February also happened to be my birthday month, so my main character syndrome reached its peak for a whole 28 days, and now I am the ripe age of 24. As promised, here are my top ten favourite tracks I loved through February, that helped me complete the final month of another year around the sun:
Angel Du$t – Turn Off The Guitar – After binge listening to Turnstile throughout January, I then made a discovery of Angel Dus$t, who are an American punk supergroup, made up of members of both Turnstile and Trapped Under Ice, who are also one of my favourite bands. Turn Off The Guitar is from their 2021 album, YAK: A Collection Of Truck Songs and is certainly one of the more happy and upbeat sounding songs in punk music, and overall a super catchy song to sing along to with your friends.
Kiddy.Wav, YTP – Grab Dat Ass All Night – Broadening my electro collection in February was French producer Kiddy.Wav’s track Grab Dat Ass All Night featuring up and coming Scottish producer YTP from the 2021 EP, Level Up My Skills on Planeteria Sound System. It is a bouncing and energetic track yet moody and dark in its sound all at the same time, made for the hazy, dark nights after you’ve left the rave.
Boris Brejcha – Puzzle (Feat. Malena Maria) – Melodic is a genre I will always like yet is one I seem to forget about as my taste gets heavier. Boris Brejcha is one of my absolutely favourite producers of the melodic variety and is a DJ I would still love to see live. Puzzle features intense melodies and is a masterpiece from start to finish that will give you Goosebumps. This 2020 single is a beautiful track that rightfully belongs in your music collection.
Have Heart – Bostons – One of the hardcore release I had on repeat more than most in February was Have Heart’s song, Bostons from their 2008 album, Songs To Scream At The Sun. I never used to listen to Have Heart when they were together, but only began listening to them in the past couple of years when I discovered Fiddlehead, who are a band made up of Have Heart’s Patrick Flynn and Shawn Costa, and Basement’s Alex Henery, who formed in 2014, six years after Have Heart disbanded in 2019. Songs To Scream At The Sun is now one of my favourite albums and Bostons is the second song on there, featuring a building bridge which exploded with passionate and emotive vocals from Flynn alongside the poetic lyrics.
Skream – Space Ghetto – The first event I attended in February was our first Tribal Warehouse show of 2022, with Coydon producer and DJ Oliver Jones AKA Skream, whom I had the absolute honour of meeting for the second time. Space Ghetto is from the EP, Steel City Dance Discs Volume 23 (also one of my favorite labels) released in September 2022, featuring a voice note from Scottish DJ and producer Big Miz, and is a breakbeat belter for sure, with achy bass and tight-breaks. This is definitely one of his best releases of the last year!
DJ Heartstring – Will You Remeber Me When I’m Gone? – One artist I am completely and utterly OBSESSED with at the moment is DJ Heartstring. I discovered the Berlin based couple in early February and have not stopped listening to them since. Every single track they have released so far is a banger, and Will You Remember Me When I’m Gone? from their EP, 4 The People is my favourite track on there, mainly for the sample of Madonna’s Vogue as well as their consistent style of trance-techno, which seems to be a hit in the current dance music climate.
The Rival Mob – Mind Over Matter – Another hardcore pick for February was The Rival Mobb’s Mind Over Matter, from their 2010 EP, Hardcore for Hardcore. Featuring sick building riffs and piercing vocals which bring the song to an instrumental climax intended for a violent pit. Sadly, the Massachusetts band split up in 2016, yet it is apparent that their music still influences many bands in the modern hardcore scene today.
Ray Keith – Gun Shot A Buss – Now, a bit different from my usual picks but still staying with my regular favourite genre which is dance music as a whole, is this drum and bass track, Gun Shot A Buss by British artist Ray Keith. This is another one of those darker sounding, more eerie and dramatic bodies of work as a single. Gun Shot A Buss features rolling snares and vocal samples, before a thundering drop.
Sam Fender – Get You Down – Time for an indie pick now, by another artist I have grown to love. Get You Down is the fourth song on Geordie singer songwriter Sam Fender’s latest album, Seventeen Going Under. Overall this is an amazing song and one of my favourites from the album. The lyrics have a nostalgic feel to them as it seems Fender is reviewing his past in Get You Down. Altogether, a will-be timeless track in years to come, featuring Sam’s amazing voice with drums and sax.
Julian Muller – Juicy – To end February’s edition of On Repeat, I have picked my favourite techno track at the moment. Juicy comes from French born, Belgium based Julian Muller’s EP, Flower Coaster, which I was gifted the vinyl version of for my birthday. This is a rave essential of a track, packed full of energy and exciting build ups, ready for hands in the air, hip swinging action.
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