esque phonk that probably incites mass fist pumping (gasp) when played out. So can you feel it? We sure can.
Another day, another brilliant house/garage track from the UK. This time it’s Leeds/Edinburgh based blog/label/collective Transmission Collective churning out the fuego in the form of “Lex”. The track was actually released last month, but fuck punctuality. With organ stabs in line with Disclosure’s “Running” remix and a brilliant ebb and flow aided by pitched up vocals, “Lex” has already gained support from Bondax, Laurent Garnier, Hackman and more. The track was produced by crew members Wolf Cub, Kahwe and Maru and appeared on the label’s first official release. Stream “Lex” below and catch the full EP here.
This is something of a litmus test for Ryan Hemsworth’s esteemed (named one of Fact Mag’s top 15) remix ability. We know he can flip a Three 6 Mafia or Jeremih tune on its head, but what about a mediocre British boy band whose lead singer has a Skrillex haircut? Now that’s a challenge. The 1975 aren’t really offensive in any way, they’re just kind of… meh, but Hemsworth manages to get the most of the Mancunian’s stultified vocals. Clearly aimed at headphone listening, Hemsworth’s take on “Sex” isn’t going to please most of his fans, but the twinkling piano driven beat is unobtrusively emotive, a result many producers struggle to touch upon. So Mr. Hemsworth, you pass the test, but maybe stay away from the boy bands next time. Stream and download below. (Via.)
In which Danny Brown hops (literally and figuratively) on the remix for A$ton Matthews’ menacing “Mini Van Dan” and, predictably, havoc ensues. Alliteration is the name of the game here and Brown weaves his absurdist anal sex and crack rock rhymes through Trade Voorhees’ gunshot and piano centered backing with ruthless efficiency. New York’s A$AP Nast and Flatbush Zombies also appear, but we all know Brown is in the center ring. Stream below.
There’s been a lot of fuss made over Hotflush boss Paul Rose aka Scuba’s transition from dubstep to house since last year and his new stylistic direction has been met with resistance from some. Personality, released in March, saw the outspoken producer unabashedly diving into the house realm , abandoning his darker mid-aughts dubstep roots and even trying on some trance outfits. By and large, the experiment has worked and it doesn’t look like Paul is going to retreat anytime soon. Last month’s “Talk Torque” fell short of Personality‘s best work though and saw Rose closer to the mainstream than ever before. The single isn’t bad by any means, but has a retread feel to it and trends more towards radio pop than i’m really comfortable with. “Hardbody” has made the radio rounds in recent weeks and drops on December 10 via Hotflush. Maybe it’s because Rose is sick of trance (not likely), or maybe he just doesn’t give a fuck what we all think (most likely), but “Hardbody” sees him entertaining a bouncy deep house sound we haven’t heard before. Similar to Julio Bashmore’s “Au Seve”, Scuba utilizes vocals to increase and relieve tension at will over a huge bassline. Stream below and start the countdown to December 10.
At a certain point, the current R&B sampling trend in bass music will become pastiche, but until then, I’ll eat up every second of it. Brooklyn’s own Elias Ravin aka Big Voyage takes sample culture to an extreme, crafting hectic patchworks of R&B, hip hop, jazz and dance tropes that succeed in cohesion more often than not not. Ravin’s latest effort, “Only”, infuses Mariah Carey’s “All My Life” with live sax and clicking percussion and willfully mutates from clattering club music to lethargic boom bap over the course of five and a half minutes. Ravin let the song loose to celebrate his birthday so show him love in the comments.
The concept of rave revivalism has a ton of negative connotations, mostly due to lowest common denominator American festival fuckery. Manchester resident Lone’s past two albums distinctly aim at early 90’s rave music, but don’t expect to find any butt chuggers bumping Galaxy Garden any time soon. Take his latest remix of Egyptian Hip Hop’s phonky “Yoro Diallo” for example. Lone keeps the tempo low, but still manages to induce mass euphoria by utilizing sweeping synth pads and the original’s beatific harmonies. Lone’s skittering percussion annunciates the early rave tropes allowing “Yoro Diallo” to tumble into a nostalgia filled plane. Stream below and look out for an official release via R&S Records.
There really isn’t much I’d rather get down to than bass-heavy, soul sampling brand of house music being pumped out by the likes of Bicep, T. Williams and Julio Bashmore. The sound nods to the 90’s, but is far more dynamic and less reliant on simple drum programming. It’s no coincidence that both Bashmore and Williams have released tunes on PMR Records (see also: Disclosure, Jessie Ware) as the label has championed the looking forward, reaching back sound. “Dreaming” is Williams’ latest cut and will be released on both PMR and Rinse. The track is full of the oxidized bass that sounds at once dark/muddled and airy/enthusiastic. The yearning vocals are pretty standard fare, but contribute to the peak-time nature of the track. “Dreaming” is out via Rinse on November 12 and PMR on the 19th.
Next week, London duo Maribou State will release the Scarlett Groove EP, a collection of vocal-assisted, ambiguously house oriented groovers. We brought you the melancholic “Summerfolds” last month and today you can get a taste (and download) of the EP’s title track. The Saint Saviour-assisted “Scarlett Groove” re-appropriates chopped soul vocals in a way that would sound trite in a hip hop song, but is buttery smooth in Maribou State’s sun-soaked take on dance music. Stream “Scarlett Groove” below (and download it here courtesy of Annie Mac) and look out for the EP on November 12.
Adult Swim might have some competition folks. For the first time in years, another corporate dweller has managed to fanute their way into the hearts and minds of the blog masses (ourselves included) via a number of collaborative projects and exclusive releases. Nick Hook, Daedelus and Danny Brown’s Bruiser Brigade have released tunes through Scion A/V in the past few months and sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due. It’s not like tC’s will start popping up in Curren$y bars or Rozay videos any time soon, but it shouldn’t be a surprise when Scion is the first name that pops into your head when ruminating over tactful marketing schemes.
Which brings us to Toyota’s latest “guerilla” marketing stab, the questionable combination of French Montana and Action Bronson over Harry Fraud production. Questionable because French Montana popularity is largely due to his imprecision and slack lyrical ability while Bronsolino throws enough fine dining references into one verse to make Bobby Flay genuflect at his feet. Regardless of the protean attempt at attaining “hip”, “Mean” manages to work in a way that few (superficial) one off collaborations do. Fraud’s laid-back kicks and organ work allow Montana to essentially layer ad-lib on ad-lib, forming something that kind of resembles a verse. Bronson is more playful in his wordplay than usual, but of course Dr. Lecter was lying when he said he loved you, he’s too busy chewing beef in Greece and puffing autumnal strains. I’m sure you can find “Mean” on the Scion website, but it would be a lot easier to just download below. Namean?
The Astral Plane 