- Solomun's not-so-secret weapon finally gets released on an EP that blends buoyant house, sultry reggaeton and vintage electro.
- Ed Caesar's New Yorker profile of Solomun starts with the Hamburg hero taking over from Gerd Jansen at Pacha by mixing in Orion Agassi's "Dos Blokes." The effect on the crowd is pure ecstasy. Cesar himself gets swept away in the excitement, raising his hands in the air and, much to the bemusement of Solomun, loses his notebook and spends the next few minutes on his knees hunting it down between the legs of enthralled clubbers.
The anecdote works as a hook, but it doesn't quite do justice to the Spanish producer's track. I was preparing myself for generic big room fodder and, to be sure, there are some elements that fit that bill—swaggering drum programming underpinning panning, emotional synths—but it's a much stranger affair than you'd think, with reggaeton vocals gliding over colossal snare hits. There's even the occasional interjection of a "Yeah" from a Lil Jon-style hype man. "Dos Blokes" is the centerpiece of Hot Jams Straight Out The 330XX, a fluorescent EP that fuses reggaeton house and electro into unexpected but undeniably effective club tracks.
The best cuts on the EP work similarly to "Dos Blokes," reminding me of what it would sound like if Danny Daze released a record on Studio Barnhaus—the sweaty swing of Miami bass mixed with reggaeton and a distinct sense of humour. The opener "Corner Bodega Jam" perfects this: it starts like a steamy electro track with more reggaeton vocals, but then Agassi adds in an retro videogame arpeggio that moves the party into the Mario Kart world. "El Sonido" is the other highlight, taking a dembow rhythm and places little technicolor melodies on its fringes to give a refreshing fizziness. Even the straight-up house tracks pop with personality—check those acidic squelches in "En Mis Sueños" or how the vocals work on the broody acid chug of "Desacato." If these are the sorts of tracks that are bringing in thousands of punters week-in, week-out to see Solomun, there's clearly a wide audience willing to explore new directions for club music more generally.
Tracklist01. Vision Romántica
02. En Mis Sueños
03. Corner Bodega Jam
04. Dos Blokes
05. Desacato
06. El Sonido