Electric Feels: Our fave new electronic tunes this week

Between new singles and albums from The XX, Childish Gambino and A Tribe Called Quest, this week has been pretty bloody large for music, despite everyone taking a breather for the past couple of days post-election. In the realm of electronica, Sweat It Out duo Polographia returned from what seemed like the a ten-year break with their Friends EP, which sits nicely between new records from Hudson Mohawke, Simian Mobile Disco, and Shlohmo as this week’s biggest, lengthier electronic releases. Dance Cult also delivered with a fresh new EP, as did St. South, who charms over an achingly beautiful five-track release. Aside from that, it’s been pretty darn quiet for the electronic music world, which some may find as a relief between pre-Christmas break work deadlines and exams. However, there’s still been a few shiny pearls quietly dropped over the week, the best of which we’ve tangled together for a nice little package for your easy listening. Check ‘em out below.

DROELOE - Bon Voyage

Although San Holo may have given the label a real boost with this year’s quick-firing epic Still Looking, bitbird is still quite an obscure collective, squirming with underrated European talent. Included in this field is DROELOE, who you may have met early this year with his drifting release zZz or Wake The Warrior, which only arrived a couple of weeks ago. The Dutch duo’s new single, Bon Voyage, carries this soft, almost ambient-like production that saw them succeed previously, littering a dominant bass line with clicks and claps of percussion and delicate synth work, which becomes quite distorted and experimental in the track’s second breakdown. With the aforementioned kicks of percussion, Bon Voyage has this heavy, thick feel to it that weighs down the contrasting squalls of echoing vocals and, in the first half of the single, the gentle synth melodies that float along with it. Because of this aural juxtaposition, Bon Voyage feels refreshing yet at the same time, rather complicated and confusing, which sort-of works quite well in this case.

Bearson - One Step At A Time feat. Natalola

Since last year’s refreshing Mark Johns collaboration Imposter and the vocal-chopping, talent-squeezing Pink Medicine, Norwegian producer Bearson has done nothing but impress. Following up from this year’s Cal-featuring Want You comes One Step At A Time, a new single which sees the Next Wave Records signee refine his production and song-writing skills for an effortlessly-chilled new track. The guest vocals from Natalola act as the feature piece of this single, gliding over a refined, summery production glistening with synth chords and wails of an interesting, almost oriental-like melody that really pulls through in the two choruses. Whether One Step At A Time is a stand-alone single like his past ones or something a part of something bigger is yet to be known, but with his current roll of singles I can easily see 2017 being a great one for Bearson – let’s just hope he pulls it off (no pressure).

Ribongia - We Run Tings feat. Footsie / Rituals

When discussing the background of Sydney beat-maker Ribongia, it’s easy to take note of 2014’s break-out Save The Children and call it a day. That, in my opinion, would be extremely harsh on the tribal-leaning producer, who has since experimented with sounds and styles to become one of Australia’s most creative and versatile production minds. Since starting this year with the earworming hip-hop number My Word, the October Records signee has truly dazzled, impressing with rounds of originals, production credits and live mixes. This week, the producer returned with a new double a-side release showcasing two singles from his forthcoming, currently untitled album (due sometime next year) – We Run Tings, a nod to the UK’s bustling grime scene featuring English MC Footsie and Rituals, a far more down-tempo experimental cut that marks the second single. The former is pulsing with that standard Ribongia energy, merging a flowing hip-hop vocal line with tribal influences that shine through the track’s frenzied percussion and vocal samples. Rituals, on the other hand, showcases Ribongia’s production flair by incorporating indigenous sounds and vocals with crashing waves and piano chords, that make way around the half-way mark for a more experimental, quirky production.

Lewis Cancut - Body Querty

Cancut has already proved he’s a force to be reckoned with. Body Querty, his latest EP teaser, further solidifies this and our earlier boast of his ability to constantly stay ahead of the curve in a crowded Australian electronic scene (not that I’m complaining), relying on his production skills to charm with a single overflowing with experimental, left-field sounds that are bubbly and fun. It’s more of an accessible release in comparison to last month’s contrasting Ice Cream & Asphalt, which featured Japanese virtual star Hatsune Miku, instead channelling more of sugary, PC Music-sound that captivated me with this year’s Say Ok!. The stabbing synth work instantly takes me to Henrik The Artist and label-mate Swick, combining that punching melody with rapid-firing sampling and claps of percussion that ricochet throughout the track’s duration. For those curious, his upcoming EP is full of these crafty, unique sounds, showcasing his soft-spot for bubbly and joyous productions across its loaded six tracks, which will arrive on November 24 on NLV Records.

Trippy Turtle - Controlla

Following Lewis Cancut’s club-leaning sounds, it’s only fair to follow it up with someone who really made club music popular on a world-wide scale. Trippy Turtle, the long-unheard of jersey club side-project of Norwegian electronic king Lido, returned this week with two new remixes, reworking tracks from Drake and Becky G in his classic jersey fashion. In his edit of Drake’s Controlla, the Fo Fo Fadi collective head (which also included Cashmere Cat and Y2Koala – the former project of Y2K) adds his quick-firing, unbeatable touch to pitched vocals from the original, which sprint through both club and dancehall influences. Whilst it’s easy to fall in love with the track’s jersey-orientated first half, the remix’s dying moments are by far its best, blending the kicks of bass with dancehall sounds that are just begging for its own song (which it sort-of does in the accompanying Sola remix). Here’s hoping the two remixes, which are the first releases from Trippy Turtle in over a year, mean more is on the way soon.

YOGI - Blow You Up feat. AlunaGeorge & Less Is Moore

Hailing from London, 2016 saw YOGI really step it up a notch by delivering two smash singles, the Skrillex-remixed anthem Burial and the Pusha T-featuring SIRI. His newest single continues this streak of well-produced collaborations, this time switching up his sound for a more down-tempo track featuring AlunaGeorge and mysterious producer Less Is Moore, rumoured to be a new Skrillex alias. Blow You Up sports an almost tropical-sounding vibe that stems from the track’s percussion clicks and swirling synth melodies, melodies which featured heavily on the latest, Skrillex co-produced Justin Bieber album (hence the possible Skrillex alias). It’s a light and breezy track, loaded with energy and flavour but in a more low-key style than YOGI’s typical in-your-face productions, which works really well for the producer and hopefully a tone he’ll pursue into 2017.