- Rave throwback to make the Shut Up And Dance crew proud.
- Chrissy knows more about dance music than a lot of people. Like, every single sub-genre you could think of, probably. At least when it comes to history. That makes him a pretty good chameleon, too, and he can nail most styles that he tries. It's not always pastiche, though, because he has a good understanding of what actually made those original tracks so hot to begin with. Enter The Other Side. Released on UK label Dansu Discs, it's basically a throwback to vintage Shut Up And Dance records, transporting us back to that fertile period between rave, UK hardcore and jungle, when breakbeats were popping up everywhere but the divide between techno and drum & bass hadn't been truly codified yet.
"The Other Side" is a pitch-perfect XL Records-circa-1992 cut, built around a fat, thwacking house strut, overexcited piano and a walking bassline. The diva vocals are bright but just the right amount of melancholy, and the arpeggio glitters, especially as the rhythm track comes in and out towards the end. But it has more feeling—and a crucial sense of mischief—than most of the rave revival stuff you'll find coming out of the UK right now. "Only One" is its darker cousin, with flecks of squelchy acid and massive hi-hats that land like a punch to the jaw. The vocals are romantic, but they're tuned to sound sad, hinting at the darksided energy that eventually took over the rave scene. London artist Yosh brings "Only One" forward a year or two, cementing the breakbeat and saddling it with a dive-bombing junglist bassline designed to make the bins rattle right off the racks. All in all, a convincing and powerful throwback brutal in all the right ways.
Tracklist01. The Other Side
02. Only One
03. Only One (Yosh Remix)