We last checked in with Italian house producer Federico Scavo with the release of his fantastic remix of Matty Menck & Social Phunk‘s “Are You Ready For Love” back in early November. This time around we’re looking at a sexually-charged original “Freaks” from Scavo with the help of fellow countryman NDKj. It’s not like we’re searching for excuses to think about the upcoming Miami season, but this just checks all of the boxes for a bonafide warm weather-ready tech house tune. Scavo and NDKj’s tune is out now on Alex Kenji, Manuel De La Mare, and Luigi Rocca’s Hotfingers Music. Skip past the break for a full preview and Beatport purchase link.
Erick Morillo and Harry Romero — two thirds of Sympho Nympho – are welcoming Alex Kenji into the mix for Subliminal’s next energy-packed production. “Flamenco” builds with a cultural combination of mystical latin strings and a soulful Spanish vocal, which drops into firing synths, relentless snare, and an intricate bassline. Between outdoorsy Miami vibes and late night club appeal, the latest offering from Morillo’s squad delivers the dance chaos we’ve come to expect. Kenji’s contribution only diversifies “Flamenco,” making for a unique Subliminal release available on Beatport.
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Party squad Toolroom Knights is coming in hot with an expansive new compilation mixed by Forza — the Italian trio known individually as Alex Kenji, Manuel de la Mare, and Luigi Rocca. The massive compilation racks up the count to 43 tracks across three different albums and gives us an excellent review of a range of tech and acid house cuts from the last year. If that wasn’t enough, Forza also treats us to five new exclusives from each of the three producers, respectively. Other major additions to the compilation include Prok & Fitch‘s “Symphony,” Alex Kenji’s remix of Sander van Doorn‘s “Outro,” Joris Voorn‘s “Goodbye Fly,” Shawnee Taylor and Sympho Nympho‘s “Colors,” and Reboot’s “Enjoy Music” with a DJ Chus 2012 re-edit. Check out the five exclusives courtesy of Toolroom Records below.
A distinctly island sound defines the new Leon Bolier and Alex Kenji track, “Trumpets.” The relaxed vibe is underpinned by a soulful clap beat, a deep guitar bassline and, of course, the lively trumpet overtone. The mid-track breakdown is truly reminiscent of summer beach parties, so much so, that we can almost taste the piña coladas.
This latest release isn’t exactly typical of either producer. Last we heard from Alex Kenji was the ultra-funky collaboration with Richard Dinsdale — “Stars in the Sky.” Meanwhile, Leon Bolier showed us his progressive chops in his “Beach Chords” dual effort with Marcus Schossow. Still, we’re thoroughly enjoying what this track has to offer and look forward to more collaborations that break producers’ molds.
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Best of the Rest is a daily feature from Dancing Astronaut that recaps the most important posts of the day as well as the stuff we didn’t get to. With the rapidity that dance music news and releases come out it’s difficult for us to hit everything — we hope BOTR serves as a catch-all. Make sure to check it out at the end of each day to ensure you don’t miss anything! (more…)
House, tech house, and sometimes even acid house producer and Hotfingers label head Alex Kenji is out with a new video for his “Stars In The Sky” single with Richard Dinsdale, out on November 26th. In a similar vein to mega-hit “Pressure,” the track uses a powerful female vocal (this time from Californian Kandace Ferrel) to complement a frenetic electro build and a super funky break. Watch the music video and feel great about the fall of bullies everywhere.
One of our favorite tracks from Kaskade’s Fire & Ice was “Lick It,” his collaboration with Skrillex. Aside from the sheer shock value of these two incredibly different artists working together, the resulting track turned out to be one hell of a disco-glitchy groove. There was a lot going on in the original, between Kaskade’s bouncy bassline, big build-ups, and Skrillex’s wobbly touches; each of the three remixes released today plays on different elements from “Lick It,” making for a great remix package that has something for every kind of dance fan. Check out the Alex Kenji, Normay Doray, and Datsik remixes past the jump.
Update: The official video for the original mix is also out today. Check it out below!
Although Alesso reigns king over any remix to “Pressure,” Tim Mason’s latest remix deserves substantial credit. Tim does an incredible job at transforming the original tune into a soothing and euphoric progressive piece – of course with the help of Nadia Ali’s awe-inspiring voice. The drop is a lot more subtle than Alesso’s heavy synth-full drop, however there is no denying Mason’s producing expertise and remixing brilliance. If you aren’t a progressive lover and Tim Mason’s remix of “Pressure” doesn’t cut it for you, his previous three remixes of “After,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” and “Solid Ground” show beyond doubt how adept Mason truly is amongst EDM’s best. Click below for a preview of Tim Mason’s much awaited release “Anima,” off of Size records.
You could have made a formidable case for Alex Kenji to have been in the DJ Mag Top 100, his work on “Pressure” often times goes forgotten. That being said, the guy has been on an absolute tear recently with his remix of “Outro” and his own productions of “Nine Apples” and “Make Me Feel.” Kenji has been considerably more disco-oriented with his last few releases, and “Feel It” epitomizes the blend between disco and tech house. The 80′s vibe is back in full swing, artists such as Avicii have been sampling vocals from that decade in particular throughout 2011. Alex has such a wide variety of talents that you should see his name popping up all over the place no matter what the genre is.
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The folks at Dancing Astronaut love the ‘purity’ of house music and all of us can agree there is nothing more pure than tech house. Alex Kenji takes Sander Van Doorn’s “Outro” and creates a head bobbing remix that is best played right before the sun comes out. Imagine yourself at a beach party as the sun is slowly rising with a bunch of people just raging to this, we consider this heaven. Check out Alex Kenji’s productions released last week on Toolroom Records Amsterdamn compilation album – “Nine Apples” and “Make Me Feel” are great!
Sander Van Doorn – Outro (Alex Kenji Remix)
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EDX’s rendition is considerably harder when compared to Alex Kenji’s, the drums are what really make this remix. The slow transitionary period mesh perfectly with the vocals and allows them to take over for segments of the tune. Imagine blending both Alex Kenji’s and EDX’s remix together and creating a fabulous bootleg (expect to hear one from DJ Lips in the very near future).
Sander Van Doorn – Outro (EDX’s Fe5tival Mix)
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NOTE: If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area make sure to check out Sander at Vessel San Francisco tomorrow, it should be a great show!
