Playlist of the Week: FS Green

I wanted to start the playlist with a track we released right at the beginning of the summer. It’s been really cool to see how this one developed from an unreleased demo I was testing into one of the highlights of my sets. One of my favorite moments was playing it at Notting Hill Carnival and Boiler Room Festival in London this summer and actually seeing people singing along to the lyrics. It even reached #1 on Beatport’s Caribbean chart at one point!

Something I usually play in the same segment as “Controlla”. I love these uptempo Caribbean riddims, especially the way they blend soca with modern dancehall influences.

I think this is such a unique dancehall track. The production is very minimal, built around tabla drums that give it a strong South Asian influence. The vocals follow a call-and-response structure with an African-inspired feel. It’s also quite uptempo for a dancehall track, which gives it a different energy. Been playing this one a lot in my sets recently.

This might be the greatest dancehall riddim ever made! This beat has been giving us hits for more than 20 years. The fact that “BbY WOW” is sitting at #1 today and uses this riddim is actually crazy.

I have several edits of the riddim in my sets with different vocals over it. One of the things I love about it is how well it works at different tempos. I can play it at 120, 130 or 140 BPM and it still works. I often use it when I feel like I’ve gone a little too deep with my track selection and need to bring the set back to something people immediately recognize.

This track brings a lot of my worlds together. Chuckie, Gualtiero and Damaru all have Surinamese roots. The remix brings together Surinamese kawina with soca influences.

I play this one in pretty much all of my sets around the world. It’s around 153 BPM, which is quite fast for me; I can’t stay at that tempo for too long when I’m DJing. Luckily, there’s a section in the middle where the tempo transitions to around 130 BPM. I’ll often loop that part and mix it with another song in that tempo to switch the BPM.

The vocals are in Sranan Tongo, so people might not understand the lyrics, but the energy is so contagious that it doesn’t really matter. Once that build-up starts, it’s almost impossible not to go crazy.

Lamsi is another Amsterdam producer whose productions I really love. He has such a unique sound, mixing electronic music, house, and techno with Caribbean influences. I’ve been playing this track in my sets for a couple of months now, and it’s currently one of my favorites by Lamsi.

One of my latest releases. El Yeidi and I first got in touch after he was in the crowd at one of my DJ sets in Paris this summer. I played one of his tracks during the set, and he posted it on his story afterward. We started talking from there.

He told me that he liked “Controlla” and wanted to make something with me in a similar direction. I told him I really loved “Perreo Chucha," the song of his that I played during that set. I was hyped to collaborate.

The track is a mix of a lot of different influences. The production has elements of dennery segment, dancehall, and shatta. El Yeidi’s rap style is something you’d more commonly hear on dembow or reggaeton records. FleurAnelle’s hook really brings everything together. It adds a sexy touch to the track and gives it something for the ladies.

I think Yucky is one of the most exciting young producers in the Netherlands right now. His father, DJ Chuckie, played a big role in bringing the bubbling sound to a much bigger audience years ago. I really like seeing Yucky take that sound and carry it forward in his own way. What I really like about “Champion Sound” is how he takes a classic bubbling sample and flips it in his own way.

I love what Styn is doing with the bubbling sound. He’s not just trying to recreate the classic style, but experimenting with it and putting it in new contexts. “Bala Drumz” is a great example of that. It’s inspired by classic bubbling tracks like “Mad Drumz” by Darr3n and “Caribbean Drumz” by DJ Chuckie. Styn gives it his own twist.

The first thing that caught my attention was the drums. I hear some bubbling influences in the patterns, a sound that has been a big part of Dutch dance music for years. I definitely didn’t expect Mall Grab to go in this direction, which makes the remix even more interesting to me.

This beat is actually insane. The original with FBC is already a banger. I made my own version with the acapella from “Whatz Up, Whatz Up” by Playa Poncho and LA Sno. I play it a lot in my sets. It’s always such a hype moment.

I think Dave Nunes is one of the most talented up-and-coming producers and DJs in the Netherlands. I really like the direction he’s taking with his own releases. We’ve made a lot of music together and spent a lot of time in the studio, both working on our own music and on records for other artists. I’ve learned a lot from him along the way.

Ronnie Flex is by far my favorite artist in the Netherlands. He’s a rapper, singer and producer, and to me, one of the most talented artists in the country.

“DOE” is part of his latest project as DJ ROFFA, with ROFFA being a nickname for his hometown of Rotterdam. The project goes back to the old Rotterdam club sound. This track actually interpolates a classic song from Curacao.

Ronnie is someone I only play in my sets in the Netherlands. I can’t wait to play this one at my next show in the Netherlands. It’s on December 5 at Gashouder Amsterdam.