Phil's Finds - May 2024

Why is it STILL RAINING

Please tell me you folks are as bored with the weather as I.

May is meant to be a good month for weather in the UK and all I’m hearing at the moment is that “we’re going to have the wettest summer on record” being thrown at me from every angle. Not fun at all.

It’s also been a slower month of music for me, the events are still going strong but I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut when it comes to listening to lots of lovely tunes. I’m blaming the weather lol.

Anyhow, let’s see what tunage I’ve come across in May.

Tracks

Tibasko was one of the first tracks in this month’s playlist with their latest track Snif & Snüf which is a wild track incoporating some wild bass and jungle-esque sounds. I can already see myself losing my nut with this coming on in the early morning in a dark warehouse somewhere.

In a very similar heavy vein, Jordan Nocturne’s Thrill of Desire has this delectable rolling bassline that pumps throughout the entire song. I would do dirty things to see this man play live and this track is everything I love about his productions.

This month I’m trying to organise how I present these tracks by energy, so continuing with heavier energies I’m going to mention probably the most overplayed track I’ve heard recently. Joy Orbison’s flight fm is a technical masterpiece of production with long, drawn out, and heavy basslines. I may have heard it a half dozen times so far, but it hits every time.

I’ve been obsessed with I. Jordan since I came across one of their first EPs on Bandcamp years ago. And this month they’ve only gone and put a donk on a techno track. Wild ride.

Hard house is seeing a real surge in popularity at the moment and DJ Daddy Teance is back with one of my favourites of his so far: My Mama Dropped LSD in the 90’s. Marlon Hoffstadt is flying high right now and it’s well deserved. Highly tempted by the London Boiler Room in August.

For those who know me, I’m an absolute slut for house music and love a bit of tech house from time to time. As much as the genre is a bit oversaturated with similar sounding tunes, you still get some gold nuggets like Donde Estas by DJ S.K.T., Mauro Venti, and Joelli. Absolutely love the deep bass that kicks in at the drop.

Carrying on with tech house, David Penn and OFFAIAH’s Satisfied is a gloriously cheerful disco-y house filled banger. This is one for a good pool party I reckon, I wonder if there are any in London…

Another huge house hitter is Dombresky’s In My Soul which has the classic “boots-and-cats” beat with a layer of pure euphoria over the top. A hands in the air kind of moment.

Laurence Guy’s gig at NT’s Loft last year was easily my best gig in 2023 and he has a new track out: Hey Baby. A perfect summer hit if you ask me. Fun and energetic.

Pat Lok is a name I came across years ago when Mixmag still had print magazines (which I miss dearly). His track thru 2 u is a beautifully light and lively little house number.

Now I’ve talked to a few friends about Orang Utan already because I have no idea who this artist is. Their track Highs and Lows has hit the list this month and it’s a tightly produced and entertaining big hitter of a tune. Yet who is behind the monkey mask? So many good tunes from such a mysterious persona….

Getting deeper again, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs remixed Durante’s tune Ancora and I’m totally enthralled with how rhythmic the drums are. Whilst still keeping the dreamy, airy feel that’s typical of an Anjunadeep track, he adds a little something to give it a heavier beat and I love it.

Last tune for the Spotify roundup, but Romy has a new track out called Always Forever and boy AM. I. OBSESSED. The build up to the chorus is a wonderfully uplifting arpeggiated melody. I’m praying this gets played at Glastonbury this year.

I’ve been trying to listen to more SoundCloud recently (it’s just so easy to just let Spotify be my go to) and I came across Quality G - Keep It Movin’. Another dark and rolling house track with a heavy beat, you already know I love it.

And lastly, tracks-wise, we have Eris Drew’s I Can Move Move and the two remixes by Baby Rollen and Gallegos. A great initial track and two really creative remixes too.

Mixes

As for mixes this month, I’ve only got the one: Soul Mass Transit System’s mix from the Leeds Boiler Room. Heavy, housey, garagey, it’s got it all. The top comment is an apt summary of my experience listening to it.

Albums

Bellaire is an artist I’ve been admiring for a while and his EP Sunset Ballad is a beautiful summer’s day in 5 fantastic tracks. Definitely going to be hammering this once the sun comes up. The highlight track for me on this has to be Take Five, huge summer hit.

Lastly, we have Justice’s latest album that I finally sat down and listened to end to end. As Justice goes, it’s good, but doesn’t hit quite the same as their older stuff. Maybe that’s nostalgia talking who knows. It’s still a really enjoyable listen. My standout track on this is Dear Alan, wait until the arpeggiated synth kicks in half through and tell me you don’t love it.

Playlist

And, as always, my latest playlist: