Electric Feels: Your Weekly Electronic Music Recap

KLP - Amnesia

For the last few years, KLP has been perfecting her craft. Ever since 2014's Decide and Changes, the Sydney-based musician/DJ/radio host has released a few singles a year - with the exception of 2016's Ember EP - each offering a glittery slice of her tropical-infused house sound without over-saturating her output - the effect of releasing a handful of songs a year (just look at Hayden James, for another example). 2018 is set to see her continue in similar fashion, with Amnesia - her second release of the year, following on from a Milwaukee Banks-featuring track earlier this year - continuing to solidify her summer-soaked, dancefloor-ready house flavour that combines this energetic production with her own bright vocals, vocals that shine with this accessible, pop-centric feel. It's warm, refreshing and easily-digestible, continuing to solidify KLP has one of Australia's most consistent names in electronic.

Motez - Late Thoughts EP

After last year's soothing Antony & Cleopatra collaboration The Future, many thought Adelaide house don Motez was distancing himself from his former house sound in favour for one more reminiscent of fellow Australian electronic exports like Flight Facilities and RÜFÜS DU SOL. However, with a new, two-track EP out last week, these thoughts are pretty much gone. Composed of the slow-burning, vocal-led Visceral and the long-winding epic Roll Out, the Late Thoughts EP bids a return to that bouncy, often relentless-feeling house groove that Motez has perfected over the last few years, doing so in two slightly different, yet equally great ways. Visceral is tinged with the 00s-house nostalgia of acts like Fatboy Slim, combining clever and catchy vocal sampling with an upbeat, club-focused production that sports that trademark Motez flair. Roll Out, however, is much more classic Motez. Showcasing that deep-pitched house groove that has featured on much of Motez's work, Roll Out is a pulsing, snare-driven house epic more suited for the 3.00 AM sweaty clubs as it twists and turns over its five-minute duration. They're both great, and will no doubt go down a treat as he eyes an AU/NZ tour this September - more deets coming soon.

Vera Blue - Lady Powers (SLUMBERJACK Remix)

The partnership between Perth production titans SLUMBERJACK and Australian pop queen Vera Blue has already been bountiful. They collaborated on SLUMBERJACK's high-octane Fracture in 2017 - a track they've performed live together a few times now, and it seems that in 2018 SLUMBERJACK are returning the favour, remixing Vera Blue's album highlight Lady Powers into a dominative dark force. SLUMBERJACK's remix is a multi-faceted, genre-swerving epic. It opens in a menacing tone, layering Vera Blue's addictive vocal with a stripped-back, almost house-leaning production that soon transforms into a darker beast, with SLUMBERJACK really fleshing out this uncharacteristically house-like beat for the remix's metallic-tinged breakdown. The remix's second half is far more traditional SLUMBERJACK though, with a bassy, trap-orientated breakdown kicking in underneath Vera Blue's vocals which still manage to pack a punch in the frenzy of SLUMBERJACK's production underneath.

EVAN GIIA - I Don't Like Ur Friends

Four months ago we were invited into the world of New York's EVAN GIIA, who at the time, was making her debut on ODESZA's Foreign Family Collective with the energetic and catchy WESTWORLD - a single that still packs quite a punch all this time later. I Don't Like Ur Friends is the second single from the Foreign Fam partnership and it's a solid return, showcasing a more traditional pop side of EVAN GIIA that is as equally catchy as her debut. I Don't Like Ur Friends distances her from the large-scale house bite of WESTWORLD in a brilliant fashion, with EVAN GIIA electing for a more subdued production that showcases her shining vocals instead of one that seems a little dominative, like her past single. It's a great single though, and it showcases an essential versatility to EVAN GIIA which will prove crucial in her eventual rise - you've got to be versatile and skilful if you want to join the high ranks of pop these days, it's a highly competitive field.

Sinjin Hawke & Zora Jones - God

There's a lot of producers pushing left-field sounds out into the electronic market. SOPHIE's OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S INSIDES is a recent example, and a comparable 2017 instance would have to be Sinjin Hawke's skilful debut LP First Opus. Since the album's release, the Kanye West collaborator and experimental favourite has been anything but quiet, and his newest track God - a collaboration with frequent collaborator and partner in club crime Zora Jones - is just another instance. It's a genre-bending mix of his trademark percussion clangs and punchy synth, which warp and twist amongst this pitched, instantly recognizable vocal line which Sinjin Hawke uses to make any of his expansive collaborations unique - even if they're layered amongst the sounds of Cashmere Cat, Kanye West, Sia, Vic Mensa, Mike Dean and others on tracks like The Life of Pablo highlight Wolves. His 2017 label compilation Visceral Minds 2 is full of similar sounds if you're a fan, with fellow experimentalists in Jlin, Murlo, Canblaster, DJ Sliink, and Zora Jones - of course - all making an appearance.

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