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Following from remixes and collaborations with Kelpe, Slugabed, Pixelord and Krampfhaft Dutch producer Coco Bryce releases his second album, Club Tropicana, on Fremdtunes. Check!
His most outrageous and ambitious work yet, Club Tropicana blends trap, 80s, pop, Skweee, jungle and modern dance music into a mix that’s energetic and fun. Fans of dance music and modern hip hop will find plenty to enjoy in the album’s 14 tracks, which also feature Japanese labelmate Emufucka and fellow Dutch producer Halp.
The mood on the album is upbeat, with catchy hooks, experimental melodies and solid rhythms. There’s twisted hip hop on ‘Polaroid Sunset’, ‘That’s Life’ and ‘Lily’s Song’, tracks that combine club aesthetics and smoked out trippy vibes and echo the work of people like Dabrye and Madlib.
For the jungle fans ‘Sonic’ offers crisp, hyperactive edited breaks balanced against spiralling melodies and ‘Lucid’ more subtle rhythms and a deeper bass line that takes control of your body. Skweee is also on the menu with ‘Bronze’ – featuring Dutch producer Halp – and its detuned/deranged melodic interplays and with ‘Bright Lit’ where a xylophone crashes the party without feeling unwelcome.
The recent popularity of Dirty South beats is also given a nudge on ‘Loopa’ and ‘One Love Holmes’, a collaboration with Japanese labelmate Emufucka. Cleverly positioned amid all of this are two more ambient interludes, ‘004’ and ‘All Day’, acting as the perfect palate cleansers before getting stuck into it all again.
Much like today’s hyperactive, always on, internet-driven culture Club Tropicana can be a lot to take in at first. Yet efforts to engage with Bryce’s eclectic work will be rewarded with not just fun but also a sense that the Dutch producer has distilled everything that is great about omnivorous musical tendencies. It’s a ride, so strap yourself and come along. |
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