A meditation on the current political climate in the United States, “Raise” sits somewhere between 90s techno, NY house, and the hybridized warehouse bangers of the future. Urgent vocals call out to “raise your voice and speak” while hard-hitting drums, booming bass, and an elastic acid line coincide to illustrate the paramount importance of addressing societal complexities and working to enact tangible change. Plus it bangs.
“Anxiety” takes on an ever- present aspect of modern life. With distressed-yet-proud vocals, crunchy drums, icy synth stabs, and swinging hats, this track fuses Chicago and NY house influences into a claustrophobic yet contagious anthem. Simply put, “Anxiety” captures a paradoxical feeling that is all too familiar in 2019.
London based DJ, producer, and Holding Hands label boss Desert Sound Colony turns to Moxie’s On Loop imprint for the sprightly Can Can Wingspan EP. Featuring three dynamic and experimental club tracks, the EP channels the same raw energy and excitement that typifies On Loop’s infamous touring club nights.
Opening cut ‘Can Can Wingspan’ is a fiery garage-indebted, dancefloor focused track, loaded with explosive breakbeats, bubbling synths, and a throbbing low end. ‘Mox Diamond’ is an up-tempo house gem featuring clattering percussion, seductive whispers, and infectious keys. Closing track ‘Zoom To Your Doom’ is a tripped-out experimental jam with hallucinatory vocal samples, jacking snares, and kaleidoscopic synth splutters.
London’s Will Hofbauer has been steadily making a name for himself in the UK capital over the past few years via his own Third Place Records and Co-Select, an event series he runs alongside his collective with a focus on gender equality in DJ Culture, curating back to back sets with a balanced representation. Here we see Will mark a new milestone in his career with his production debut via New York’s HOMAGE Records, while hotly tipped producer and DJ Desert Sound Colony steps in on remix duties, known for his material on labels such as Scissor & Thread, Me Me Me, Futureboogie and of course his own Holding Hands.
The original mix of ‘Caned’ leads the release, laid out over six minutes with crunchy off- kilter drums, gritty disorted bass tones and wandering arpeggios all dynamically unfolding and evolving throughout. The Desert Sound Colony Remix follows next (seeing early support in from Bradley Zero, Gilles Peterson and Tristan Da Cunha), the fellow London-based artist stamps his own mark on things with a UKG tinged vibe via heavily swung drums, heady synth flutters and a menacing bass line all weaved together amongst the shuffled groove.
‘Whiplash’ follows next, fusing choppy amen breaks and bumpy broken drums alongside bubbling synths and an infectious vocal hook before ‘Rocks Off’ rounds out the release, this time round embracing a raw 4/4 approach rhythmically while a stab- led bass line, vacillating resonant synths and airy string sequences further fuel the murky, hypnotic groove.
a1. Will Hofbauer - Caned
a2. Will Hofbauer - Caned (Desert Sound Colony Remix)
