Track-By-Track: BSU #04
This track has everything I look for and fits it into just 3 minutes: sharp percussion, a fat bassline, sophisticated harmonies, and a tight arrangement that is 'just-so' while remaining completely unpredictable (even dramatic – check that outro!). Above all, there's an irrepressible pop sensibility – for me, this is electrofunk and boogie for the 20th century, and as such it brings together different strands of my own collecting/DJing in a very satisfying way.
The 80s are making a comeback, presumably since the 90s have been all but exhausted by now. I'm not mad at it, though part of me also feels somewhat protective, especially when I hear producers trading in these motifs without the savvy and touch of camp necessary to pull it off. Devroka is someone who knows exactly what he's doing and does it with style and concision. You can hear more on his new album, Crystal Misterioso, on bandcamp.
Devroka - I'll Bet You (Intellitronic Bubble, 2019)
Note: this is an entry in the Track-By-Track series for my mix for Butter Side Up.
Track-By-Track is a series that looks back at records you will have heard in my mixes, one by one in the order they were played. Who made them, and when? How did I come across them? And what do they make me feel?