NCS welcomes Don Diablo nearly a decade later! And he does it so with a “Royalty” masterpiece
NCS welcomes Don Diablo nearly a decade later! And he does it so with a “Royalty” masterpiece
92%Overall Score
• Well, the original was even higher
• Don daringly experimenting
• From Future Bass to Future House, with elegance
Yet another great creative gesture from Don Diablo has arrived: this is a gorgeous remix to discuss, going back to his roots like “Still Cutting Shapes”… with elegance and innovative intentions, and pushing aside any attention-grabbing gimmicks.
Let’s talk about Egzod, Maestro Chibes, and the vocalist first: their team “Royalty” attained a trending status couple of years back, and I can see why so. Accidentally discovering it a month ago, I was ecstatic about Mastro’s violins in the drop: so sweet, so powerful! And that vocal? Fantastic. By far my top NCS pick in recent years in the Future Bass genre.
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And the fact that Don Diablo came back to NCS ten years later for remixing it? Mind blown! Was the result good, as one cynical reviewer would ask?
Given his flair, I wouldn’t expect any less. An easy 90+, containing a perfect balance between the original and the wobbly Future House sound of the Hexagon boss. The drop gets “teased” a bit too soon; the violins are introduced after a few bars, but the bassline evolves in separate segments: a pinnacle achieved through a decade-long of experience in the industry and deserving a giant applause! The remix sparks joy and dares to modify some aspects that worked well (like the solitary vocal sections in the break) into different vibes, all the while holding onto the same 90+ deserving qualities from the original.
What made me speechless was the final twist, where the melody was a shapeshifting mass of sounds, giving an “Interstellar” vibes here and there.
Right now, Don Diablo is one of three bigwigs who still manages to intrigue with his passion for the genre, a rarity these days. His remix of “Royalty”, an already outstanding record, fuses his Future House trademark in an intricate, yet delicate sound that words fail to describe justly. Go savor the original, then enjoy the remix: it’s a comeback worth celebrating!
