Here are the top tracks the Plauge Boyz have been feelin’ lately. Also: welcome to 2012. It’s the beginning of the end, baby!

drS: Peet – Movement
SoundCloud

We kick things off with some twitchy tech house. This Peet (who?) tune has a nice eighties female singer vibe. I’m thinking something like Kate Bush or Stevie Nicks a few years in the future. The funny thing is, the longer you listen to this tune, the darker and more oppressive it gets. I think its mostly due to that distorted bass sound, which grinds on ya, man, it grinds on ya.

Milo: The Field – It’s Up There
Spotify / YouTube / BeatPort

Okay, time for something a touch lighter and sunnier. The Field has been the go-to minimal techno dude for the Pitchfork set for quite some time. I’ve always found his folk-rock-sounding loops a smidgeon bland, but I will admit that the guy does know what he is doing. Not a lot of artists can make music that’s this repetitive, yet recognizable and interesting. In the correct state of mind (ahem…) a Field song can sound incredibly good. A word of warning, however: in true The Field fashion “It’s Up There” clocks at just over 9 minutes so don’t waste your time waiting for the drop or the chorus.

wispy: DJ Nut Nut – Special Dedication (Sigma Remix)
YouTube

Next up some ruff inna jungle. This is that bare bones kind of jungle you don’t really hear anymore (I guess?). At least I think so. I don’t want to sound like yet another sourpuss hipster, but I’d listen to dirty dubplates like this over Pendulum-style squeaky clean trance-crap any day of the week. Plus how awesome is Top Cat? The answer: very.

Åke Kanaria: Mac Mall- Get Right
YouTube

Oh man. Speaking of bare bones, we got a good ole gangsta rap track courtesy of Mac Mall. I’ve actually never heard this before, but damn I’m glad signor Kanaria decided to choose it. I recently did a Dr. Dre-only gig with my fellow DJ Dalion and it was an enormous amount of fun. Sometimes it’s so refreshing to stop trying to keep track of next weeks top hyped thing and kick back with some golden oldies.

Azure: MJ Cole – Crazy Love (Volta Cab Dub Mix)
SoundCloud

MJ Cole is the man. The grand-daddy of UK 2-step garage is still going strong after like, what, 20-30 years? I especially liked his recent meditative piano piece. Now the russkies of Volta Cab have given his track “Crazy Love” a going over and the result is a deep little number with a lovely lounge-y atmosphere. You can also download it for absolutely nothing so get clicking!

Dalion: Raziek – I Can Do It
YouTube / JunoDownload

Much like MJ Cole, Raziek has never really bothered to reinvent himself. With a Raziek tune you always know what you’re getting: some banging uptempo drums to get your head nodding, some ghetto-ass vocals and and overall filthy quality permeating everything. To be completely honest “I Can Do It” is a new direction compared to your average ghettotech/juke tune. There’s a lightness and sensitivity here that’s pretty unusual, although this track still wouldn’t sound out of place blaring out the sound system of a strip joint.

Herman Prime: Junior Boys – You’ll Improve Me (Caribou Remix)
YouTube

Caribou is a pretty queer duck in the house game. His music is so hard to define and pigeonhole that he is usually too dance music for the indie pop set and too weird and poppy for house-heads. Or maybe not, maybe it’s just me. Maybe everyone, regardless of music preference, skin color or creed loves Caribou. Anyway, this remix is enticingly weird and off-kilter, as you might expect, and has a really lovely vocal bit running through it.

Esmuntutu: The Weeknd – D.D.
YouTube

The Weeknd made a cover of Michael Jackson’s Dirty Diana? Damn. This version ramps up the intensity of the original, but it also takes away some of the subtlety. Those metallic Trent Reznor drums are perhaps a little on the nose, but overall I’d say this sounds pretty amazing. It’s also nice to hear The Weeknd with a clear central idea, as the guy’s tunes usually suffer from having no real center and just floating around. Give this a listen, it’s interesting and then some.

Jukola: Freddie Hubbard – Destiny’s Children
YouTube

From the tortured heart of Michael Jackson/Weeknd, we move to an entirely lighter and freely flowing direction. Freddie Hubbard has always been a minor jazz figure for me (sorry), not quite Roy Ayers or Lonnie Liston Smith. Despite that Destiny’s Children (hi Beyonce!) is a lovely bit of fusion-type groovin’, a little taste of summer to cure that winter blues.

Lars Palmas: Ultimate Man – The Prologue
SoundCloud

Traveller Records remains on point. If there’s a label out there which has purified deep house to a finer product than DJ Ionik’s little powerhouse, I’ve yet to find it. This Ultimate Man track is no exception to the rule. It’s deep, soulful but it also has a lot of muscle. I don’t want to sound corny, but whatever: if this is just the prologue, what the fuck is the main event gonna sound like?

Nikola MMI/Tesla: Brenmar – Temperature Rising
YouTube / JunoDownload

Brenmar is a name I’ve bumbed into a bunch of times, the dude has done a ton of remixes, but this was the first original song that really grabbed me. It’s tight, slick, soulful and hella danceable. Despite being a perfect fit for any DJ set it sounds pretty timeless; the sounds are a mish-mash of eighties synths, snappy 808′s and appropriately cheesy r’n'b vocals. It’s also plenty catchy, so watch out so you don’t start singing out “spre-spre-spreeaad all over the bed” on the bus.

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