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April 27, 2018 - Unknown to the Unknown
British electronic music and DJ duo Waze & Odyssey a.k.a. Serge Santiago & Firas Waez have taken a tiny break from running their own label and other important obligations to drop an EP on DJ Haus’s Unknown To The Unknown recording label. DJ Haus, the “busiest name in the game,” runs a rigidly loose and effortlessly efficient content portal with UTTU. Big records from big names pop up all over all the time, usually with little to no fanfare and always with engaging accompanying artwork. A stark contrast to many other imprints distributing music these days, UTTU seems to churn out the tracks right out of the metaphorical oven and right into the non-metaphorical dance floor rather than let them spend any time in the “promotional and advertising” phase. Dance Trax Vol. 13 is no different.
Waze & Odyssey open up with ‘To the Beat,’ a throwback to the 80’s and 90’s with definite ghetto house elements. It follows a traditional structure: simple drum machined percussion, plucky bass line, female vocals that mention “bodies, movement, and working,” and a cheeky synth line that almost crosses into the satirical. The duo’s second offering is ‘Move It,’ a track which features a voice repeating the title of the track at least 216 times during the five and a half minutes that it exists for. It fits in the same nostalgic realm as ‘To the Beat,’ but both tracks fall short of the lasting power attributed to many great ghetto house records from back in the day. Neither track contains the conviction needed to get booties out on the dance floor and keep them there. ‘Move It’ especially sounds more like a DJ tool that exists to be blended and effected in real time than a standalone track, which is a good segue.
The real meat of this EP comes from the two heavy hitter remixes courtesy of Big Miz and Elliot Adamson. Big Miz a.k.a. Chris McFarlane is a Glaswegian producer and DJ who’s been starting to bubble up the past 12 months with releases on the likes of Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and a spot on BBC Radio 1 Monki’s “Ones to Watch 2018” list. McFarlane’s take on ‘To the Beat’ elevates the base track with a youthful energetic spirit, taking the main synth and vocal parts and shaving them down into percussive elements. It’s not a terribly complex track; most of the interest lies with the rounded, muted bass, but it is well balanced and instantly catchy. It’s a crisp and polished remix that outshines its original.
Londoner Elliot Adamson has been putting in the hours and getting the results. Adamson has released on labels such as Tough Luck, Me Me Me, Edible, and UTTU, as well as a string of self released audio/visual pieces, the smasher Mall Grab edit, and recently returned from an early 2018 Australia tour. He has solidified himself as a Taste and Quality Content Maker. His remix of ‘Move It’ equally outshines its original counterpart, but in a different style than the Big Miz track. Adamson takes the track down the techno trail with a hard hitting kick and droning synth-bass lines that turn the lights off. His production feels very raw on the track; nothing feels overproduced, if anything it feels like he cut the track in one take. This adds a lot of character and texture to the song.
The two OC tracks on the 13th volume of the Dance Trax series are respectable but passable dance trax, but the real stars are the additions from Big Miz and Elliot Adamson, two names that I have a feeling are going to continue to grow and influence in years to come. The energy they bring to the table in this EP and in Adamson’s case, the wider electronic social media world, is near unmatched. Keep it coming. 🍍