Releasing club music over the past few months has been a weird exercise. The fast-moving nature of modern electronic music means that a lot of music released in this period may have missed it’s chance for heavy-play in a club. Even so, there have been a few stand-out releases which will have been bookmarked to receive heavy-play once we’re out and clubbing again. Bouncin, the debut solo album from Tiago Walter, feels like exactly one of those releases.
Few know their way around quirky, distinctive music quite like those with ties to the Offenbach region and local club Robert Johnson. Walter’s releases on Pager Records and 2X have been previous testaments to that statement but Bouncin is easily his most archetypal offering yet.
‘Take Me I’m Yours’ is undeniably Offenbachian. With it’s breakbeat drums and bubbling bass providing danceability whilst the key progressions add a hefty dose of funk although it’s the grubby, cartoon vocals of ‘Take me I’m yours/Do you wanna dance?’ which are key. Walter heavily leans on vocals to grab your attention throughout Bouncin, but always with good reason. On Take Me I’m Yours in particular, they add that quintessential level of quirk that lifts an otherwise nice dancefloor track and brings it into the sacred realm of “Do you remember that track from last night? The one with vocals ‘Do you wanna dance?’ What was the ID??”
C-sider ‘Artifical Emotion’ is similarly crafted out of the peak-time mould, offering a more light-hearted musical take with it’s lavish chord progressions and retrofuturist keys accompanied by a beefy combo of a shoulder-swinging bass and punchy drums. The eight-track album also offers music beyond the finite period of peak-time, like the smooth funk of ‘Another Spliff’ and it’s Hague-inspired vocals providing a nifty number for at-home afterhours.
Whilst Take Me I’m Yours and Artifical Emotion are great for how they’d obviously generate energy on the dancefloor, the soothing ‘Drown’ offers a differing take on the modern Offenbach sound. The snappy drums and gliding pads in conjunction with the melancholic vocals would feature during a warm-up set in most corners of the world. But at Robert Johnson, the track has a certain deepness that feels inextricably linked to the sensation of seeing the morning sun blissfully consume both smoking area exits either side of the DJ booth.
Bouncin is available exclusively via Ba Dum Tish.
More info on Tiago Walter
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