Bang Bang - Susan Cries (Lost My Dog)

Posted by Lee Jarvis in Music Reviews on Oct 27th, 2010

iDJ highlighted Bang Bang as one of South Africa’s brightest talents and DMC Update comparing them to the likes of Crazy P, Greenskeepers and 2020 Soundsystem, with their fusion of a live band mentality coupled with a house music background.

Lost My Dog are one of the most exciting house music labels in the UK, and in addition to endless critical praise, continue to break new artists alongside big name releases from Jay Tripwire, Inland Knights and many more.

Artist: Bang Bang
Release Title: Susan Cries
Label: Lost My Dog

1) Susan Cries (Original mix)
2) Susan Cries (Rhythm Plate Light Mix)
3) Susan Cries (Nacho Marco Remix)
4) Susan Cries (Off The Cuff Remix)
5) Susan Cries (Rhythm Plate Dark Mix)

Official release date: November 15th, 2010

The original of Susan Cries is sexy, grooving house music at it’s finest. Smooth, lush guitar licks compliment soft, watery organ chords. The vocals of Ruegroove are lush, and unhurried, whilst the bassline gently stabs away to keep things rolling along. This is not to say the track doesn’t have energy; it builds and pierces in all the right places, and will likely cross-over into many DJing and listening situations. Rhythm Plate step up to add their quirky touches with a Light Mix, chiming in with bleeps and shuffling percussion. A strong bassline again, but here with slightly more edge and the occasional note cleverly bent out of shape. A stuttering snare rings out jarringly, but is pinned together with that solid bass groove and the main chords of the original, which are teased in with short and blunt chops. The break and build is also worth a special mention, although it is difficult to actually describe - something characteristic of Rhythm Plate’s unconventionally funky productions. Nacho Marco decides to take us down the tech house route, with an acid-tinged bassline and old school drums. Classic house sounds, polished and layered with the lush vocals of the original are a simple yet deadly combo for the dancefloor. Taking things in a new direction again, Off The Cuff lay down a big stormy bassline whilst looping and reverberating the key stabs into a frenzied build. Here, the vocal is used sparingly, echoing and panning around the mix, helping the break thin out and also retain it’s energy until everything comes slamming back in again. Finally, the Rhythm Plate Dark Mix is a techier take on their earlier mentioned remix. The chunky and square bass sounds gives a darker feel, but is perfectly balanced with the use of the smooth keys. Percussion and fills are crunchy and gritty, whilst white noise slashes cut through, and synths swirl in low and slow before opening up to sharp rhythmic stabs.

This really is one of the best EPs I’ve come across in a long while, with a fantastic variety of remixes which not only assist, but build upon a very solid original. There is something for any time of night and many a venue, all in this one release, and it will continue to sound fresh and original for quite some time.

Standout Tracks: ……all of them. Seriously.
My Cuppa T Rating: 9.5/10