LAMP Weekly Mix #84 feat. Jeff Devoe

LAMP Weekly Mix #84 feat. Jeff Devoe

Subtlety is often not celebrated enough. The slightest nuance can make a huge difference in the way one perceives an experience. With this mix I wanted to highlight this idea and curated a track list of songs that utilize subtlety as an avenue for expression. Whether it’s a fluttering arpeggiated synth that wanders into space, or the pulling out of a kick drum at just the right moment, all of these pieces have something that propagates universes of emotion using minimal changes.This mix starts off with Three Sharp Knocks by Luca Doobie & Ricky Leo. The vocal sample in the tune gives it it’s name sake and is so subdued and calm that it’s effect on how you perceive the tune after you hear it is surprising. Listen to this track and try to imagine it without the vocal sample. It just wouldn’t be right.Control by Montel, Breakthrough by Miguel Rendeiro, What A Guy by Bruno Kauffmann and Everybody Knows by Dosem are all in this mix because of two things: the gentle rhythmic swing of the drums and a great placement of off beat synth stabs. Both of these aspects are not very obvious when you first hear the tunes. The swing of the drums and the synth stabs coming in at just the right moments really propel the momentum of the music. You feel these elements more than you hear them and that’s why I really wanted to include these tunes in this mix. I also really like the pulsing gentle laser sound in Everybody Knows. It’s not a sound that is upfront and in your face. It’s a great ambient sound that slowly evolves as time moves on and really adds some character to the tune.Rescue Me by Nikola Gala and I-Kie shows just how much of a point you can make with a minimal arrangement. This tune presents a very unique use of rhythm and arrangement that sets it apart from most tracks in the house genre. The minimal arrangement of Rescue Me makes it a great intro tune for the fantastic Us by Gene Farris. It’s all about the vocal for me with this track. The vocal is a big bold segment of this track, but the slight texture and tuning on the vocal pushes the track over the edge into the ‘one of my favorite tracks’ bin.The next four tunes have a distinctly techno feel. Urban Decay, Brain Cooked’s Remix of What A Guy, Dosem’s Beyond Standards, and Mr. Bizz’s Badlands all maintain a basic foundation while changing elements riding over the top of the foundation. My favorite of these has to be Badlands. The relentless drums and filtered background synth that undulates with the rhythm of the percussion are so minimal, but yet are immensely important to the feel of the track. These tracks all blend very well together and create a great conduit that lead to my favorite track on the mix.Olivier Giacomotto remixed Coyu’s Desire and it is an absolute smasher. There’s a lot about this track that is not subtle. Huge kick, huge bassline, great vocals. But, for me what makes this track great is the little things. The alien like ‘oooo yah’ that repeats every so often immediately lets the listener know what track is coming. The delayed percussive knock layered over the low synth pad gives a sense of space and really helps the listener to be at one with the track. Also the extremely low tuned vocals that fade in and out of the track makes you feel like you are in some magical goblin cave on a journey for greatness. What a track!Dosem’s remix of Benny Benassi and Chicco Secci’s I Wanna Be Disco is a super simple track that shows that sometimes all you need are great drums and a catchy vocal to make a great tune. Following I Wanna Be Disco is Reasons Why by Rashid Ajami. The subdued vocal that floats throughout this track really sets it apart from other tracks with a similar minimal arrangement. The arpeggiated synth and percussion on the drums also play very nicely together and give a great rolling movement to the track.The Underworld vs Heller & Farley mix of Underworld’s Baby Wants To Ride is next. This is Underworld’s cover of the classic Frankie Knuckles track of the same name. Underworld keeps the minimal synthy feel of the original, but strips down the vocals to a few key lines. The original has a lot more verses, but Underworld sticks mostly with the chorus and does a fantastic nod to the late producer’s classic song.The last tune on the mix is a collaboration I did with my good friend Kingpin. Kingpin has a fantastic ear for all things musical and in the last several years has shown me a lot of amazing progressive house. We decided it was time to try and make some and Light Years From Home was the result. Arpeggios, filtered basses and big drums are some of the things we both enjoy out of this genre of house music and so we centered the tune around these elements. The track starts with a basic arrangement, but the parts slowly change and twist; transforming the tune into a thickly layered piece with big energy. It was a great experience stretching my producer wings in the progressive direction and look forward to doing it again in the future.

Tracklist

1. Luca Doobie & Ricky Leo - Three Sharp Knocks2. Montel - Control3. Miguel Rendeiro - Breakthrough4. Bruno Kauffmann - What A Guy5. Dosem - Everybody Knows6. Nikola Gala, I-Kie - Rescue Me7. Gene Farris - Us8. Phunk Investigation - Urban Decay9. Bruno Kauffmann - What A Guy (Brain Cooked Remix)10. Dosem - Beyond Standards11. Mr. Bizz - Badlands12. Coyu - Desire feat. Daniel Wilde (Olivier Giacomotto Remix)13. Benny Benassi & Chicco Secci - I Wanna Be Disco feat. Bonnie Calean (Dosem Remix)14. Rashid Ajami - Reasons Why15. Underworld - Baby Wants To Ride (Underworld vs Heller & Farley - 12 Inch Mix)16. Jeff Devoe & Kingpin - Light Years From HomeEnjoy,Jeff Devoe