Bitbird's duo DROELOE depicts dichotomy on "Sunburn"

Boasting industry leaders such as San Holo, the Dutch label bitbird leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to future bass, demonstrating nothing short of professionalism in delivering consistent and high-quality material. Dutch electronic duo DROELOE, composed of Hein Hamers and Vincent Rooijers, shows no exception to the bitbird standard, releasing their latest single "Sunburn" in preparation for their upcoming EP set to drop next week. While it can be difficult to discern the meaning from electronic music, DROELOE has conveniently left us a description to grasp a sense of where they are as artists and individuals:

"Sunburn is about how turbulent love and success can feel, every passionate positive experience or feeling can make way for its negative counterpart at some point. For us, this track embodies the roller coaster between those two." 

Many prefer not to credit electronic music for simple lyrics of lack of, but a more technical analysis of the song's sound design and arrangement can provide abstract insight: slightly bit-crushed supersaws give their drops a metallic texture and crunch to balance the softer textures holding the body of the synths. The underlying effect still drives an overall uplifting tone to symbolize the beauty of the dichotomy in life they discuss above.  

Written by Raghav Thirumulu

Flume's teacher Naderi flips THEY.'s "Silence"

Source: InTheMix/Junkee

For the first time in music history, it is becoming more and more feasible to bridge creativity with a thorough technical background. With the tools a modern DAW and studio plugins can provide, audio engineers find themselves in a sandbox ready to sculpt a masterpiece. Australian producer/engineer Naderi is no exception to this revolution, handling mix-downs and masters for some of Australia's biggest dance artists while popping out his own tracks on occasion. Today,  he flips an intimate R&B song into an epic festival banger, featuring wide supersaws and minor scales in likeness to RL Grime's collaboration with Miguel "Stay For It." What stood out the most in this track was the arrangement, with a melodic build leading into another build with heavily distorted bass shots, providing a refreshing breather from the typical linear progressions seen in dance music. This marks the second time Naderi has played with vocals from THEY. (signed to Zhu's Mind of a Genius Records), hopefully hinting at a potential collaboration in the future.   

Written by Raghav Thirumulu

Heroless channels inner Flume in remix of "Hotter Than Hell"

Fresh off his stunning remix of Tchami's "Adieu," Norwegian based producer Heroless continues to display his prowess on his latest remix of Dua Lipa's "Hotter Than Hell." The original song is primarily influenced by components of tropical house, containing kicks on the four and poppy major chords that complement Dua Lipa's deeper voice. Heroless takes the vocals and throws a future bass spin on the track, including brass shots and bouncy supersaws that remind us of Party Pupils. Combined with cinematic pads and a warm, saturated bassline that seems to melt into the various components, this song has all the ingredients for a festival anthem. Keep a lookout for Heroless, earning rapid support from artists such as Big Wild after only his second release. 

Written by Raghav Thirumulu

Skye Chai sets the mood for summer love

Skye Chai grants us a slow and balmy remix to Rachel Foxx’s sensuous single “Make You Say.” The focus of the remix steers away from Foxx’s velvety vocals to spotlight an electronic instrumental ornamented with plucky and offbeat synthesizers. Imagine the early honeymoon phase of a fresh relationship, where your only concern involves subduing the butterflies in your stomach. Skye Chai encapsulates those breezy, careless, and romantic sentiments of a budding relationship into “Make You Say.” So allow Skye Chai to set the mood, and summon your summer babe.

Written by Kelsey Tang

Dooqu’s “Circles” is the prettiest girl at the dance

Danish producer Dooqu keeps it short and super, super sweet on his latest release “Circles.” Featuring easygoing vocals from Ian Gott, the track has all the vibes of the first warm day after an arduous winter season. The Heroic Recordings signee wrote of his intention to “melt together soft and metallic sounds to create contrast” on this song. This holds true not only for the sharp synth breakdown versus the floating xylophones in the background. It’s also the oft repeated future bass and pop combination that produce satisfying results. Effortlessly catchy and serene, “Circles” will no doubt be featured on some couple’s cuddle playlist.

Written by Eugene Cheng

duskus takes you on journey with “gods”

Since his initial breakthrough in 2015, Duskus has imparted his unique brand of future bass on every relevant corner of the uprising EDM scene. The list of affiliations is honestly quite remarkable: Elysian Records, bitbird, Daruma, and Kaleido Collective (which he cofounded with Subtact). His latest Kaleido release, “Gods,” doesn’t depart from his winning formula. The springy supersaw synths and busy percussion provide a satisfying disengagement from the grandiose buildup. If the drop is Nathan Drake free running inside the ruins of an ancient temple, then the flute and risers depict the treasure hunter’s initial sense of wonder. But what’s noteworthy about “Gods” its confidence. The London-based producer has his specific take on future bass down to the core. If pre-Skin era Flume and San Holo had a slightly feral lovechild, the kid would be named Duskus. In a genre still in its infancy, sonically assured tracks like “Gods” are truly refreshing.

Written by Eugene Cheng

duskus - make you see

Kaleido Collective, founded by none other than London based producer Duskus, has just released their third compilation titled Chapter 3. While each track of the volume contains interesting elements bending the definition of "future" music, the song that stood out to me most was "Make You See." Having released with the likes of Daruma, Duskus demonstrates the euphonious nature of European future, characterized by ethereal vocal synths and pitch-bent supersaw chords.  His sound can be most related with Amsterdam native San Halo, both using atmospheric pads and synthesized vocals leading to immensely satisfying drops. If you like this song, also check out "Take Me Higher," a collaboration between Duskus and Klahrk featured on Daruma Vol. 007.

Written by Raghav Thirumulu