- Dance Maniacs' grab-bag genre approach reflects the rave music renaissance underway in Los Angeles.
- Few band names are as straight to the point as Los Angeles DJ-production trio Dance Maniacs. Seattle's Avi Loud, South Central native Liano and Raleigh basshead Oak City Slums joined forces at the tail end of 2022. Individual releases on SoCal-area compilations like Juke Bounce Werk's JBDUBZ Vol. X, Gyration Station's REALITY CHECK 3 and SLSWP: Vol. 1 helped the trio become entrenched within LA's post-quarantine rave scene. Now they've come together for Built Like That, a debut album that cherry-picks and combines the most irresistible parts from a genre grab bag—house, footwork, breakbeat, electro, East Coast club and techno—into an irresistibly galloping style that straddles the past and present of dance music.
Opening track "Motion" features a boisterous sample of the horn fanfare from Luther Vandross's 1981 hit "Never Too Much" mashed up with early rap hero Greg Nice's vocals off The Wiseguys' "Start the Commotion." It's a shuffling labyrinth of bass and percussion that could lure even the shyest, stiffest wallflowers to the middle of the dance floor. "Dance!" breathes new life into Chic's 1977 disco cut "Dance, Dance, Dance" with an unrelenting barrage of kick drums, snares, stabs and sirens—old-school rave elements defining LA's younger techno and house scene right now.
Footwork frenzy "Bounce," however, stopped me in my tracks with the most audacious sample of all: a one-liner from Jermaine Dupri off Lil' Bow Wow's 2000 single "Bounce With Me." Dance Maniacs aren't lazily sampling big hits, though. They use musical history to enrich their original productions in the spirit of paying homage instead of just adding to the trash heap of modern SoundCloud edits. The recontextualisation of these samples—be it through pitch-shifting, sheer speed or percussive chops—bolster the trio's original productions rather than the other way around.
The percussive fervour grows even thicker as samples take a backseat for the second half of the album. Both Liano and Oak City Slums got their start as drummers. All hell breaks loose on the fastest tune, "Keys to the Gate," a heady, techno-leaning stampede appropriate for those down-to-the-wire seconds of a Tekken match. The trio's compositional skills shine on the following "Siren Drum," an utterly engrossing muffled drum track swaddled in recurring shrieks and flitting emergency sirens.
Built Like That is a crucial listen for anyone intent on keeping up with—or finding out about—LA's increasingly busy and increasingly essential young rave scene. The trio had already earned co-signs from a slew of heavy hitters like DJ Noir, James Bangura and DJ SWISHA (who mastered the album). To be the first non-compilation release from Juke Bounce Werk's label speaks volumes to the trio's quick rise, and their raw talent is underscored by their authentic camaraderie and synergy that allows them to play to their strengths. Throughout Built Like That, you can hear individual influences: Avi Loud's house leanings, Liano's clobbering drums, Oak City Slums' penchant for soulful, obscure samples. "EverythingIsBackwards" closes the album in airy reverie with a question that's equal parts facetious and earnest: "Are you ready?" You will be once the first drums hit on the opening track.
Tracklist01. Motion
02. Drop That Bih
03. Bounce
04. Dance!
05. Built Like That
06. Keys To The Gate
07. Siren Drum
08. EverythingisBackwards