The Bokah Big Five is back! Well it never really went away, it’s just taken a while to curate the next batch of carefully picked tunes – five’s a big number. This time around we have a roundup of recent golden house gems; a collection of those all-out stompers, those tracks that put a smile on your face and make you want to do that silly little dance with your hands which makes you look like you’re trying to push the roof off. You know the one. Inspired by Bokah’s recent outing to Secret Garden Party, which, by the way, couldn’t get enough of house music, we’ve gathered together some of our favourites that kept cropping up. Enjoy.
JULIO BASHMORE – AU SEVE
Boasting an impressive CV, Julio Bashmore is a man with many jobs, juggling roles as a producer, performing artist, radio DJ, and now, label manager. Bristol’s very own pioneer of bass music, who has helped bring house to the forefront of club-culture again, has now launched his own label, Broadwalk Records. Kicking off in quite a fashion, ‘Au Seve’ is it’s debut release, which sees Bashmore deliver one of the catchiest bass-line hooks you’ll hear this year, in a track which rivals some of his best work, including that of his classic, ‘Battle For Middle You’. It could even be better.
SOUTH LONDON ORDNANCE – TROJAN
A somewhat unknown producer, South London Ordnance, or SLO as some of the music media are dubbing him, is making some serious headway across the blogosphere with his hard hitting take on classic 4×4 house. ‘Trojan’, his latest endeavour, has just dropped on Well Rounded Records and carries some serious weight. As the track evolves from it’s initial hard-nosed beat, the track flourishes with a catchy synth riff and some warped vocals, turning it into a nice little hands up mover. SLO’s definitely one to watch.
GIRL UNIT – ENSEMBLE (CLUB MIX)
Remember 2010’s club anthem, the almighty hip-hoped out ‘Wut’ (“wut wut wut”)? Yeah? Well, Girl Unit made a much-welcomed return to Night Slugs the other month with a hefty offering, and something new for the clubs. ‘Ensemble (Club Mix)’ is the first track on the mini-album, and what an opening it is. Be patient with it though; let it work its way through the rigid drum patterns as it teases with 80’s styled club synths, until it culminates in what feels like some kind of epic ‘Baywatch moment’, but with bass. I haven’t actually watched Baywatch, but I’m pretty sure if this track was around then, it would have defiantly been on the soundtrack.
JUSTIN MARTIN – DON’T GO
Maybe it’s not strictly a stomper, but it defiantly gets you moving. Dirtybird’s most recently hyped man, Justin Martin, builds this track up so well that when those vocals break free around the four-minute mark, your hands are doing that silly little dance thing I talked about before. This may be the best track on the album – an LP that combines the ruff and the smooth so coherently, hence the name, ‘Ghettos & Gardens’. If you haven’t heard it yet, check it out. Now.
DISCLOSURE – CONTROL (JOE GODDARD REMIX)
Unless you’ve been living in a hole, you will undoubtedly be familiar with these two teens we all know as Disclosure. Their undeniably good, polished brand of faultless house music has won them a huge fan base, one that seems to be growing at an expediential rate. And it’s hardly surprising considering the sheer quality of music they keep putting out. Last month the boys launched their new EP, ‘The Face’, at Dalston’s Roof Park, celebrating a record that houses four superb tracks. One of those, ‘Control’, has been given a ramped up remix by Greco-Roman label boss, Joe Goddard, whom the EP was released through. Managing to grace the decks three times at different stages throughout the opening night of Secret Garden Party, these boys are everywhere, and so they should be.