Category: EDM

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: belac Shares a Sultry, Club Friendly Banger

belac is a rising, Perth-born and-based producer, who is a product of the Internet Generation: After discovering a Martin Garrix breakdown of his hit song “Animals” when the Aussie producer was 11, he has spent the past decade consuming — and sometimes forming — internet tends and turning them into club bangers. Before music, he was one of the best beach sprinters in Western Australia and a qualified physicist. But as he explains, he went all-in on music, when he heard his own music being blasted by the electronic music club while walking around his university’s open day.

Since then, he has signed with [PIAS] Électronique, who has released recent singles “need it, breathe it” and “be with me 2009,” which manage to be simultaneously nostalgia-inducing and fresh, while giving younger fans a cache to experience an era of EDM that they might not have originally been around for. And interestingly, gamers have claimed that his work is the perfect soundtrack for massive gaming sessions.

Now while there’s a cheekiness to his music and his online presence, the Perth-born and-based producer has an unerring knack for understanding what delights dance music fans and brings them to the dance floor. And as a result, he’s become one of Australia’s most recognized, rising electronic producers, specializing in club friendly bangers with elements of 2010s EDM, Memphis trap, jazz and more.

The Aussie producer’s latest single “late night visions” is a subtly brooding and atmospheric take on tech house with a sultry vocal sample that reminds me of French JOVM mainstay LutchamaK and a lengthy list of others, while showcasing a producer who can craft a euphoric, remarkably catchy hook.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yves von Wartburg Shares Swaggering “Feel My Bass”

Yves von Wartburg is Swiss producer and DJ, who spent the early part of his career contributing to multiple gold- and platinum-certified productions, which have achieved international chart success. That experience continues to shape his own approach to electronic music production.

Recording and performing under his own name, von Wartburg specializes on high-impact techno for club and festival settings. His first release on ISMUS, an imprint of Brussels-based label KNTXT, “Feel My Bass” is a swaggering, high-energy club and festival banger, featuring twitter and woofer rattling thump, glistening synth arpeggios, an in-your-face hip-hop-styled vocal sample and big hooks.

Perfect for clubs in Berlin and Ibiza, as well as festival stages, “Feel My Bass” reminds me of JOVM mainstays Boys Noize and LutchamaK, while showcasing a producer with a big, crowd-pleasing sound.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: MADISON music Shares Euphoric and Summery “Feel It In My Soul”

MADISON music is an American DJ and producer, who creates high-energy electronic music from the heart and for the soup through blending peak-time club and festival bangers with melodic, emotional elements and uplifting hooks.

Each of his releases are designed to move bodies, elevate mind and connect people on the dance floor. His latest single “Feel It In My Soul” is a euphoric and summery bit of melodic house that sounds like it could rock festival stages and clubs in Miami, New York and Ibiza.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 52nd Birthday, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s 52nd birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 51st Birthday, Thomas Bangalter!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates French touch pioneer Thomas Bangalter’s 51st birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Helsloot’s Driving Remix of ARTBAT and Sailor & I’s “Best Of Me”

Originally released back in 2005, Booka Shade vs. M.A.N.D.Y.‘s critically applauded “Body Language” quickly became an instant classic and a defining track of mid-00s club culture. Built around a tactile bass line and an elegant sense of restraint, “Body Language” captured what Berlin-based label Get Physical Music had set out to represent: music that was both physically irresistible and and emotionally nuanced. 

“Body Language” gave its name to Get Physical’s flagship compilation series, which has since become one of the label’s defining contributions to electronic music. Over more than two decades and 26 volumes, the series has been curated by Dixon, DJ Hell, WhoMadeWho, Monkey Safari, Francesco Tristano, Yulia Niko and founders Booka Shade, DJ T., and M.A.N.D.Y. Each edition of the compilation series has functioned as both documentation and argument, a reflection of underground currents and a projection of where club culture’s potential future. 

Dutch producer Helsloot is known across the global electronic music scene for his melodic, vocal-led sound. His collaboration with Tinlicker “Because You Move Me” has amassed over 600 million streams. He has released material through a number of electronic labels including Anjunadeep, Domino, This Never Happened and Ritter Butzke. His full-length debut, last year’s Never Tried further cemented his reputation for a balancing emotional weight with dance floor precision.

Helsloot with be curating Get Physical’s Body Language, Vol. 27. Slated for a November 14, 2025 release, the 27th edition will see the rising Dutch producer bringing a contemporary perspective to the series. Last month, I wrote about the rising Dutch producer’s bold reworking on the oft-remixed “Body Language,” a take that irresistibly beckons the listener to get to that dance floor and move your ass.

The Dutch producer’s Body Language, Vol. 27 will feature, his remix of Ukrainian production duo ARTBAT‘s “Best Of Me.” Originally released back in 2020 through Get Physical’s sister label METAPHYSICAL, the melodic techno track quickly became a club anthem. In 2021, Sailor & I contributed his own, original album mix on Diving For Lost Treasure, showcasing the song’s depth as a vocal-driven track.

Helsloot’s remix places the Sailor & I vocal in a hypnotic and driving production that to my ears reminds me a bit of Tour de France-era Kraftwerk, JOVM mainstay LutchmaK and Octo Octa: layers of glistening and melodic synths are paired with a relentless motorik-like groove and crackling breakbeats. The Helsloot take is simultaneously club and late-night drive friendly without removing the emotional weight of the Sailor & I vocal.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Pythies Tackle a 2000s Banger

Paris-based punks Pythies — founding member Lise L. (vocals) with Thérèse La Garce (guitar) and Anna B. Void (drums) — was formed by Lise L. in late 2022 with the intent of starting an all-woman band. In early 2023, Lise L. met Thérèse La Garce and Anna B. Void through social media. The trio felt a very strong simpatico, rooted in the meshing of three distinct and strong personalities, and from that point on, the band’s lineup was cemented.

The French trio released their debut EP Disillusion last year. The EP featured two singles that I wrote about on this site:

  • “Toy,” a track that seemed indebted to riot grrl-era punk and grunge, featuring fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming and enormous hooks and choruses placed within the classic grunge song structure. 

  • “I Pythie You” is a grunge and riot grrl-inspired ripper that reminds me a bit of early PJ Harvey, The Breeders and Hole anchored around Lise L.’s feral delivery.

The French JOVM mainstays recently tackled Peaches‘ signature single, 2000’s “Fuck The Pain Away,” turning the dance floor banger into a grungy, 90s era riot grrl ripper while retaining the feral sexuality of the original. In some way, their take possesses a sense of danger that’s both unhinged and thrilling.  

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 51st Birthday, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates French touch pioneer Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s 51st birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: TONNUP Shares Sultry, Club Friendly “I’m So into You”

TONNUP is a mysterious and emerging American electronic music producer and artist. His latest single “I’m So Into You” is a club banger anchored around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering beats, tweeter and woofer rattling low end, a sultry vocal sample and some incredibly catchy hooks.

“I created this track specifically for blacklight body paint EDM parties. I want people to be able to enjoy it,” TONNUP says of the new single.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Fat Dog Shares Euphoric Trance Banger “Running”

Led by Joe Love, the rapidly rising London-based electronic act Fat Dog — Love (vocals, production), Chris Hughes (keys, synths), Ben Harris (bass), Johnny Hutchinson (drums) and Morgan Wallace (keyboards and sax) — can trace its origins back to 2021, when Love decided to form a group and take the demos he’d be making as a way to keep himself during lockdown out into the world. Initially, Love had two simple rules: Fat Dog was going to be a healthy band, who looked after themselves and there would be no saxophone presence in their music. But those two simple edicts have long-since been broken.

With Hughes, Harris, Hutchinson and Wallace, Love found like-minded mavericks to help bring the dream home. “A lot of music at the moment is very cerebral and people wonʼt dance to it,” says Hughes. “Our music is the polar opposite of thinking music.” The band’s Chris Hughes should know. He was originally a fan of the band, who at that point had been making a name for themselves with a series of exhilarating and/or wonky shows across South London before he joined.

Those early gigs formed the bedrock of what the rapidly rising British outfit were all about: seizing the moment, drinking too much with the moment, going home separately from the moment, but making up with the moment again the next day. Naturally, the rising British outfit quickly developed a following — and it helped that every show across London had become a huge upgrade on the last.

There’s something far deeper going on with the band. “Thereʼs a sense of community about Fat Dog,” says Hutchinson. And after completing their first shows in the US, including a set at a taco joint, the band has quickly built up a following Stateside. Building upon the buzz in their native UK, the Londoners will tour the UK next month and November, as well as make a run of the European festival circuit, playing sets at festivals in the UK and Europe over the summer.

Amazingly, the band’s breakthrough year or so, has come as the result of only two official singles under their collective belts: “King of the Slugs” and “All The Same,”  propulsive, club rocking, industrial-inspired banger built around glistening synth arpeggios, and orchestral sample-driven hit, industrial clang and clatter paired with skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling boom bap, enormous shout along worthy hooks and a plaintive vocal delivery.

Fat Dog’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, WOOF is slated for a September 6, 2024 release through Domino Recording Co. Produced by the band’s Love, Jimmy Ford and Jimmy Robertson, WOOF‘s material is influenced by Bicep, I.R.O.K., Kamasi Washington and the Russian experimental EDM group Little Big. Sonically, the album reportedly sees the London upstarts firmly establishing music for letting go, anchored around a blend of electro punk, snarling rock, techno soundscapes, industrial electronica and rave euphoria. The sound that Fat Dog makes, according to Love is “screaming-into-a-pillow music.” He continues, “I wanted to make something ridiculous because I was so bored. I don’t like sanitized music. Even this album is sanitized compared to what’s in my head. I thought it would sound more fucked up.”

WOOF‘s latest single “Running” is a hook-driven bit of club rocking trance, built around glistening, razor sharp synth arpeggios, relentless four-on-the-floor, thumping club beats and shouted vocals. But underpinning the club friendly euphoria is a tense, paranoid unease that befits our corporate sponsored hellscape.

Directed by Stephen Agnew, the accompanying video for “Running” is a surreal, breathtakingly cinematic visual with hints to Ken Russell, Ingmar Herman and others that reveals the true origins of the cult of Fat Dog and their real leader.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Solid Spark Shares Slickly Produced and Euphoric Banger “Dream”

Solid Spark is a rising electronic music producer and DJ, who has caught the attention of the global electronic scene with a sound that seamlessly blends contemporary pop sound with golden age EDM nostalgia. For the rising electronic music producer and DJ, the result is material that’s dance floor friendly but packs a deep emotional and energetic resonance.

“Dream,” Solid Spark’s latest single is a slick, club friendly banger anchored around glistening synths, a sultry and yearning vocal sample, skittering beats and euphoria-inducing hooks and drops that reveals a producer with an uncannily sophisticated sense of soulful craftsmanship.