- High-impact deep house music bolstered by touches of electro and techno.
- Over the past few years, Lisbon-via-New York transplant Malik Hendricks has focused on making poignant deep house tunes via releases for New York labels Coloring Lessons and Bliss Point. His latest EP brings in a wider assortment of club grooves, including tinges of electro and techno, that push his soulful style into a grittier, darker realm.
Ditching his previous slow-burners for faster tempos and ultra-layered arrangements, Praise pairs classic house traits like uplifting vocals against icy electronics in the style of Steve Spacek or Flaunt Edwards (an alias of J Rocc). "Know Me" weaves twitchy acid squiggles with marching band brass and soaring chords, achieving just the right balance of light and heavy textures. On "Melody And Rhythm," a repeating mantra delivered in baritone pitch is the signature house element, but most of the other features are derived from other styles: mechanical, cold synth riffs from early Detroit electro, teasing bass whomps and bursts of ravey, distorted sonics. It's the kind of genre-fluid track perfect for transitioning into more mind-melting strains of dance music.
The EP's title track is a fresh take on gospel house, built around spiritual vocal samples fit for a church choir. But instead of pumping organs and fiery build-ups, Hendricks opts for deep pads, a driving techno bassline and stripped-down jazz melodies. On his remix, New York veteran Eli Escobar fixates on the thudding bassline, drawing out its potency with the addition of menacing synth stabs, hissing hi-hats and bouncy percussion. Escobar transforms a jubilant track into a lean, mean club cut more fitting for a grimy basement than church.
The combination of all these hard-hitting sounds against the steady cadence of deep house makes Praise an ideal record for charged up, peak-hour moments. It's raw and hypnotic but still emotive. Hendricks is becoming more comfortable in his craft as he experiments with influences from other genres, showing us how a decades-old tradition can be rearranged and reimagined for the present and future.
Tracklist01. Melody And Rhythm
02. Know Me
03. Praise
04. Praise (Eli Escobar Remix)