On Repeat: August

I have had a lot of fun and variation with August’s edition, with Newsam Park and Creamfields festivals booked I had all sorts of dance music on repeat to hype me up for both. Metallica’s Black Album celebrated its 30th anniversary and Turnstile released a new album too, so August was one long month of rocking and raving for me. Here are the top ten tracks of the month:

Metallica – Holier Than Thou – Metallica were a band I grew up listening to, and their self titled album, also known as The Black Album due to its artwork featuring the U.S metal band’s iconic logo and snake icon is one of the best rock albums ever produced, no questions asked. Holier Than Thou is my favourite track from this album and it was great to revisit it when I wrote a piece for Sheffield based magazine Oculate to celebrate The Black Album’s 30th anniversary, and this song still stands out to me most even now; with vocals from frontman James Hetfield and solos from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. Read the article I wrote for Oculate here: https://oculate.uk/archive/music/metalica-theblackalbum-30th

Eli Escobar – N.Y. So High – I always forget how much I love this track, and played it recurrently throughout August after it was listed on one of my daily mixes and when listening to it, it reminded me of the love I have for it and how I used to listen to this ALL the time when I was first getting into dance music properly and exploring new artists and deepening my understanding of producers in the game and other, less mainstream music. USA based Eli Escobar is very quiet these days, but that does not lessen how much of a banger this will always be, featuring a sample of Sylvester’s I Need Somebody To Love Tonight.

Rossi. – In Village – In Village is a track produced by London based Rossi on his Checkpoint EP on Locus records (LCS006), which I had recently discovered after a friend showed it to me, I was shocked I had not heard this before. He is an exceptional minimal house producer with the ability to sell out clubs and dancefloors across the UK and beyond with smooth, two stepping groovers exactly like this one. Rossi is becoming one of my favourite producers and DJ’s with his growing catalogue of minimal beats sending him upwards to well deserved recognition and minimal, yet maximum musical royalty.

Adam Beyer – What You Need – Adam Beyer has earnt his household name status within techno and the dance music scene, and What You Need is one of his many tracks that prove why. This 2015 release from his Stone Flower EP (DC141) on Beyer’s own label, Drumcode, is a hypnotic, melodic techno anthem that is a guaranteed crowd pleaser and Awakenings festival favourite with a powerful female vocal sample that takes you into the darker side of his releases. Less commercial, this is arguably the best track he has produced so far.

Gregor Tresher – Trident – A track I discovered at Newsam Park Festival (formerly Cocoon in the Park) this year by a producer I had never heard of before, German producer and DJ Gregor Tresher’s track Trident was played during Sven Vath’s closing set there this year. Trident was released in 2020 on Tresher’s three track single of the same name on Sven Vath’s label Cocoon Recordings, and is a melodic techno track that’s vibes are so feel good it almost feels celebratory. Think euphoria and dancing with your eyes closed.

Claude VonStroke – Flubblebuddy – Sven Vath is notorious for leading his listeners and ravers alike down rabbit holes with his twisted yet weird and wonderful track selection, and this one he also played at Newsam Park most certainly spun a few heads in the crowd. Claude VonStroke AKA Barclay McBride Crenshaw is an American producer based in Los Angeles and he owns Dirtybird Records, who have had releases from Rebuke, Eddy M, Catz ‘n Dogz, Will Clarke and so many more. Flubblebuddy is from VonStroke’s 2020 album Freaks & Beaks, also released on Dirtybird (well known for its bizzare album artworks). This track is most memorable for its creepy sounding yet alluring sample of “What do we say when we see our friends? Hello buddy”.

The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl – I try not to include mega popular songs in my On Repeat series as I love including uncommon tracks I’ve found to share with other people, but I had to include this one. Before Creamfields, I had been waiting to see The Chemical Brothers (AKA Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, not actually brothers) since I was around ten years old. I’ve been listening to them for over a decade and they are one of my favourite DJ acts of all time and I never get bored of hearing this dance classic from the British duo’s 1999 Surrender album. I thought they would close their Creamfields set with Hey Boy, Hey Girl and feared I would miss it as I left half an hour early to catch the rest of Dax J’s set over on the Nina Kraviz and Friends Stage. I ended up seeing the pair alone; at first I was a little anxious. However, to a hell of a lot of surprise, they actually opened with Hey Boy, Hey Girl, and as the track started as they walked on stage, I felt right at home and perfectly comfortable surrounded by fellow ravers and fans who also went to see them perform their iconic tracks. Hey Boy, Hey Girl, is a powerful dance track that defined a generation from 1999 and onwards and is still as amazing after all these years.

Chase and Status – Fool Yourself (Feat. Plan B and Rage) – If there’s one thing I learned at Creamfields, it’s how much I love drum and bass. Their set that weekend was the third time I’ve seen them, and Fool Yourself always goes off live, as soon as you hear the intro in one of their sets you know it’s about to go down. It wasn’t the best time I have seen Chase and Status but it certainly didn’t disappoint, there was unreal energy in the tent that night. This track features lyrics and vocals from British singer and rapper and close friend of the duo, Plan B and MC Rage, the latter of whom spent 14 years touring with the London based DJs, who sadly left in July to pursue a solo career. Fool Yourself is one of the best on the album as I love Plan B as an artist and all three collaborations so far with Chase and Status are brilliant tracks, his voice and lyrics combined with the madness from the production on the track created a drum and bass rave classic. I have always loved Chase and Status and No More Idols (the album this track is from) will always have a space in my heart as one of my favourite dance music albums of all time and an album that introduced me to drum and bass many years ago and one that welcomed me into the heart of dance music forever.

Turnstile – UNDERWATER BOI – Baltimore punk rockers Turnstile released their new album, GLOW ON in August and Underwater Boi is definitely my favourite track on this album; it’s a really catchy song with a great melody and a sick chord progression throughout. The new album overall is a different sounding Turnstile, not as heavy as they would normally go and it’s softer to listen to but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They seem to be delving into different genres progressively, shoegaze in particular. There are also a couple of collaborative tracks on GLOW ON with alternative R&B artist Blood Orange AKA Devonté Hynes who I also really like. I really liked all the singles released before the album so I kind of knew I was going to love it, plus Turnstile are one of my favourite bands. Really looking forward to seeing them live for the first time at Outbreak Festival in Manchester next year!

Men I Trust – Lauren (Oden & Fatzo Edit) – If there’s been one track of the summer we’ve all loved, it’s this. French DJ trio Oden & Fatzo (whom I featured in On Repeat before for their track Ob1 Kenobi) took to the studio to remix Canadian indie band Men I Trust’s Lauren and created THE track of Summer 2021. It’s simple on production, yet blissful and beautiful and really compliments lead singer Emma Proulx’s vocals. The replay value on this track is like no other, I have had this track on repeat all Summer and have never once skipped it, it will always remind me of that Summer in 2021 when restrictions lifted, events were put back on, and festivals given the green light. Hats off to Oden & Fatzo here as they have excelled with this edit and they are proving to be currently some of the best artists in the scene. Unfortunately I cannot add this track to the On Repeat Spotify playlist as it isn’t on there yet, but it can be heard via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/novajrec/men-i-trust-lauren-oden-fatzo-remix

Thank you for reading August’s edition of On Repeat, September will be coming soon. Spotify playlist updated here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1wqC3Ag3ixbgPG3TcHa1JY?si=d12987eac3ce4eef

In Review: Bicep – Isles

I’ve been waiting so long to write this review – as long as I have been waiting for this new album (three years). I know I’m late posting this review as it was released almost a month ago on the 22nd January 2021, however I needed to make sure I got this absolutely right so have been taking my time to write snippets whilst listening to the hell out of the Isles. This is probably going to be the most biased review I have ever written, and maybe even ever will write.

The second album from the dynamic dance duo Bicep, Isles is one of the most, certainly in my opinion, highly anticipated albums of the last three years. Following the major success of the release of their first, self titled eponymous album in 2017, the Belfast-born, London-based pair are finally back to the dance scene with another masterpiece.

The opening track, Atlas, was the first of four singles to be released. I first heard this at their Warehouse Project night in 2019 with Jeff Mills, Hammer, DJ Seinfeld and loads more; where they played a DJ set rather than a live one as this was the year they were taking a hiatus from the live sets as they were working on the album. I believe this was the first time they played this to an audience at an event, but wasn’t officially released until March 2020. Immediately I was transfixed. It is slow but euphoric and takes you on a journey to a different planet through time and space. They were teasing this track for a while whilst it was still unreleased before announcing the new album. This track also features a sample from Israeli artist Ofra Haza’s “Love Song”.

Track two, Cazenove features soft vocal samples and haunting melodies. This one is perfect for a 4am sunrise setting.

Apricots and Saku are the next two tracks on the album, both of which were the next two of the four singles released. Apricots samples Malawian singers and a Bulgarian choir. Saku touches on UK garage and features vocals from UK based Clara La San, who is featured twice on the album, in Saku and X. I really love the lyrics in Saku, “Shouldn’t be the one who’s alone // I deserve somebody // Can’t say that the feeling was strong // Know you’re thinking of me”. I think this is definitely my favourite of the four singles released and was my favourite single at the time of its release.

The fifth track, Lido, is probably my favourite on the album. Ambient, melodic and tranquil, it features monk-like vocal samples and it is a goose bump stimulating, beautiful track. The deep synths in this track remind me of “My Name On A Car” from Drive’s soundtrack, which is my favourite film of all time, and anyone who knows me knows how much I adore the soundtrack too.

X is the second single on the album featuring Clara La San and previewed the evening prior to release on Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show where she co hosted the show with Bicep. It has an electro feel, with a touch of Detroit techno.

Rever features Julia Kent, a Canadian born cellist. This is also a very emotive track, with a Moderat type beat to it, and sampled a Bulgarian choir again.

Breakbeat number Sundial was the fourth and final single to be released. It is deeper with more of a bass sound, and features middle eastern like sounds, with a sample of Bollywood song, “Jab Andhera Hota Hai”.

Fir starts off quite slow and melodic and gradually gets more intense about two minutes in with its catchy synth lines. This is another one which gave me goose bumps, even more so thinking about seeing this one played live. This is well and truly a kaleidoscopic anthem.

Hawk is the final track on the album and is a really nice closing track, it ties the whole album together really brilliantly. I would say this is on the same level as Orca which is the opening track on the first album in the sense of its power to really bring feeling and atmosphere to the album.

So my overall verdict would be: it isn’t as good as the first album then again I think I was expecting that anyway just due to the first being one of my favourites of all time and considering its sentimental value to me, it will always have a space in my heart for many reasons. I also think they should have released less than four singles to keep us fans wanting more and increase the anticipation even more so. However, Matt and Andy have absolutely smashed it once again, as they always do. They have provided us with another album of pure euphoria.

After a horrendous past year for the dance music scene and industry, this album is a well needed pick me up for us all, and I truly believe it is the start of better times coming our way. There is no one else out there who can produce like these two, and no one even comes close to sounding anything like them, they are masters at what they do. I cannot wait for their live stream on the 26th February, and to see them in the flesh again *hopefully* this year.

Stream the album now: