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Love & Logic 5 Tracks of the Moment

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Love & Logic

New York City house music mainstay Chris Love, who those of a certain age will remember for his Stuck on Earth parties, started the SOUP party in the mid-’90s as a way to bring Gothamites together. After taking a hiatus, he linked up with partner AB Logic in 2011 and revived SOUP, which is short for Support Our Underground Properly. They haven’t looked back since.

Currently holding court at meatpacking club Cielo, and frequently appearing at Output across the bridge in Williamsburg, SOUP, which is rounded out by residents Joe Pompeo, Chris Patrick, and Lady Cherelle, regularly features world-class guest DJs.

On the production front Love & Logic have been making great sides, producing tracks for top imprints such as King Street, Greenskeepers, Sampled, Smoke City Music, Snatch, and Guesthouse. (They’ve also collaborated with Junior Sanchez and Derrick Carter.) Their same-named label just released Japanese duo Namy & Akio’s “You Make Me,” and you can bet your last dollar that more funky, uplifting jams are on the way.

Ahead of Love & Logic’s set at SOUP and Bushwick A/V’s sold-out boat party with featuring Stacey Pullen and Doc Martin on June 24, the duo share five tracks they’re currently rocking. Continue Reading →

Riddim Commission 5 Tracks of the Moment

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Riddim Commission

With a palpable buzz emanating across the Atlantic courtesy of their jam “Cut Some Shapes,” genre defying UK DJ/production duo Riddim Commission — Marco Del Horno (Bullet Train Records boss/BBC Radio 1Xtra/Rinse FM host) and Swerve (Kiss FM) — just dropped their debut album, Riddim.Bass.Life.

The full-length arrives after an array of musical exploits, including dropping their notable “Intimidating Love” collaboration with Roger Sanchez and Richard Judge in 2016.

Boasting a kinetic sound informed by house, grime, garage and hip-hop, Riddim.Bass.Life features a list of phenomenal collaborators including D Double E, Eve, Stush, Doctor, MC Neat, Scrufizzer, Neutrino and Rye Rye.

With the album now out for the masses to enjoy, we connected with Marco and Swerve and asked them to share five tracks that are currently dominating their DJ sets. Continue Reading →

rrotik 5 Tracks of the Moment

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

rrotik

rrotik cut his teeth producing electro and dubstep tracks, but that’s all in the past.

Opting to take a different musical path, the Brazilian DJ/producer is now focused on techno and house, and the shift in direction is paying off in dividends. His productions have won favor of top jocks like Claude VonStroke, Low Steppa, and Oliver Heldens, and he’s bringing new flavors with each release.

After dropping his re-rub of Feder’s “Back For More” feat. Daecolm and unleashing “Boom, Boom, Boom” with Felix, rrotik’s fiery collaboration with UK producer LiTek came to light in the form of “Faasti,” a deep, dark dance floor cut released on Tough Love‘s unstoppable Get Twisted Records. Released on June 2, the track has already won a place in DJ sets from globetrotting jocks including Dantiez Saunderson, Tom Novy, and Golf Clap.

As rrotik prepares for a busy summer, we asked him to share five new tracks he currently can’t live without. Continue Reading →

Yotto 5 Tracks of the Moment

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment
Yotto

DJ/producer Otto Yliperttula makes beautiful music for the dance floor under his Yotto alias. Over the several years he’s collaborated with Karolus Viitala as Something Good and released deeply emotive house tracks for Nocturnal Groove, System Recordings, Green, and SoSure Music.

His output for Anjunadeep — gems like “Cooper’s Cup” and “Fire Walk” — have taken his profile to the next level, helping his cuts find their place into sets by the likes of Laurent Garnier and Paco Osuna to Claptone and Guy Gerber.

So it’s no wonder that his acclaimed track “The Owls” received the rare distinction of being both Annie Mac’s Hottest Record in the World and Pete Tong’s Essential New Tune in the same week.

Ahead of his upcoming DJ set in the Anjunadeep area at Secret Solstice on June 16, we connected with the Finnish phenom and asked him to share five fresh cuts he currently can’t live without. Continue Reading →

Springtime in Belgrade: A Musical Journey Through Serbia’s Exuberant Capital

Lawrence Lui Leave a Comment

It’s Springtime in Belgrade and the weather is threatening rain. The Serbian capital’s fabled nightlife scene feels a bit sleepy as the seasons turn from the indoor clubs of winter to the summer ‘splav’ boat parties on the Danube. Easter weekend finds many locals leaving the city to visit relatives in the countryside. Bright sunsets from the heights of Kalemegdan Fortress give way to grey skies, sudden freezing sleet storms and desolate streets. Too much time is spent peering at dodgy GPS looking for dodgy speakeasies in the dead of night.

Still, fun can be found for those who seek it — in the edges and corners of this gritty city with the fractured history and vibrant late-night culture. The legendary boat club 2044 is celebrating its eighth anniversary with an ambitious program of events, from international DJ Ivan Smagghe to an inspired set of slow-burning live-tronica from Serbian mainstays Tapan. The weather squeezes everyone into the red-lit main room, where a dense fog of cigarette smoke and Chuck Taylors adds to the atmosphere. A few days later, the Resonate Conference brings together the worlds of avant-tech and avant-music with artists ranging from metal minimalist Stephen O’Malley to the hip-hop performance art of Mykki Blanco.

Belgrade _ 2044 packed house 8th anniversary _ Lawrence Lui _

2044 packed house 8th anniversary. Image by Lawrence Lui.

Dance music — especially the techno and psychedelic trance varieties — has always held a special place in Belgrade’s cultural DNA. In the ‘90s, Serbian youths danced at underground parties as NATO bombs fell in an iconic moment of defiance and abandon. The rise of worldwide dance music culture roughly coincided with the lifting of sanctions, and was among the first sounds to pierce Serbia’s years of isolation. The Prodigy were granted the keys the city just for playing there. While the indigenous pop of Turbo Folk represented a nationalistic turn inward, techno was the sound of liberation and of Serbia opening up to the world. Continue Reading →

Christian Vlad 5 Tracks of the Moment

Darren Ressler Leave a Comment

Christian_Vlad

Mustachioed Milan mixmaster Christian Vlad recently teamed up with Chicago-based vocalist Andrea Love to forge the rousing piano-house cut “Elevation.” Released on Get Twisted — the unstoppable house imprint helmed by London-based DJ/producer duo Alex and Stef of Tough Love — their collaboration is one of the feel-good dance floor jams of the year.

Vlad has been deep in the mix since the mid-’90s, DJing, touring in Switzerland and Spain and holding down residencies in Italy. Back in 2010 he made his debut with a co-production with Simon De Jano called “Zebra” in 2010. He’s been slowly and carefully crafting his style, opting to take a less is more approach. But with this heater is getting lots of love from the likes of UMEK, MAKJ, EDX, Jus Jack, Simon De Jano & Madwill, and Federico Scavo, we’re hoping for a follow-up release sooner than later.

Below Vlad takes a few moments out of his day to wax poetic about fresh tracks currently dominating his DJ sets. Continue Reading →