Party Tracks of the Week!

Chase & Status - Count On Me (ft. Moko)
#Rave #DnB

Making the transition from Drum & Bass front-runners to 90s rave will be a cop out to some and a clever move to others, but there's no denying that C&S bring the breakbeats and piano hooks just as hard as they brought their sharp D&B beats and roaring basslines, and a gutsy top line by crazy-voiced singer Moko seals the deal.
 

Sub Focus - Turn it Around (ft. Kele)
#Dubstep

Sub Focus' upcoming album Torus is a gift that keeps on giving before it's even been dropped. Final single to drop before the album, "Turn It Around" is, much like the rest of Sub Focus' string of singles over the past year and a half, unconcerned with it's shamelessly melodic and commercial nature. The track follows "Tidal Wave" in structure, beginning as a dreamy dubstep number before exploding into full blown D&B euphoria. Kele's angsty voice is a revelation on the track as well, hopefully opening the door to many more D&B guest spots.

Friend Within - The Renegade
#Garage #House

Updating Wildchild's "Renegade Master" for yet another generation, up and coming garage revivalists Friend Within are fast becoming house music elite in 2013, and this bass heavy interpretation of a classic dancefloor hit is sure to cement this status.

Party Tracks of the Week!

Disclosure - F for You (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)
#House #Rave

Injecting Disclosure's pretty middle-of-the-road new single with a bit of T-E-E-D magic, this mix begins like tubular bells on the dancefloor, twinkling synths abound, before delivering a Fake Blood esque dirty bass drop.



Dr Meaker feat. Romaine Smith - Don't Think It's Love (TS7 Remix)
#House #Garage

Bristolian D&B upstarts Dr Meaker hand their latest apocalyptic breakbeat number over to TS7, who impressively transform it into 90s garage, with its sped up vocal hook providing a real old school high.



A-Minor - Thinking Bout The Things
#House #Rave

London newcomer A-Minor sounds like he's fully prepared to join nu rave elite like Duke Dumont and DEvolution with this debut track, which comes across as a darker, more soulful "Need U 100%" thanks to the husky, seductive vocals of London singer Bow Promise.

Top 10 Songs of May 2013.

10. "Lost Hearts" - Last Days of 1984
Funky and addictive indiepop laced with a dark, obtuse atmosphere. Like Friendly Fires held hostage by The Knife.

9. "Intentions" - Gorgon City feat. Clean Bandit
Begins occupying a wistful Ibiza chillout space, as the gorgeous tones of Clean Bandit make their mark effortlessly, before dropping to a typically deep and hypnotic bass breakdown that is fast becoming Gorgon City's calling card.

8. "Modern Hearts" - The Knocks feat. St Lucia
Gloriously uplifting indie dance from these guilty pleasure connoisseurs with the lush St Lucia adding an irresistible 80s new wave vocal.

7. "Every Night I Say A Prayer" - Little Boots
Finally dropping her surprisingly brilliant second record in May, "Every Night I Say A Prayer" is its warm Italo-heart, with a subtly euphoric piano hook guiding proceedings onto timeless ground. Not bad for an act that many proclaimed very much left in BBC Sound of 2009.

6. "Warm Water" - Banks (prod. TEED)
The American Banks has a very British tinge to her warm, subtley aching voice, and Oxford dance prodigy TEED tones down the synthpop to create a shimmering and sparse post-R&B soundscape for Banks to vibe over. It feels like it's not just Banks herself on the verge of something great in the song, but also in her rise to success.

5. "My Name's Jake" - Jake Emlyn
Having dropped a demo version of "My Name's Jake" in 2012, the track was pretty game-changing even then, but  the version that closes his Scandinavian Alien mixtape is a whole new level of epic. A deliciously melodramatic new orchestral and choral first verse drops into a much harder beat than before, and this time when Jake sneers "I'm famous and nobody knows it yet" it doesn't quite fly; people are going to know very soon.

4. "Iran Air" - Hiatus feat. Shura
The organic and beautiful alter ego to Burial, London producer Hiatus, dropped his majestic debut record Parklands in May, and although hard to pick highlights from an album where subtlety and darkness come together perfectly on every track, when the magnificent viola loop drops on "Iran Air", all bets are off. Shura does what she does, but somehow it's her most spine-tingling performance on the record, on par with "Fortune's Fool".

3. "fallingforyou" - The 1975
How the shamefully underrated 1975 manage to occupy two polar musical spaces with ease continues to elude, as the groggy but heartbreaking dark ballad "fallingforyou" closes the same EP that the epic and hedonistic "The City" opens, much as "Me" did for "Chocolate" on their Music For Cars release. This gloriously bi-polar band continue to more than prove their complex and achingly human credibility.

2.  "Doin' It Right" - Daft Punk feat. Panda Bear
"Doin' It Right" is Random Access Memories' "Face to Face"; the dark horse of the album, one that begs multiple plays outside of the context of the record. Uncharacteristically sparse, the song is held together almost entirely by an irresistible vocodor hook and Panda Bear's performance. It's the most effective guest spot on the album, purely because the Animal Collective vocalist's delirious and euphoric vocal adds a human edge to an otherwise quirky and robotic record.

1. "Endorphins" - Sub Focus feat. Alex Clare
Sub Focus has come under minor scrutiny for his new commercial direction, particularly on the euro-dance rave vibe of new single "Endorphins", but there's no denying that the man knows how to simultaneously create a rave frenzy and tug on a heartstring at the same time. "Endorphins" is just as emotionally charged as last years phenomenal "Tidal Wave", with Alex Clare providing a singalong wet dream of a lead vocal. If there are more tracks in the vein of "Out The Blue", "Tidal Wave" and "Endorphins" on the way, Sub Focus' second record should indeed be named after the latter song. Wikipedia describes actual Endorphins as hormones released during feelings such as excitement, love and orgasm - so far in the last 12 months, Sub Focus has very nearly caused me all three.

Party Tracks of the Week! (FREE DOWNLOADS)

Jay Fay - Dibby Dibby (FREE DOWNLOAD)
#Moombahton #EDM #FreeDownload

A crazy Dillon Francis-esque earthquake of a tune, with the funkiest electronic squelch of a bassline at the drop.




Grandtheft - Hear This (feat. Deejay Theory)
#Rave #Jungle #MajorLazer

From jungle to dancehall to a misleading 90s house breakdown before all hell breaks loose in a way that would make Major Lazer proud.



A.W.E - YYY
#Dubstep #Trap #Synth

Following in the footsteps of Melodic Dubstep and Trap pioneers Rustie and TNGHT comes the most colourful and ambitious Trap-influenced act yet. "YYY" bursts with eurodance synth chords, burbling breakdown arpeggios and vangelis synth leads over a Rustie-esque rough-around-the-edges Trappy beat.

Party Tracks of the Week!

Avec - Disappearer (feat. Jake Shears)
#House #Disco

Two deep house DJs, Doorly & Shadow Child, come together to make something shamelessly camp and insanely addictive. 90s piano house, gibberish vocals and a whole load of glitter.




DJ Fresh vs Diplo - Earthquake (feat. Dominique Young Unique)
#HipHop #Trap

The distinct blitz sirens of "Earthquake" have made the rounds already this year. First heard as the backing track of Angel Haze's middling Azealia Banks diss, then Diplo starts dropping it as an instrumental during sets, and now the track finally officially drops with a more tribal feel, more drums, and the cheeky, energetic DYU providing MC duties without attempting to do battle with the track's unrelenting stomp.




T.E.E.D. - Your Love (Fake Blood Remix)
#House #Rave #Electro

One of the dance anthems of 2012 with a typically weird refix from electrohead Fake Blood. Vocal samples dance drunkenly around, kick drums stumble over each other and a series of filthy basslines battle it out. The track retains it's euphoria, but in an altogether darker, more apocalyptic context.

Party Tracks of the Week!

Porter Robinson & Mat Zo - Easy

#EuphoricDance #ProgressiveHouse

After Porter Robinson's almighty "Language" tore it up in 2012, I predict his glorious collaboration with Mat Zo "Easy", will do the same for 2013. Like Daft Punk's "One More Time" but with an even bigger euphoric-drop payoff. 

Chloe Howl - Rumour (Unicorn Kid Remix)

#House #Rave #Chiptune

There's no mistaking a Unicorn Kid Remix, all 90s rave beats, Inner City pianos and occasional chiptune flourishes, and his bonkers but addictive remix of Chloe Howl's "Rumour" delivers on all accounts, like a Inner City's "Good Life" played through a Game Boy soundcard.

Shift K3y - WIggle With It

#Dubstep #Trap #2Step

Shift K3y's modern take on 2 Step takes from Dubstep and Trap, making it probably the coolest music on the planet. Thunderous brass hits and shimmering whining synth take centre stage before dropping to a gritty garage bass and then to a Skrillex-esque wall of synth, before the whole thing starts again. 

Azealia Banks - Yung Rapunxel.

"Yung Rapunxel" feels like Azealia Banks' true second single, her first real showstopper since she first dropped "212" about a year and a half ago. It is miles less commercial than that track, but it is also miles more ambitious, and although it's taken 18 months, it makes sense to have taken that long, given the massive controversy that she has largely put herself through. Because "Yung Rapunxel" wouldn't exist without it.

It's worth remembering that "212" stopped the underground in its tracks because it was a crossover record that didn't sound like a crossover; it was already a great dance track thanks to Lazy Jay who produced it, but Azealia Banks turned it from that, into what simply was an Azealia Banks track. Sure the notorious and frequent use of the c-word probably helped hype it up, but what was really exciting was her sheer disregard for genre. She knew what beats she liked, and she knew how to spit over them. A rapper - yes; a hip hop artist - not really.

But whilst it was hard to categorize "212", it seemed totally unnecessary. It was a total mindblowing rave track, who wanted to ask questions? Through 2012, we saw Azealia Banks lean more towards certain genres, on her House-heavy "1991" EP and then regress a bit more into Hip Hop on her impressive "Fantasea" mixtape. 

But there was no denying she had placed the bar impossibly high for herself after the sheer effortlessness of her performance on "212". How many of us were quick to wonder who actually produced "212"? Not many. Yet how many of us were instantly aware of her collaborations with Diplo and Munchi? Her good taste in beats were beginning to overshadow her talent, simply because we were all expected a crazy flow on par with her breakthrough hit.

Well now we've got it. She hyped it up, boy did she hype it up, but now we see why. First off, she's chosen low profile producer Lil Internet to provide the beat, which is a vicious variant on his own "Rhinoceropolis Anthem". Hints of old school Prodigy and 90s hardcore rave (no housey pianos here), led by a Tyrannosaurs Rex stomp of a heavily distorted kick drum, as distant screams, thunderclaps and Araabmusik-esque euro-trance leads scuttle round. It's a mindfuck of a listen, and a totally perfect choice for the category-evading Banks.

But above all this, we finally have that epic follow-up performance from Azealia herself that we've been waiting for for 18 months. When a voice warns "Danger!" at the beginning of the track, it sets the tone quite accurately. On "212" she was playful, self-assured, cocky; on "Yung Rapunxel" the 18 months of hype, drama, endless "beef" have clearly turned into a more aggressive player in the game. In a way that was first hinted with her hastily-brought-out but delicious Angel-Haze response "No Problems", "Yung Rapunxel" showcases a genuinely threatening tone to Banks' verses.

Whilst she previously taunted "you do like to slumber don't you... I'ma ruin you c**t", she now seethes "Bitch nigga, you could get bent, remov-ed and spent" and "I'ma rip your n***as head off", not to mention the utterly arresting climax, where Azealia screams "What the fuck? Dare you ta, dare you ta! Brrrrp-brrrp-brrp-brrp!" Sure, she yelled a bit on "212", but here she genuinely sounds unhinged, and dare-I-say dangerous.

And maybe she is. She seems to repel high profile artists and producers left, right and center, seemingly on purpose, and maybe that's the point. The underground is where she feels most at home, and if you have any form of ego or sell-out tendency, beware, because Ms Banks will come for you. So you could say it's a blessing that the mainstream won't touch her right now. Many artists have tried to do it over the years, but maybe Azealia Banks really is the one who's going to represent the underground in a chart-music-blinded world. She certainly seems to have no desire to sell-out any time soon, and with a fanbase growing by the second, who says she needs to?

FOR FANS OF: Who the hell cares?