Aftr:Hrs
Loud Luxury – Sex Like Me (ft. Dyson)
One of my favorite releases this Friday: clean, crisp, bright vocals lead this track into the drop which features a synth which sounds like a distorted and filtered xylophone. The sense of spring is very strong with this one with an excellent supporting bassline. Overall, the production is very clean and the arrangement is short and sweet.
5/5
Confession
Tony Romera – Foie Gras EP
Both of these tracks feature some great bass house vibes which lean more on house than on bass, but the interesting sounds in Candy make this EP stand out. These would both serve as a fine transition track for a bass house mix. This is the good kind of generic, in that it’s a solid production that serves as a decent addition to the genre.
3/5
Dharma
Marnik & Danko – Hymn (Till My Kingdom Comes)
The track starts with powerful vocals and Marnik’s signature epic soundtrack style and is followed by an epic hardstyle. Then there’s a tad of dnb on the build up and then… Generic 4/4 psytrance drop. What a let down. The percussion addition was an alright inclusion but the triplet variation which follows the first sixteen bars is lazily implemented. It’s a shame to ruin a fantastic build with such a generic drop. It was a really great build though.
2.5/5
Dim Mak
Steve Aoki & Loopers – Pika Pika
While melodically simple, this track is undeniably catchy with interesting bass house influence from Loopers to make it somewhat unique. What hinders this track is a lazy, pointless breakdown, which goes on for far too long. I can’t wait to hear some of the mashups and remixes of this tune so that it can get a proper arrangement to compliment the source material.
3.5/5
Ignite Recordings
Schella & Pexem – New Funk Sound
An average G-House meets Bass House track with all of the usual elements: catchy hooks, discordant melodies,” and an average drop. Nothing special here, you might find the melody catchy but that’s because it’s the same three notes over and over. The construction of the drop is a bit above average as they change the synths often enough, but that isn’t enough redemption from the unoriginal melody.
1.5/5
Monstercat
Conro – Me
A great, clean slow house track. Feels very modern and indie. Nothing stands out but it’s a very nice ride and I would love to hear to hear it played at a coffee house or art event in the background.
4/5
Musical Freedom
Tiësto’s “I Like it Loud” EP
“Break The House Down” with MOTi brings back old bigroom with enough reverb to fill a concert hall. A powerful track for sure with a melody you’ll be bobbing your head too, but not something that stands out as unique or reminiscent of anyone’s style. Although it did remind me of Henry Fong & D.O.D. – Bust Dem. 3/5
“Coming Home” with Mesto is my personal favorite on the EP because I love the Brooks/Mesto/Mike Williams/Dirty Palm future house style. I loved Mesto’s remix of Sam Feldt’s “My Condition” and this one s a worthy successor. Many people liked the original version played at ADE and I agree that the small changes, like adding more reverb on the drop and getting rid of the strategic silence, weren’t for the better, but I don’t think it takes away too much from the overall enjoyment of having the full version of this amazing track. 5/5
“Dawnbreaker” with Matisse & Sadko is a typical progressive house track. The choice of synths, strings, and pads makes it feel very dated but the melody is catchy enough. 2/5
” Like It Loud (ft. Marshall Masters & The Ultimate MC)” with John Christian is essentially a future house remix of the original “I Like
It Loud.” Aside from sampling an already powerful track, I felt that the drop was, while technically impressive, was lazy, relying on those 5th and 6th notes on the scale that has been behind so so many big room tracks in the past few years. 2/5
R3HAB MUSIC
R3HAB & Skytech – Hyperspace
A wasted collaboration with the only redeeming qualities being the tempo building breakdown and somewhat interesting second psytrance drop. Compared to their past stellar collaborations on “Tiger,” “Everything,” and my personal favorite, “Marrakech,” this song lacks the soul, power, and melodies which were so strong in the others.
2/5
Revealed Recordings
Dada Life – Do it Till Your Face Hurts
The masterminds behind “Kick Out the Epic” are back with another classic that will surely be played at every club you step in for the next few years. With some anthem-ready vocals and a healthy rock influence, Revealed secured a solid release with this one. Personally, the drop gets a bit repetitive so I’ll be looking out for remixes in the future.
4/5
Skink
Anx – Get Down
Verified club banger. The vocal work on the drop is fantastically integrated into the bass. The breakdown holds your attention and there’s even a second, supersaw synth melody in there to keep you interested. The second drop is changes things up a little bit by taking some of the energy out of the first, but a good mix is all about ebb and flow and this track would be a great addition to any high-energy set.
4/5
Sosumi Records
The Cube Guys – Sax Delivery
Great vibes here with some smooth Saxophone work, as the name implies. While it doesn’t add anything new to the house genre, the different scenes with different textures and melodies do a fine job of keeping the track interesting. This is the 100th and final release of Sosumi Records as its owner, Kryder, shifts his focus to premium label: Kryteria Records.
3/5
Spinnin’ Records
Redlight – Ride that Thing
A truly boggling release which seems to have mashed up all of the most annoying parts of club house music into one track. A female vocal plays on loop endlessly throughout the drop which is very cringy. The only redeeming quality is the basswork which is pretty infectious. Shame to ruin it with a bad loop and arrangement.
1/5
Sam Feldt & MÖWE – Down For Anything (feat. Karra)
This release is a clean future house track with some typical female vocals from the talented Karra. I found it to be extremely catchy with some great whistling going on, really positive vibes and a second drop which would serve as a great transition to the next track.
3/5
Smash The House
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. Vini Vici feat CherrymoonTrax – The House of House
Starts off with some orchestral notes, which are pretty intriguing up until Vini Vici puts in yet another typical psytrance drop. I mean if you like that, then the breakdowns around these are very solid. The second breakdown features a signature tempo build by DM&LM and the second drop introduces a simple melody to the mix. Overall nothing special unless you plan on mashing it up or making a bootleg with a different drop that’s less generic.
2/5
Other Notable Releases
Wolfgang Gartner – Ching Ching
Wolfgang Gartner has done a great job showing his evolution and attention to EDM trends, with great vocals, spring vibes, and the new bass house/future bass house vibes added on top of his classic electro roots. I love this track and what it means for the continued success of this guy.
5/5
KAAZE – Cast Away 2018
Powerful Kaaze progressive electro style track. I wasn’t a fan of the mechanics of the buildup but you just can’t beat those powerful Kaaze synths and melodies.
4/5
Slushii – Find Your Wings EP
Listening to this felt like I went back in time 4 or 5 years. “Bounce” is typical dubstep. “Bow Down” is typical hard trap. “Find Your Wings” is old style happy dubstep. “Fired Up” is typical old electro. “Level Up” is hardstyle meets dubstep. “No More” is riddim. “Where I’m At” is happy riddim meets brostep. They’re all solid tracks, but if I heard them in a mix I don’t think I would be able to identify them as Slushii’s.
3/5
Official Remix Alerts
J Balvin feat. Anitta & Jeon – Machika (Dillon Francis Remix)
Dillion Francis adds a lot of energy to the original doesn’t feature anything unique as it stays in the Moombah territory while just upping the intensity a bit. I would recommend checking out Linko Mondello’s big room remix or David Dancos & Juacko’s Brazilian Bass remix.
3/5
Armin van Buuren – Sex, Love, and Water (DRYM Remix)
There is a new melody in this one and yet another typical psytrance drop! I guess if you wanted this track in that style, here you go.
2/5
Raiden X YURI (Girls’ Generation) – Always Find You Remix EP
Featuring future bass by Blinders, bass house by Sunstars, dark midtempo by Sam Void, and future house by Maximals in the style of Merk & Kremont.
3/5
Pade – The Olive (Remix Pack)
Livin R & Noisy Remix maintains a similar slow tempo, cleans up the production a bit and chops the melody on the drop while adding some subtle Brazilian Bass elements. 3/5
Murat Salman ups the tempo to a house vibe and transposes the melody onto a trumpet synth. The result is a bit higher energy track with an increased emphasis on the vocals and the primary melody. 3/5
Midi Culture maintains the same samples into a typical house format. I thought this version was a very clean, straightforward arrangement which translates the excellent source track into an easily mixable and enjoyable house track. 4/5
Drop G & Labi Ramaj also goes the house route but usings some very clean subs and synths to convey the original melody. A great balance of new and old while maintaining the soul of the original. 4/5
Myris & UKato slows down the original to true midtempo territory and adds a lot of soaring pads on top of it. It’s certainly a unique take and their additional melodies and inclusions really makes this stand out from the rest. The new woodwinds are truly moving and add a lot to the mix. Truly stunning. 4.5/5
Mehmet Gulec takes us back to house and is very similar to Midi Culture’s take on the original. I think that this one is slightly tighter and has stronger percussion while makes it a bit more energetic. It really just comes down to personal preference in the end. 4/5
These are not all of the major releases that came out today, if you would like me to include other labels, please mention them in the comments. If you have other opinions on the ratings, leave a comment as well and I’ll try to respond to all of them!
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