What’s in Droog’s box?

What’s in Droog’s box?

27 October, 2010 | 2.18AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: culprit, droog, in the box

Los Angeles’ Droog continue cutting their way across Europe on its second EU tour of the year. The DJ trio of Brett Griffin, Justin Sloe, and Andrei Osyka hit ADE and Fabric last week; on October 30, they play a secret warehouse party in Nottingham, and on November 6 they wrap things up with Superfreq L’Especial at Parmount, London.

Droog are at the center of LA’s underground scene, currently bubbling up everywhere from shady afterhours to the rooftop of the Standard Hotel, and helping set the tone for a new strain of tech house, marked by slower tempos, R&B influences, and heady, trippy grooves.

In just a little over a year, their label Culprit has turned out a steady stream of records from the likes of Lee Foss, Hot Natured, Kenneth James Gibson, Soul Clap, Jamie Jones, Adultnapper, et al. The most recent release is Inxec and Matt Tolfrey‘s Hollywood Revisited EP, featuring remixes from Lee Curtiss and Clovis.

We asked the west coast crew to select some crucial tracks that define the druggy, Droogy sound of their DJ sets; check out their picks below.

Secret weapon that only you (*should*) have a copy of

Lee Curtiss featuring Matt Tolfrey, “Candy” [Culprit]

This forthcoming Culprit release is in the super limited promotional round; in theory just us, the lads who produced this barn burner, and a few others should have it.  A dance floor rocker with acid credentials on the top and movement in the mids. Absolutely wrecks dancefloors! (Brett Griffin)

Bassline weapon

The Mole, “Nervous Disid” [New Kanada]

A slow burner with a catchy-but-nervous post-acid bassline. Perfect for adding a little toughness and inspiring some heads-down dancing. (Brett Griffin)

The ‘80s are cool still, right?

Paul Young, “Come Back & Stay”

I loved this song as a kid and haven’t tired of it yet. The synths are a bit chilling and his voice is just full of emotion. You can feel his pain but you also get the idea that he’s so fucking charming he just knew she was coming back anyhow. (Justin Sloe)

Record outside your usual tempo range

MJ Cole, “Sincere”

Love love this sexy 2-stepping beast. In truth, this clicks many of the boxes. The backward string sample sets the tone nicely while the vocals warm the buttery bassline. It can be a tough tempo to sneak in with my sloejams, but properly laid down, this gem is dancefloor Cialis. (Justin Sloe)

Killer vocal track

Tale of Us, “Dark Song” [Visionquest]

An upcoming jam on the exciting new label the Visionquest boys (Lee Curtiss/Seth Troxler/Ryan Crosson/Sean Reeves) are starting at the end of the year, this being one of the first releases… A deep moody number with a killer vocal hook drifting in and out seamlessly. This is simple but with a lot of personality, the way dance music should be. (Andrei Osyka)

Record that will never leave the box

Losoul, “Cut So Sweet” [Playhouse]

This song will always have a place for me; it works early in the warm-up set or as a set-closer as well as an afterparty piece. Just sweet, simply emotive slice of dance music, no particular peaks or valleys, it hits its melodic stride and doesn’t let go for nearly 12 minutes—a modern classic if there ever was one. (Andrei Osyka)

• (1) Comments
• (1802) Views
• Get Culprit on Beatport