Any given week there’s at least one or two decent free tunes knocking about if you know where to look. It’s a pretty simple process really but I find myself explaining it to nearly everyone. Ironically, most of these people aren’t even bothered about free tunes cos they’ve got mortgages, babies, stressful jobs – things that get in the way of mixing.
But I am bothered! Very much so, because, despite being 32 I have none of these things, which is great, and therefore I painstakingly hunt down the very best free electronic shizzle on the web. Usually I have to slip in a couple of tracks that aren’t exactly as groudbreaking as ‘Meet Her At The Love Parade’. They’re not quite offensive but nor are they going to tear a dancefloor apart anytime soon. I mean they’re free – what should we expect.
This week was different though. Pretty much every one of these free tracks is better than the large majority of ‘filler’ records you have to trawl through on digital download sites just to find something that could induce the vaguest head nod. This week, every single one has got something special about it. And some of them are just downright naughty. Have fun.
Aether – ‘Cognition’
With 113,000 plays in just 6 days, there’s every chance you’re onto this already, but if not you damn well should be. It’s laid-back(ish) and uplifting liquid dubstep with a dark edge and claps that sound like they were engineered by Dr Dre. And man, that bassline….
Lloyd – ‘Get It Shawty’ (Gryffin Remix)
This is another brilliantly engineered record that begs the question – how well do you know your way around a studio to be able to knock out a track like this quick enough that giving it away is feasible? You might initially think you recognise the vocal, but then it takes a turn into a verse that you probably weren’t expecting.
Gorillaz – Feel Good (Dj Mandraks & R3ckzet Bootleg RMX)
Well, we couldn’t leave this out really could we? It is erring on the side of ridiculous and it seems to switch from outrageous Melbourne Bounce to rolling techno reminiscent of some highly regarded Mediterranean producers, but what the hell I was nodding my head throughout most of it so it’s in.
Taiki Nulight x Inkline – ‘Changing Your Mind’
Classic contemporary “deep house” – not as it were but as it is now. It’s even got a faint touch of two-step that’s pulled off brilliantly with the vintage claps skipping over a 187 Lockdown-style bassline, which I imagine would run pretty deep through a double-21. If you’re the warm up DJ, don’t even bother putting this on your USB.
Youan – ‘Elation’
The omnipresent two-step garage and deep house combo strikes again, but this time there’s a much more prominent vibe that shuns the East London sound as a mere appetiser There are so many soundscapes in this track I couldn’t possibly list them all here but expect almost trance-like build-ups, basslines that wobble more than a blancmange, old school vocal breaks and a lot more. How it all fits together I’ve no idea, but it does. Make no mistake, Youan is a talented guy.
Wouter De Moor – ‘Paradise Cocktails’
Wouter De Moor is making his Fabric debut this weekend and I can’t help thinking he’s written this track with the legendary club’s sound system in mind because it’s so dynamic that there aren’t too many big systems responsive enough to do it justice. Fabric’s rig will, of course. Wouter is warming up for Craig Richards and Magda and, while there’s no arguing it’s not a warm-up track, it’s a bit of a cheeky one. Magda may not be amused.
EBK – ‘Stay True’
In his own words, EBK (pictured) says that ‘Stay True’ “takes inspiration from the current wave of deep house and [his] experiences as a raver in London when garage blew up in the late 90s.” Personally I’m hearing a touch of modern deep house but I don’t get the 90s connection at all. Maybe he had access to some pretty forward-thinking stuff back then that I didn’t. My thoughts on this track though are that it’s bang in 2014 and I reckon Jaymo & Andy George would tell EBK the same thing.
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