Recommended Dose: Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Hieroglyphic Being releases his new LP, The Disco's Of Imhotep, on August 5. Matthew Avignone/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Hieroglyphic Being releases his new LP, The Disco's Of Imhotep, on August 5.
Matthew Avignone/Courtesy of the artistThis month's Recommended Dose dance mix features the premiere of a new Hieroglyphic Being track, new music from renowned record labels like Lobster Theremin and PAN, and a remix of one of the 1990s' greatest house tracks.
For dance music recommendations throughout the month, follow us on Twitter at @Sami_Yenigun (Sami), @raspberryjones (Piotr) and @spotieotis (Otis).
Hear The Tracks
Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Ozel AB, "Down The Cut"
- Song: Down The Cut
Our dose begins in very deep fashion, courtesy of London producer Luke Palmer, a.k.a. Ozel AB. "Down The Cut" is drenched from head to toe in warm synths that seem to hover in mid-air, twinkling in the twilight of its cover art. Underneath the mesmerizing drone — way, way down — is where the real magic happens. The dubbed-out subs that emerge midway through the track could rattle your ribcage on the right soundsystem. Everything else on "Down The Cut" is in its right place, from the skeletal drum machines to the modulating bass riffs. The level of craftsmanship is exceptional for someone with just two EPs to his credit.
Timecode: 00:00 - 05:38
Valis is out now on Lobster Theramin
Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Hieroglyphic Being, "Sepulchral Offerings"
- Song: Sepulchral Offerings
For more than a decade, Jamal Moss' music has been central to the idea that, even in an era of its previously unprecedented global popularity, techno can retain the Afrocentric, underground, experimental roots that gave it life. A student of Chicago's original house masters but also an intrepid follower of its avant-garde jazz scene, Moss combines aspects of futurism and exploration in pretty much all of his myriad projects. This first single off The Disco's of Imhotep (the third Hieroglyphic Being album of the last ten months) is Moss in head-down, stripped-down mode; a track with little more than an arpeggiated bassline, a raw pounding drum-machine, a keyboard, and endless variations on a theme — intense as hell but also thoughtfully aware.
Timecode: 05:39 - 10:10
The Disco's Of Imhotep is out August 5 on Technicolour.
Fat B & Lad Luca, "2 Make A Record"
- Song: 2 Make A Record
There's not much info out there about this wicked dance-floor bomb. It's a one-sided, vinyl-only track, released on no label, and distributed through the wonderfully odd world of Sex Tags Mania (and which may, or may not, be the work of DJ Fett Burger and Luca Lozano). It's less than common nowadays for a single song to sell for more than $12, but this confident method of releasing a track says something about its intended use: to be played in a club. The drums are thick, settling in the foreground, as dial-up router tones chirp overhead; while a layered vocal repeats the track's title throughout, pitched up and down on top of itself, giving the whole thing a demented energy. The payoff comes about four minutes in, when a rave-y break cuts into the mix. The vinyl distortion adds a crunchy bit of color to the hi-hat and snares, something you can only hear when the needle hits the wax.
Timecode: 10:11 - 14:56
"2 Make A Record" is out now.
Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Blaze, "Lovelee Dae (Bicep Remix)"
- Song: Lovelee Dae (Bicep Remix)
Originally released in 1997 on Derrick Carter and Luke Solomon's aptly-named Classic label, "Lovelee Dae" came out at a time when New York-area house music was beginning to jet-set globally in first-class, and New Jersey's Blaze were frequent flyers. The original still sounds like the form in perfect function, from the smooth jack of the beat, to the flute-like keyboard, to the lightly smeared echoes hidden throughout. Belfast's house bloggers turned DJ dons, Bicep first re-edited "Lovelee Dae" a couple of years ago, adding their own layers bassline and synth, re-fashioning it for the contemporary house dance-floor, and losing none of the power. Now, it's yours.
Timecode: 14:57 - 20:45
FMB006 is out August 26 on Feel My Bicep.
Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Helm, "Olympic Mess (Beatrice Dillon Remix)"
- Song: Olympic Mess (Beatrice Dillon Remix)
Berlin record label PAN is known as one of the most forward-thinking electronic music imprints in the world. Producer Luke Younger, who records as Helm, is one of its more experimental artists. Guest remixer Beatrice Dillon is renowned for her challenging, almost music concrete DJ mixes. So considering all that, how exactly did we end up with this joyful, largely uncomplicated house track? Dillon takes apart the meditative machinery of Helm's "Olympic Mess" (now there's a prescient title) and reassembles it into a dancefloor no-doubter for one of PAN's rare vinyl-only releases. The mixture of deep staccato bass and delicate rhythm tracks are reminiscent of Herbert's early house tracks, and the source material's swaths of synths sound right at home between the beats.
Timecode: 20:46 - 27:20
Olympic Mess Remixes is out now on PAN.
Our Favorite Dance Tracks Of July
Adjowa, "Sylvie Always Goes In"
- Song: Sylvie Always Goes In
From the dance-music wellspring that is Bristol, England comes a blissed-out slice of acid. This B-side of Londoner Adjowa's latest release on Happy Skull is a gurgling, stuttering groove that gracefully walks the line between unpredictable and catchy. Sixteenth-note hi-hats give the beat its locomotive forward motion, while intricately layered melodic parts keep things spontaneous. Streaky notes held for whole measures, squelching acid lines lingering on the beat, and a hyper active bassline — all find plenty of room to work in the mix, a testament to the producer's use of space. Flashes of cavernous reverb dress these melodies, adding even more depth to a song that demands multiple explorations.
Timecode: 27:21 - 34:25
Heartstrung is out now on Happy Skull.