We’re happy to present our Bi-Weekly Recap segment thanks to the brilliant work of Pranav Arora. He’ll be picking his favorite tunes of the week and giving a brief review of each of the tracks.
Jauz – Acid Or Techno
The track is a part of Jauz’s new album, “The Wise And The Wicked” which feature some really unexpected songs from the artist. It’s great to see him branch out and try his hand at producing different genres other than his usual dubstep and bass house fare. Like the name implies, this is very much a techno track with an acid influence as well as a very grotty bassline underneath it all. I really enjoyed the buildup and the drop is very interesting as well. This track really serves as a testament to Jauz’s production abilities and abilities to create great tracks in a multitude of genres. Personally, this is my favorite track out of the whopping twenty-three songs on the album.
4/5
Snavs & Nonsens – Blow Up (THOBY Remix)
Snavs’s original track was one of the rare tracks that lived up to its name. It was frenetic, energetic, and hectic. The incredibly talent THOBY has taken the insane source material and added a Jersey Club spin for the first drop and hard bounce to the second. I really appreciate the diversity and fusion of style. The dynamism sets this apart from the original and other hard dance songs. His work is truly commendable and in the right atmosphere, this would absolutely blow up a crowd and make them all go crazy!
4.5/5
Alesso – Remedy
Alesso, is one of the many artists who has taken to producing mainstream electro-pop tracks much to the dismay of his original fanbase. While promoting this track, Alesso touted this as “future progressive” which had a lot of fans, including myself, hopeful for a return to form from the artist. Hearing the track for the first time, I feel sorely let down. Despite playing lots of progressive house in his recent sets, Alesso still seems dead-set of producing radio and spotify-ready hits. This might be attributed to his management agency which represents many popular ex-viners and YouTubers. Alesso frequently appears in their videos and his music features heavily as the soundtrack to many of them. Back to the song itself, the vocals from Conor Maynard have some beautiful chill vibes to it and for well with the rest of the elements. While it doesn’t live up to the marketing hype from Alesso, I’ll be holding out for a remix EP which gives up a true progressive version of this track.
2.5/5
HamzeH & Myk Bee – Spiral Dive
This debut track by these two upcoming artist on MarLo’s Reaching Altitude label reminds me of the older “A State Of Trance” releases and has a very beautiful lead melody.The breakdown is very long and lacks enough progression to warrant the length, but otherwise the track is full of energy. The trance scene needs more tracks like this and I hope to hear more music from the two producers in the future.
3/5
Dynoro – Hangover
This track got my interest as I wasn’t expecting the vocals on the track to be from Taio Cruz’s “Hangover.” Dynoro has delivered a house track with the similar concept to “In My Mind” where he took popular vocals and turned it into something more DJ friendly. The track has a very nostalgic feel to it, but I did not enjoy how he pitched up the vocals as it makes it sound a bit strange. Aside from that, the deep house bass and upbeat vibe to the whole track really capitalized on the nostalgia factor. I can only hope that Dynoro doesn’t overuse this template and continues evolving his sound in the future.
3.5/5
Rival X Cadmium – Seasons ft Harley Bird (Niviro Remix)
This hardstyle remix predictably adds a lot of energy to the original track. Niviro is known for his amazing Hardstyle and House productions and this track is no exception. I really dig the overall vibe and energy the track offers to the listeners, but I feel the vocals don’t go well with the hardstyle sound. The track is enjoyable but is one of those tracks which I would lose interest in really quickly. The last drop is really amazing and would be fitting as the closing track of a mainstage set ata festival. Personally, I would have preferred a house remix of this track from Niviro, but this hardstyle rendition will have to do for now.
3/5
Victor Siriani – Slow It Down
https://soundcloud.com/mtandsickbedroomrecordsstore/victor-siriani-slow-it-down-original-mix
Victor Siriani is an upcoming producer who has been delivering amazing house tracks and remixes on labels like Siners Records, Otherside Records, Sick Bedroom Records, and many more over the years “Slow it down” has a tech-house influenced intro and as the track progresses, we get to hear the deep house sound slowly take over the mix. I was onboard with everything before the trap influenced breakdown and the breakdown itself really caught my interest.The track sounds really fresh and is one of my favorite house tracks at the moment.The track has sounds influenced from many different genres, which have been blended really well, making this well produced track unique.
4 / 5
Gareth Emery ft Evan Henzi – Call To Arms (Cosmic Gate)
Cosmic Gate is one if the most famous duos in the trance scene and when you see such a big name remix a track, the expectations are very high. “Call To Arms” is a very beautiful track by Gareth Emery which manages to give you goosebumps every time to listen to it, but sadly the remix doesn’t give me the quite same feeling. I really enjoyed the metallic sounds and the melody added to the original, but this remix doesn’t do justice to the emotion produced by the vocals. Playing around with the vocals makes this a really interesting remix, but it doesn’t meet my expectations set by the duo’s recently delivered “Materia” albums and outstanding remix of Gabriel & Dresden’s “Only Road”, which is one of my personal favorites. It is great to hear the signature Cosmic Gate sound in this remix, but the sounds added don’t fit the overall tone of the original.
3/5
Synkronyx – Classes
This only the third release on “Fury Records” and after listening to the previous releases, I was happy to discover the quality of tracks released on this label are amazing. Synkronyx is an upcoming Indian producer and “Classes” is an upbeat house track with a very energetic carnival sound to it. The drop is very groovy, and this track is perfect for major festivals or a gig at the beach. I really enjoyed the summer feel to the track, but I feel some elements could have been added to make it more interesting. It might benefit from being part of a mashup or a vocal remix, but it’s a great third release for the new label and I’m looking forward to hearing more from the artist in the future.
3.5/5
EkkoFox – Hope
This track was released by EkkoFox on “MOS Nepal” as a part of Experimental Week and it proves to be an interesting experiment at that. The track is very relaxed but powerful and sounds like it would serve as a great soundtrack to a movie. The chord progressions are phenomenal and is just pure bliss to my ears. It manages to take the listener on a unique journey. My only complaint is that the track is much to short and if feels like there’s a lot more story to be told here. I hope that there are plans for an extended mix but I won’t be holding my breath.
4.5 / 5
Bogdan Vix & Keyplayer – Stranger Things
This is another release by the duo on Andrew Rayel’s label, inHarmony Music and proves to be very different from the usual releases we hear on the label. The breakdown is stunningly beautiful and reminds me of the older tracks on Above & Beyond’s label, AnjunaBeats. This is another example of the older progressive trance sound making a big comeback on the scene and I’m really looking forward to more songs of this style with a new modern flare. I feel like big room and electro house influenced trance tracks have run their course for the time being and it’s time to go back to the genre’s roots for a while.
4 / 5
SNI – Puma
SNI has been on fire lately delivering some amazing big room bangers and dark progressive house tracks. The founder of FeelQ Recordings has decided to self release this piece which has the quality of a track that could have been released on a premium label. There appears to be some influences of Kura’s sound but SNI has really taken those and made them his own. Having two unique drops is fantastic to see in this heavily formulaic genre. He is one of the few up and coming big room producers that is really working to develop a unique sound and I can’t wait to see what he’s cooking up next.
4 / 5
Written by Pranav Arora
This piece was edited by The QR Network who contributes to EDM Reviewer‘s Weekly Recap.
For interviews with producers and DJs like Husman, Protohype, and Drop Department, go check out The QR Network.
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