Goldroom – Fifteen (ft. Chela)
Los Angeles’ Josh Legg, formerly one-third of synthpop trio NightWaves, is now rounding his first year as a solo producer under the alias Goldroom. Releasing both original productions as well as remixes of artists such as Penguin Prison and Niki & The Dove over the past year, he’s determined to bring “clean sounds and emotive melodies” within the electronic genre.
More recently, he collaborated with Melbourne artist Chela to form a dreamy track titled “Fifteen”. Josh takes advantage of his past synth experience to weave multiple layers throughout the track, placing them under hefty bass lines and between Chela’s gorgeous vocals to create a slow, nostalgic piece that takes you back to those bittersweet teenage days.
Only Children – Whatcha Wanna
“Whatcha Wanna,” a new freebie from Only Children, kicks off with some Houston-esque Ooh’s – though maybe it’s Ciara, actually. Hm.
The swirling arpeggios/heavy drum loop kicks in soon after, leaving a really solid slow disco heater. As the guitar chops come in with a mooged-out bass-line, the chopped up vox all keep the track moving.
“Whatcha Wanna” is definitely one of those tracks that sits between an empty dance floor and the midnight headliner – right after an Inner Life track and right before Alan Braxe’s “Intro.”
Howard Johnson – So Fine (Curtis Vodka edit)
There’s not really too much out there on Curtis Vodka. He’s in his mid-20s, he’s from Alaska, pretty sure he lives in NYC now. But other than that, he’s just a guy who makes slow house heaters.
He just thew this edit of Howard Johnson’s “So Fine” up onto his SoundCloud. It’s an edit of the song in its entirety, but the most memorable parts by far are the vocal stabs of “Oooh” and “So Fineee” that punctuate the whole track. The vocals, complemented by sharp drums and a quick-moving bassline, result in a sound that’s both sharp and smooth at the same time.
Worth mentioning that while some newer guys are doing tropical-infused disco, and house that sits below 110 bpm, Curtis beat them all to the punch about 2 years ago with his absurdly amazing remix of Donna Lewis “I Love You Always Forever” which clocks in at ten minutes and forty seconds.
Late Nite Tuff Guy
Making re-edits of disco tracks is a pretty simple concept. You take a song that was already great, and you beef it up so it sounds loud sitting next to today’s over-compressed jams. For most producers, that just means adding another drum track, and maybe moving some verses around if they’re feeling…inspired.
But every once in a while you find someone who can (and does) do a bit more with it. Late Nite Tuff Guy seems to be one of those dudes. He’s certainly got a number of tracks that lean closer towards straight re-edits, but for just as many he creates totally bizarre yacht rock/drum machine love children. This guy has a serious fetish for electric cowbell samples, and that’s a good thing.
So it goes with “I’m Hot,” which re-edits and reworks Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” in the most absurd of ways. It’s tinged with nu disco-style filters, and can’t help but feel a little ironic. But at the same time, muy sexy. Almost like having a mustache is required for listening (which is fitting, considering LNTG’s Facebook photo is a 300 pound wrestler with a hell of a handlebar)
For something a little more straight-ahead disco, check “2Nite” – still a healthy amount of cowbell, with a really groovy dance vibe.
Moon Boots – Got Somebody
It should be weird that someone turned Wayne Wonder’s “No Letting Go” into a disco track. But it’s not. It should be weird that disco and tropical have become this really crazy hybrid in the last year or so. But it’s not. And it’s not weird because it just works so well. It’s something that French Express, the disco blog-turned-label knows how to do — first with Perseus and now with Moon Boots.
For a long time, disco DJs looking for new slower/vibey tracks have been left…wanting. There are plenty of classics (George Benson’s “Gimme the Night” for starters), but most producers these days just haven’t been making stuff in the 105-115 bpm range. Until recently.
Enter Moon Boots’s “Got Somebody” — a beauty equally at home with an empty dance floor early in the night, and a packed club that needs a little bump-n-grind at 2 am. The tropical drums, punctuated by the occasional run of chimes, wraps perfectly around Wayne Wonder’s a cappella, and the whole track pulses through in the smoothest of ways.
Nearly 50k plays in just a week can’t be wrong, right?
Next listens:
- The Dublin Aunts coincidentally-timed flip of the very same a cappella
- Perseus, also of the French Express family, flipping PM Dawn on “Russian Girlfriends“
- U-Tern, doing his thing on “You Don’t Know Me“










