Teeel, Siriusmo, Trujillo, Cassian, Phonat
Uh oh, you had better watch out, because I’m about to throw FIVE dank tunes your way, instead of the usual four. The flavor of the day is Nu Disco/Indie Dance, a genre I think some of us are surprised to see still afloat. With its initial rocket to prominence a few years back thanks to labels like Ed Banger, some might have expected it to follow Ed Banger’s path from hyper-popularity to questionable relevance in the years that came after. Instead, Nu Disco/Indie Dance, a genre name as cliche and inappropriate as IDM (intelligent dance music) or Trip Hop, found its way into the hearts and minds of people outside of the big club cities on the coasts and in Europe, and continues to garner the positive reactions on the dancefloor that DJ’s everywhere seek constantly. Here are some tracks you should be aware of.
Teeel – Ojai Valley (Jensen Sportag Remix) – (free download)
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Teeel‘s debut release, Amulet, came out not long ago on Moodgadget. The longtime pal of Ghostly’s new synthwave sensation, Com Truise, Teeel got people excited with his contribution to the ISO50-exclusive Dry Waves compilation, and then followed up in proper form with an extremely provocative and well-written debut. Accordingly, the listeners have taken notice. So you should also be aware of the remix swap Jim Smith did with the Cascine label’s new signing Jensen Sportag, who recently released their debut as well. This remix of Teeel’s track Ojai Valley hit me by surprise when it debuted exclusively on XLR8R (aka it’s free!), but I definitely wasn’t surprised by all the re-blogging press that accompanied it. This remix is light-hearted, fun, and incredibly catchy, I love the melodic details baked throughout.
Siriusmo – Blau Sonne – The Plasterer of Love
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is a top-notch producer whose music doesn’t fall as neatly into the Nu Disco bin as it does the Electro one. I absolutely love watching the reaction on the floor when I throw down one of his tracks, it almost always gets more people out there and moving. It’s kind of surprising, because tracks like this don’t really scream “DANCE TO ME” as loudly as I’d expect…but then I catch myself nodding, tapping, and bouncing along, anticipating that sick drop that keeps teasing us until 2:50. You could use this track outside of the dancefloor just as easily, for your “entering the city” theme music, for instance, like my brother and I did this past weekend. Either way, listening to Siriusmo makes life better for you and those around you, so do it today. I mean it.
Trujillo – Looking Up Through You – Fruit Punch EP
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I’m not sure who Trujillo is, but the Venezuelan producer shows that not even Hugo f$%&ing Chavez can keep the funk from escaping the soul and going out through the speakers. I found this tune on Feel My Bicep, a very popular deep disco blog and budding label, which mentioned that the release this tune appears on, the Fruit Punch EP, includes remixes from Toby Tobias and Eddie C, both of whom I just started getting into this year. I am definitely looking forward to more from Trujillo, let’s just hope Hugo doesn’t catch wind of the fact that there’s a more valuable export leaving his country than oil…and worse, it’s falling into American hands! GASP!
Cassian – I Like What You’re Doing (Nightrider’s Remix) – I Like What You’re Doing EP
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Cassian released an EP of the sort of French-influenced style that got us into Ed Banger, Justice, Daft Punk, Stardust, etc. in the first place. Maybe he’s a couple years late to the party, or maybe he’s giving us a good reason to keep Nu Disco and French House in the rotation. The more you listen, the more you shake your head with a smile at how French this whole Nightriders remix sounds. There’s another pair of remixes that wax early 90’s New Jack and Hip Hop in a way that hint at the early 90’s revival starting to permeate all the genres that have started to grow stale, but this track I’ve chosen is worthy of a listen as well, if only for its ability to remind me of how much fun I had in 2008.
LL Ton J – Roger More (Phonat Remix) – (single)
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A week or two ago, when I was searching for the new hotness, and some disco-tinged tracks to mix into my house sets at Coco66, I discovered this remix of sitting at the top of the Indie Dance / Nu Disco charts on Beatport. OK, aside from the silly way the title makes us think the vocal sample is saying, “Do it, do it Roger [Moore], Do it,” the funk-filled bassline induces compulsive head nodding, and hip shaking. I love how much variety has gone into this track, it never gets repetitive, yet it never seems to lose track of itself either; there’s a great balance between the exciting nuances and the dance-enabling rhythm on display. I kind of want to see a wacky Roger Moore-themed music video to go with it.
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