#54 Feat. Staff Picks in Indie Dance

A kaleidoscopic sonic riot, Belgium-Japanese duo Ailis debut album Nandakke? has proven to be one of 2024s breakout hits, its joyful collision of electro-pop, electronica, house music and so much more grabbing the attention of everyone from the Belgian national press to the likes of KCRW in the United States. Now, whilst the band are busy touring the album, Eskimo present some club ready remixes and reworks.  First up is another Belgian newcomer GAIKO, who has been making a name for himself over the past year with his own rhythmically intricate, genre defying electronica. For his remix of Oyasumi, Gaiko has plated the tracks rolling bass line and ecstatic breakbeats in a sheen of chrome adding hypnotic gqom influenced rhythms and staccato snares to produce an adrenaline fuelled remix that demands to soundtrack an ultra speed car chase through neon lit streets. No stranger to Eskimo Recordings, Danish producer Kasper Bjørke returns to take the razor to previous Aili single Fashion and deliver a dreamy cosmic remix. Teasing the track apart, Bjørke applies a soft gossamer gauze to Fashions already languid bass line and gives the songs laidback disco rhythm even more room to breathe, allowing Ailis vocals to float up into the night sky and allow the track to take its place amongst the stars. Clash Lion co-founders Terr & Daniel Watts team up to deliver a remix of Japanese street food anthem, Takoyaki. With a string of hits on labels like Permanent Vacation and Phantasy Sound to their credit both producers know how to re-tool a track for the club and they dont disappoint here transforming Takoyaki into the kind of unstoppable disco house that builds into an ecstatic wave of pulsating synth arpeggios, cowbell and Ailis celebratory vocals, all ready to wash over the dancefloor. Swedish producer and another Eskimo regular Paresse turns his attention to Ailis tribute to the power of love (and Justin Bieber), Babychan. Sensibly Paresse does nothing to dampen the originals joyous explosion of sound, but rather channels its exuberance into a more DJ friendly shape, reworking many of its existing parts so that Ailis vocals are now carried into the night by rubbery synths, electro bass stabs and a club ready house beat. For their take on Fashion, French electro/techno stars Maelstrom & Louisahhh have opted to completely rework the track and take it in a much darker direction. With its overdriven bass, corroded industrial beats and Louisahhhs own interpretation of the vocals, this version of Fashion is one tailor made for strobe lit Berlin warehouses rather than the catwalks of Paris or Tokyo.

Aili