It’s easy to be a cynical piece of shit in the modern music industry and believe every trend is synthetic and every bit of notoriety is either pointless or bought and paid for. Easy, but not excusable. Pretty much since they got a small sip of success, Soul Clap have been busy constructing an elaborate system of mirrors to throw the spotlight on someone else. Their fans have been turned on to countless incredible musicians and underground producers and remixers because of them; it’s easy to see that everyone’s profited from Charlie and Eli’s almost compulsive generosity.
But the best act of sharing that these guys do has to be their Dancing On The Charles series, a compilation put out each year which showcases some of the hungry cats of their native Boston. Anybody could do this in their own town; few artists of Soul Clap’s profile do anything like it.
Now in its fifth annual edition, DOTC drops 12 tracks bearing Soul Clap Records‘ imprimatur. You might expect some mediocre tech house and oh honey how WRONG you’d be. Matt Carey’s “Rhoses” leads off like a slow diving mothership of eclectic modern funk, reminding me in places of ’90s breaks, post-dubstep and bass. Camino 84’s “Disconnected” is a bad ass hunk of modern boogie. “Liquid” from Nik Thrine, Suspence and Finley is one of the craziest tracks on here – acid meets techno mushroom jazz? Not all of it’s out of left field but most of it is a bit bent, and delightfully so.
Dancing On The Charles #5 / Soul Clap Records
1. Matt Carey – Rhoses (03:09)
2. Camino 84 – Disconnected (Cam’s DOTC Dub) (06:19)
3. Wigzen, Alina – Asita (07:08)
4. Roldy Cezaire feat. Monolog, Atsushi Asada – Crazy Kind Of Love (04:27)
5. Nik Thrine, Suspence, Finley – Liquid (05:45)
6. Saucy Lady – It’s All Here (04:20)
7. Juice Belushi – The Detes (06:21)
8. David Paglia – Stay With Me (06:18)
9. Nick Minieri – Heat Index (05:46)
10. Kelvin Sylvester, Lee Wilson – When The Beat Drops (06:49)
11. Trip Report – I’ve Got It (If You Want It) (06:04)
12. Bosq – Because You (Caserta Spacetrumental) (05:20)
Originally published inside 5 Magazine #164 featuring Cassy, DC LaRue, Sean Haley, Titonton & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $1 per issue!
