2015 has been slapped silly by Ram-man Rene LaVice so far.
When he’s not being daytime playlisted on Radio 1 with The Calling, he’s laying down a furious almost punk-like remix of Nero’s The Thrill or dropping expected house bangers such as Combustible.
Dropped as part of his recently-released Ram EP Hotblooded, Combustible flipped the tempo switch – and, refreshingly, the bird at producers who feel they need another alias when they’re dabbling in other genres (yawn) – and smacked of that crisp, electro-edged late zeros electro sound, all hooky and primed for Ibiza.
Not all of you enjoyed it. But Rene doesn’t mind… He’s still on the same mission he’s ever been on since he got into making music in the first place.
“I’ve drawn influence from genres of 4/4 music since I started, even back when I was producing hip hop I would bring in elements from house, trance and electro amongst other genres like punk or blues,” he tells us. “This time around I chose ride up alongside the music I’m influenced by and add to the conversation directly. It’s not an easy track to classify genre-wise because I’ve put my own LaVice spin on it. Call it what you want, it’s a LaVice track like any other. It’s not there to please everybody but you can’t ignore it.”
For more insight into his housier influences, Rene’s given us five of his favourite 4/4 heaters. From Oizo to Angello, his tastes are as broad as his sound has always suggested.
Steve Angello & Laidback Luke Feat. Robin S – Show Me Love
“Steve Angello & Laidback Luke have done such a broad range of styles in their career but one thing is for sure; they have a very good understanding of the history of dance music, where it comes from, and where it’s going. In this updated version of the classic tune Show Me Love, they show the world just how meaningful and relevant that song still is by creating this stripped back and updated version of the tune.”
Cirez D – Re-Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YFWJHumbno
“When I was 17 years old I walked into a record store in Toronto and listened to this record. I did not know what to make of it. It was so bold and so rude and seemingly didn’t care to play by the rules. It’s a record that moves at its own pace and gets totally in your face when it feels like it. It had attitude with a technical prowess I hadn’t been exposed to before and I had to own it. It’s been deeply influential ever since hearing it that first time.”
Ryan Marciano, Nicky Romero, Sunnery James, Fast Eddie – S.O.T.U.
“Alright this one is a bit more recent than the others. After my set at EDC NYC a year ago I walked over to another stage and joined the crowd for Steve Angello’s set. Having never seen one of his sets before, I didn’t know what to expect. I walked up and he was playing a S.H.M. tune which we bobbed around to for a few minutes, then all of a sudden he switched to a track which made my hair stand on end and my adrenaline rise. Right there, in the middle of 50,000 or so people, I was teleported a universe where underground unforgiving techno was re-engineered into a monstrously large crowd rocking anthem. Sound Of The Underground is, yet again, a masterpiece that takes knowledge of the past, supercharges it, pours gasoline on it, then sends it into space and lets aliens set it on fire. It’s a stormer and it opened my mind to the power of having a different perspective and approach to producing something. It’s not the number of notes; it’s the attitude.”
If you don’t like it you’re probably also boring. Or in a bad mood. Why you in a bad mood? Stop being boring. Cheer up. Do the snorkel dance.
MSTRKRFT Feat N.O.R.E. – Bounce
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXiO9KAXEeE
“These guys influenced my style early on in a massive way. I knew about JFK (one half of MSTRKRFT) because of D.F.A. 1979, which I was a fan of as a teen. They had so much attitude. MSTRKRFT seemed to take that same attitude and apply it to indie dance / house music in a really fun, punk rock, sort of way. The analogue synths, the naughty hip hop feature, the IDGAF nature of the melodies. It’s rad. If you don’t like it you’re probably also boring. Or in a bad mood. Why you in a bad mood? Stop being boring. Cheer up. Do the snorkel dance.”
Mr. Oizo – Vous Etes Des Animaux
“Yeah, this guy. WTF is going on in his brain? Who cares though, this track is amazing. It’s like he got bored half way through, chucked it in a blender and started again without deleting the first half he made. It’s awesome. Fuck the rules. If it’s cool to you, it’s cool. That’s what this song says to me.”
Rene LaVice – Hotblooded EP is out now on Ram Records: iTunes
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