On Repeat: January 2022

Welcome to the first edition of On Repeat for 2022. Here are my top ten tracks I loved the most in the first month of the the year.

Pretty Girl – Sun Phase (Human Movement Remix) – Australian producer Human Movement’s remix of also Australian producer and singer Pretty Girl’s Sun Phase feels like a collaboration of two worlds, by sounding like both a fresh and electric club cut, whilst at the same time a melodic head release and a breath of fresh air. Sun Phase features airy melodies and romantic vocal samples to make a frenetically charged dance track, released in July 2021 on Gallery Recordings.

Baltra – Dreaming Of A Disco – Philadelphia raised, but New York based Baltra has delivered an effortlessly lovely disco track on the EP of the same name, released in August of last year on the ever impressive label, Shall Not Fade. The four track EP is Baltra’s first full length EP since 2019, which opens with disco loops and 80s chords held down by a bassline so infectious that you just can’t not listen to it.

Trudge – No Future – This has been on my heavier dance music release favourites playlist for quite some time now, and after having lost it deep within the collection, I recently reconnected with this track thanks to my Spotify daily mixes. This is a single released in October of 2020, and is an industrial techno track with just a little bit of bounce. This dancefloor shaker of a track deserves to be blasted within warehouse raves across the world, in the darkness only illuminated the strobe lights.

Lauer – Trainmann (Tensnake Franceman Mix) – German DJ and producer Tensnake took to the studio in March of 2012 and remixed fellow German producer Lauer’s track Trainmann. This house track features an impressive electric synth loop, combined with a funky bassline making it an overall bright and beaming track that almost sounds like it could be a disco tune. It would be perfect for those sunny afternoons in a festival field, when the day turns to night.

Echoes Of October, Tham – Jane Fonda – It wouldn’t be On Repeat if I didn’t feature at least one track of hard techno. German and Polish DJs and producers Echoes of October and Tham collaborated to create Jane Fonda, which comes from a VA compilation album released in 2020 called TAR Various Artists, featuring tracks from techno DJs such as Rebekah, DYEN and more. This track in particular has an intense build up and vocal samples from the New York actress and fitness guru herself, just with a lot more distortion in her voice.

999999999 – P05535510N – Italian techno duo 999999999 (pronounced nine by nine, I think), were part of the first VA released on French label Possession in 2020 with their track, suitably called P05535510N. This EP also features Hector Oaks & DJ KAOS11, Nene H and Pawlowski, but this one is my favourite out of the four tracks on there, this one being the third. The Mario & Luigi of techno music go in HARD on P05535510N, but then again, when do they ever fail to satisfy on a release? This was a fantastic track to be selected for the first VA, and set the tone of what else to expect from the label brilliantly, aggressive techno at its finest.

Porij – 150 – On the more softer side of tracks for this month, I have selected Manchester based Porij’s 150, released on 2020 on the quartet’s debut EP, Breakfast. I am a sucker for the slower, soft indie instrumental tracks and this one in particular features stunning use of guitar that is addictively soothing, and a female vocal sample, with the only lyrics throughout the track being, “tell me what you want me for, me for”.

Joy Orbison, Léa Sen – Better – Joy Orbison’s track Better featuring Léa Sen is the second track I have featured in my On Repeat series from his album Still Slipping Vol. 1; but how can I help it when it’s just so damn good? The album is my favourite from 2021 and this track and Bernard? are my two favourites from the glorious body of work. Last time I featured Bernard? and it was a close call between that or this, so it got a feature on my January favourites playlist. Anyway, Better is one of the more lyrical pieces on the album, which boasts gorgeous vocals from Léa, adding the overall silky smooth feeling of the track, it is electro with elegance and class.

Chromatics – Cherry – One track I have been absolutely obsessed with throughout January (and the rest of 2022 so far if I am completely honest) is Cherry by The Chromatics. This is another one of my discoveries from my Spotify daily mixes; after I heard it for the first time and initially thought it was Schoolboy Q’s Man Of The Year, until upon looking at my phone I realised I was wrong, but then also went on to discover that this is in fact the original track he sampled the opening beat from on his hit song from the 2014 classic Oxymoron album. I have a lot of respect for Chromatics after their track Tick of The Clock was featured on the soundtrack for my favourite film, Drive; so it was lovely to delve an inch further into their catalogue. This is an amazing song with hauntingly beautiful shoegaze-like instrumentals throughout, and one for warm night drives, and one that evokes a feeling of fearlessness.

Turnstile – Real Thing – One event I attended in January was Turnstile’s Nottingham date on their UK tour of their 2021 hit album, Glow On. Like I always do, I kept myself excited by listening to their releases in the lead up to the gig. Real thing is the opening song on their 2018 Time & Space album, which sets the tone for the rest of the album with frontman Brendan Yates’ edgy and sharp vocals as well as sludgy guitar riffs. If you’re not yet into hardcore, you will be after listening to Turnstile and Time & Space in full especially.