The best of the electronic world in the past week, including Moonbase, ZHU, UNIIQU3 and more..
It's been pretty quiet singles-wise for Sydney producer Moonbase - FKA Moonbase Commander - with the only major release since his 2016 Orthodox being his large-scale collaboration with Anderson .Paak, It Don't Matter. As it turns out, there was a pretty damn good reason for the quietness as the producer was battling a brain tumour, as he confirmed on a Facebook post the other day. "From the start of 2018, I spent most of my time in hospital rooms," he says in the post. "Shortly after a run of shows over New Years 2017, a CT scan discovered that symptoms were being caused by a deadly tumour in my head that was growing against my brain stem." Rebound is his big returning single post-treatment and it's a nod to his grimey, gritty trap-hop sound prior to I Don't Matter, with Moonbase uniting a hard-hitting beat driven by firing synth with the vocals of recent Swick collaborator and UK grime MC Merky Ace. It's a brilliant track and comes ahead of a Cure Brain Cancer Foundation fundraiser he's throwing with FBi Radio in October - find the v-large line-up and more details HERE.
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UNIIQU3 is no stranger to the hard-hitting side of electronic music, with the Newark producer finding a heap of fame as one of the leaders of the cult-loved jersey club genre alongside names like DJ Sliink and Nadus. Ahead of the release of her debut EP Phase 3 on August 24, she's just dropped its thumping title-track, which in true UNIIQU3 jersey club style, combines a relentless, stabbing bassline underneath quick vocal samples and a hip-hop vocal from UNIIQU3 herself that sets the track apart from the rest of jersey club out there. "Phase 3 is timeless. Don’t wait until 2020 to book women on festivals," she told Billboard on the single. "This EP is called Phase 3 because that's where I'm headed. Black Lives Matter. I want to take things to the next level and create opportunities for others. ICE sucks. Jersey Club is the best. Be kind. Yes, I produce rap and write my own shit. It ain't easy, but I’m a boss."
US-based producer ZHU has been fairly consistent with his release schedule over the past few years, with masked musical magician basically releasing a major project every year since his 2014 debut EP THE NIGHTDAY, which introduced us to ZHU and his break-out singles Faded, Paradise Awaits and Superfriends. In 2018, he teamed up with our own Kevin Parker for a subtle Tame Impala collaboration My Life and continuing the Australian theme, teamed up with JOY. (and a heap more) for his RINGOS DESERT PT.1 EP. His latest single is another high-profile collaboration but this time with Australia-bound Drake collaborators Majid Jordan, who give a soulful, sensual spin on ZHU's typical production charm on Coming Home. Taken from the upcoming second part of the RINGOS DESERT EP series, Coming Home is a bit of a more low-key twist on ZHU's typically quite upbeat and house-centric pulse, but it still goes down a treat - an incredibly smooth one at that.
When we talked to London-based producer Elderbrook ahead of his recent, Splendour In The Grass-including Australian tour, he was already hyping the hell out of his upcoming single Capricorn. "I have a new single being released on the 10th of August called Capricorn that I'm super excited to share with you all," he said. Well, now it's here - and much like his previous single Sleepwalking and his memorable, GRAMMY-nominated feature on Camelphat's Cola - it goes off. Bringing together his own catchy vocal with another percussion-soaked, house-infused production, Capricorn is a catchy single from Elderbrook that again balances on that line between club-ready and radio-friendly. It's bright and summery too, with the single's repeating chorus one that'll be stuck in your head for hours. It seems that with every release, Elderbrook is going from strength to strength, and Capricorn continues this. Here's hoping the rest of his year does too.
After a big few years since his break-out single Indian Summer, things have been pretty quiet for Jai Wolf in 2018 - until now. Lost is his first single of the year (his first in 16 months at that) and it's a little more low-key than his past work, combining his traditionally quite synth-heavy electronic sound with his influences in indie and pop for a rather stripped-back single that showcases his versatility. It's still packed full of that characteristically bright Jai Wolf euphoria but in a more mellow way, with the single far more concentrated on the vocals of Chelsea Jade which, according to Jai Wolf, comes from a pretty deep place. "Chelsea and I wrote this song as sort of an anthem for a generation of kids who feel disillusioned by the world around them," he says on the single. "Feeling lost is something that never necessarily goes away. Even when you might think you've found your way, your perspective might shift and you may feel lost again. This song is about that cycle and our desire to escape it. This song is also special to me because it is the perfect bridge between my old music and where I want to go next."