Dexter’s Beat Laboratory Vol. 3

by: Robyn Dexter Aug 24, 2017

Dexter’s Beat Laboratory is a weekly collection of songs from DA music editor and staff writer Robyn Dexter. With a taste that can only be described as eclectic — to say nothing of a name that lends itself to punnery — DA is happy to present a selection of tracks personally curated by Dexter for your listening pleasure.

There are certain SoundCloud accounts you can always count on to have incredible releases, even if the featured artists are unfamiliar at the time. Above & Beyond‘s Anjunabeats account is one such platform. The SoundCloud channel consistently highlights beautifully soulful electronic music — among it, Rolo Green’s “Napier.” With a vibe that successfully combines progressive trance with an almost tribal feel, it’s been stuck in my head since the first listen. I can’t get enough.

No matter what kind of music SNBRN‘s producing, it’s always masterfully put together. His latest, a remix of LDRU‘s “To Be Free,” is a minimalist deep house track with beautiful vocals that dance playfully over a grooving beat. There’s a reason the Los Angeles producer has shown up on festival lineups all across the world this summer: he’s talented as hell. I’ve seen firsthand how groovy his sets are and how the crowd blissfully devours every track he plays. This track’s a prime example of how to keep a crowd moving all night long.

This one’s a bit off the beaten path of my usual music preferences. When it started playing in the related tracks section after a track I’d been listening to, I decided to give it a shot after seeing AC Slater‘s name. Caught up in the dark beat and accompanying vocals, I all of a sudden found myself at the end — and sad about it. “Heavweight Sound” is out on Slater’s label, Night Bass, which is dedicated to all things bass: UK garage, bassline, grime, house “and everything good in between.” The track immediately reminded me of studying abroad in London and all the fascinating nightclubs and hotspots I discovered. Music with this vibe pulses from doorways of nightclubs across the city, and it’s a beautiful, wonderful thing.

When San Holo and James Vincent McMorrow released a set of remixes for “The Future” a few weeks ago, listeners were amazed to find a total of 13 tracks in the collection. While most remix compilations only consist of a few tracks, San Holo and James Vincent McMorrow went all out and released more than a dozen exceptional takes on “The Future,” which itself is only a month old. A standout among these 13 tracks is Autolaser‘s. The Norwegian producer has taken an already emotional track and given it even more heart and soul. It’s a perfect tribute to the original track, while still giving it a breath of fresh air.

I first heard Tom Budin‘s music when he released his remix of The Bloody Beetroots and Peter Frampton’s “The Beat.” He had such a unique sound, and I was hooked right away. Fast forward three years to his latest release: a remix of L’Tric’s “The Way You Are.” The Australian producer has — in the words of DJ Hanzel— taken it “one deeper.” From his energetic “The Beat” remix to this more mellow deep house remix, Budin proves he can can on any genre.

Side note: He put out a Latin-infused song just a day after this one that’s equally incredible. Check it out here.