I don’t consider myself to be any aficionado when it comes to music; my way to describe a track I dig is along the lines of excited, heavy hand gesturing, that usually matches the beat and my bangles just add to the overall percussion in the process. However, today I am taking a leap of faith and will try to explain the love I have for my newest track finds with words rather than talking in gestures and sound effects.
Hot Fave Track No.1
Unputdownable – Roisin Murphy & Tom Demac Remix
This remix of Unputdownable is a percussively rich, groovy track that builds in layers and is lyrically beautiful. The original track is along the lines of an 80s epic heartbreak ballad full of sorrow and sadness. However, this remix gets you to enjoy a light bob at one of the many trendy sundowners popping up all over the capital (in its more tolerable months).
Demac has not rid Murphy’s track of its melancholy, there’s definitely that minor bass progression that even with its upbeat rhythm manages to hit the spot. He’s embellished the track with what might be a bongo or a djembe, and I really love what he’s done with the chorus. Also, I’m all for that raw African choir chorus, that feels like an empowering cry and when coupled with heavy synth sounds and a consistent beat you can really get down to.
Have a listen, put it on your phone, take it to your sundowner, hassle the DJ to plug in your phone. Listen to it loud. Also, do check out Dear Miami by Roisin Murphy for when you’re cabbing back home from your boozy sundowner. You’ll see why.
Hot Fave Track No.2
The next hot favourite find of mine is Move by Viigo. Turn to this track if you want to feel like the ultra cool, uber hot guy walking around downtown Manhattan in his hoodie, stealing hearts with his badass smile. I digress. But you get my vibe. Heavy, deep, bassy, moody, and melodic with a husky booming chorus embellished with samples; this track will channel your inner wannabe vigilante.
Fantasies aside, Viigo appears to be a fairly young duo in this industry having dropped this mean track only in 2016. My recommendation would be to play this track when you’re warming up a party, amp up that bass, and I guarantee you it’ll get people bobbing and moving to the dance floor in no time.
Hot Fave Track No.3
This one has been on my playlist for a while now, and you know a track’s a keeper if you can listen to it on repeat and not get bored. This lyrical, melodic, synth heavy track is sexy AF, leaving you grooving and swaying almost as if you were drowsed, but in a hot way. Such a thing does exist; I’ve experienced it. The track opens with a haunting echo, “You’re all mine”, supported with heavy bass, and an escalating synth-ish sound that hooks you in within the first 15 seconds.
I discovered this track while I was looking for new video references for a fashion brand I was working with. In the music video, a hypnotist entrances professional dancers and they appear to be dancing while hypnotized – Hey, I believed it to be true. It’s rather surreal and in my opinion beautiful to see these dancers interpret the music in their own unique way, completely unaware of the fact that they’re being watched. The song is catchy, with an easy to remember chorus for all of us waiting for that one track to sing along to on the dancefloor.
Hot Fave Track No.4
Way for me by Baauer feat Tirzah
Give me heavy bass music and you can get me going at any time, any day. However, you throw in “radio edit” like lyrics, with that “womp” sound in the back, along with a track that has a beginning, a middle, and an end and you will surely have my heart. This track is from Baauer’s Album Aa (which everyone should listen to); and if you’re a dancer who daydreams about choreographing a bomb routine that goes from a hot R&B vibe to contemporary and then to hip hop, I’d say, this is your jam.
The juxtaposition of that hard hitting raw percussive sound, coupled with a dreamy melody that floats in the back seamlessly, and then brought all together with a duet of warped vocals is a complex mix but Baauer manages to pull it off quite effortlessly (listen to it at 2:28).
On a side note, I owe it to this album for discovering this amazing female artist, Tirzah, who I’m literally listening to for first time right now, and she has me chair-shimmying. Check out Inside Out by her. Groove guaranteed. #FreshestOfTheFreshFinds
Hot Fave Track No.5
Although this album, Bittersweet, was first released in 2014, my dear friend Spotify kindly dug out, Hooray for me when I went exploring the realms of Minimal Techno. A brand new technofan, what I like about this track is that is invalidates my perception of techno as just this one beat that goes nowhere. It’s layered and quite simply builds in sections.
Perhaps what I like most about this track is how it balances a nice happy cheery vibe with an underlying melancholic melody, what sounds like a viola to me. There is also a consistent beat in the back that reminds me of that distinct beat from that Big B Bollywood rager, “Apni to Jaise Taise” which was definitely something cool. Check it out.
Niharika is known in the capital city for her forward-thinking design aesthetic and passion to discover indie & international music gems. When not kicking some serious ar$e at the Brewhouse, she is found documenting #OurCity through her lens or her paintbrush.
