Weekly Roundup XXXVI (ft. Afrojack, deadmau5, ELYX, and more interesting aliases)
Midway to June and we have ample releases to talk about on this roundup, with a special focus on uprising talents and their experimental efforts. The thirty-sixth edition of Weekly Roundup has Afrojack, deadmau5, ELYX, and more interesting aliases on today’s list!
deadmau5 – XYZ
85/100
After his much-appreciated team-up “Escape” with the dance music veteran Kaskade on Kx5, deadmau5‘s latest solo effort isn’t any leftfield and hyper-experimental electro house production, but rather a slower and progressive house, old-school signature spanning over a whole ten minutes (you heard that right!). Amalgamating melodic techno and trance-y features all over, the Canadian mastermind enchants not only with the melodic narration. The mixdown and the sound selection are also utterly admirable; for instance, the thickly distorted electro bassline and the arps synths are suitable examples.
Chasner, Afrojack – Starts Right Now
81/100
Long-time collaborators Chasner and Afrojack are known to offer quality festival-ready tracks, and “Starts Right Now” is another such addition.
Involving the nostalgic inducing electro-saw synths in the drop in classic Afrojack style, following a delectable breakdown (although the overused vocal sample is slightly strange to be heard here). There is plenty of old-school 2010s house music/EDM sounds at play here, with a decent bit of creativity propelling this club weapon ahead.
DVBBS, Kideko, Haj – Ride Or Die
Riding the bandwagon/100
So much for Spinnin’ Records hyping the return of the duo…
Many fans were considerably excited about DVBBS coming back to the Dutch label, knowing it was here that they had several breakthrough hits such as the notorious “Tsunami” here. Some even predicted that the said Canadian pair would surprise their audience with a big room tune, and turns out, it was just another marketing ploy anyways.
“Ride Or Die” suffers from the overuse of commercial and trending “MEDUZA’ type deep house (or call it slap house at this point), which has already been mimicked over a thousand times by other artists.
Repiet, Andrew A – Stuck On You
80/100
Commencing the newly launched sub-label of Protocol lab is a deserving set of talents, Repiet (Hardwell, Don Diablo) and Andrew A (Tiesto, David Guetta) with their atmospheric and industrious future house tune “Stuck On You”.
The inaugural production thrives on a soulful vocal hook right from the start, with a velvety atmosphere aided by playful synths and a catchy vocal chop to bring about the transition. Entering the vibrant sequence enacted by the drop, a bright saw stab synth is soon overtaken by a more wobble-y but lively riff. Quite the creative endeavors showed here with the quality standard for the newly launched imprint set to high right away!
Anushka, Wolfgang Flür – 4AM
85/100
Intriguingly, a melodic experimentation has been unveiled from the upcoming duo from Brighton-based duo Anushka, who collaborated with the reputed producer Wolfgang Flür. The latter member in this synergy is a former member of the iconic pioneering band Kraftwerk, who were massive proponents of the then-upcoming electro/techno music at the onset of the 80s.
Maintaining a strictly minimal and crisp ambiance, there are tidbits of narration from the German act, sounding robotic and greatly reminiscent of Kraftwerk’s hits. Muted percussions such as the claps furnish the somber mood, as a soulful female vocal later intercepts with an alluring demeanor, assisting the after-dusk electro vibe permeating through the ethereal vibe build meticulously.
Even if adhering to a “less-is-more” attitude, “4AM” radiates explicitly for its simplistic yet expanding rhythms, with subtle variations executed throughout.
ELYX, Chacel – What You Wanna Get
84/100
Before to even begin, my remarks: what an alluring aura! Crafting another hard-to-forget synergy, adept Italian alias Elyx leans towards his melodic side without letting go of his recognizable, explosive tech-house style!
The introduction occurs in the most sublime of ways, with a superlative vocal performance from songstress Chacel and Elyx weaving a shimmering bed of sounds consisting of pluck synths and soft pads, slowly escalating to a vivacious drop that pumps in stamina with robust kick-drums and a gliding tech-house bassline, all configured to insert aggressiveness without delving away from the sentimental beginnings of the song!
