Fedde Le Grand, 22Bullets – DOWN

• The same, unoriginal “down down down” vocal loop
• Clean, polished bassline
• Forgettable in the long run

At times, it seems healthy to talk about an average song to let some stress out! Valorizing talent with a sequence of 70s, 80s, or even 90+ (credits where credits are due, Dr. Peacock!) can be tiring, so why not try something different than usual. Using that proposition, let me introduce you to “DOWN”.

The recipe here is rather excellent for a rating of fifty: we have 22Bullets, probably the most productive Asian producer out there, with a massive string of releases spanning all over notable imprints (which unfortunately don’t correspond to quality results, even if the median is high), and Fedde Le Grand. Call me a cynic, but the renowned Dutch producer isn’t particularly willing to try things in the later years: his recent style, conscious of the consistency that his alias carries thanks to his hits in the past (“Put Your Hands Up For Detroit”, “Let Me Think About It”) is a typical Future/Deep House one. At least, he doesn’t flood the market with useless weekly releases and rather focuses on his label “Darklight”, providing occasional tracks every one or two months.

“DOWN” is within that mentioned category, and with all sincerity, it won’t be a track that I will remember in 2023. MEDUZA’s Deep House signature got severely overused in the past years, with a couple of attractive details that would make this review worth its time, although not accumulating enough points for my appreciation. The Utrecht-based icon did work on a similar idea with Sam Feldt prior, titled “You Should Know”, but on comparing the two productions: “DOWN” restricts itself to a linear pattern, focused entirely on the (clean) bassline and the usual, overused vocal modulation; the latter showcases funky twists and a remarkable Future House switch, plus encasing a breakdown with ample personality. There’s no game.

Although, 22Bullets puts an interesting presence: I have to praise the minimal bassline, which sounds extremely well-processed. Additionally, the vocal is pleasant to listen to, with a relaxing tone that fits the ambiance.

After jotting down this review, I realized “DOWN” isn’t a run-of-the-mill bad tune: it does offer a couple of fun moments! However, there are so many songs out there that equally deserve a listen and still sport the same approach, so I don’t see why I should repeat this one further. Using the near-identical ‘Down down down’ loop from the infamous “Piece Of Your Heart” may achieve a few more streams, but puts “Down” right into my ‘to be forgotten’ folder.

You can listen to “DOWN” here:

[embedded content]