Belgian electronic group Soulwax have dropped their sixth studio album via their own DEEWEE imprint. The group are no doubt as influential as they are respected, having remixed names llike Daft Punk, The Gorillaz and Justice over the years, as well as having curated their own ‘Soulwax FM’ radio station on Rockstar’s GTA V, (which sold over 95 million copies). Soulwax were then invited to host a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in May 2017, which is where the new long player came to be. Unlike the
majority of acts who simply submit a DJ set to the seminal mix series, Soulwax took to their studio to record a ton of music around the idea ‘Essential’, about half the album was debuted on the Essential Mix, with the rest recorded in the interim. As one would expect from a Soulwax record, it features everything from house, electronica, techno, electro, and progressive. And is an absolute phenomenal display of sound design and drum programming.
Where to start:
‘Essential One’ – A unique take on the album intro
‘Essential Four’ – A hip moving dance track with romantic vocals
‘Essential Nine’ – Pitched down vocals and a massive amount of filtered resonance
Previous from Soulwax:
Soulwax – FROM DEEWEE (2017, DEEWEE)
Soullwax – Nite Versions (2005, PIAS)
If you like this then check out:
Simian Mobile Disco – Murmurations (2018, Wichita)
Tiga – No Fantasy Required (2016, Counter Records)
Soulwax – Essential is out now on DEEWEE.