Throwback Thursday: Lazy Rich

This past weekend, one of the most important producers in bringing me into the electronic music scene decided to call it quits. Lazy Rich announced Saturday evening that he would give up gigging after New Years Eve. This is crushing, as despite my fandom, I've never been able to take in a Lazy Rich set first hand, and while we can hope that he goes back on his word, he has not closed the door on future productions. He's also stated that he will stay on with his label Big Fish Recordings, and maintain his roles with both Label Engine and Create Music. All this being said I figured it was appropriate to share a small sampling of my favourite Lazy Rich productions and some of the remixes they inspired.

While the playlist below contains 15 tracks, it really is a small sampling of Lazy Rich's enormous catalog which (while incomplete also includes duplicates) contains over 500 tracks on Beatport and reaches back to 2007. His impact cannot be overstated, whether through his productions alone or his work with the aforementioned trio of behind the scenes roles. His work within the electro house scene is immeasurable; just a quick scroll through his feed shows countless artists reaching out and thanking him for his role in, either directly or indirectly, influencing them.

While electro is gritty and raw, his tracks always had a undeniable polish and funky dance-able feel. Just one listen to the first track below "Disco Rocking" illustrates that perfectly. Later his work with vocalists (be them originals or remixes) further showed his ability to pair his power with poignant emotion. More recently he left the comfortable confines of 128 BPM to explore new worlds, and seemingly no matter who or what he worked with, success was guaranteed.

When I first came into dance music, it was always about pairing power with a tune you could dance to and no one did this quite like Lazy Rich. Finally, I leave you to enjoy the three handfuls of my favourites below. Be sure to check out more of his illustrious library, and follow his socials at the bottom.FOLLOW LAZY RICH: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Lazy Rich - Knock Me Out

For years now, Lazy Rich has been one of my favourite producers, releasing some of my most reliable, go-to, fire-me-up productions. Recently those tracks were "Opus," his collabs with Mord Fustang and Felguk "We Are" and "Dance To The Beat" respectively. He's also a master remixer, taking on the likes of Porter Robinson's "Vandalism" and Fatboy Slim's "Weapon Of Choice." But his most recent production first caught my attention when he tweeted "Never thought I'd release a trap track. I think it's trap anyway... is it?" Technically I don't think it is, but it certainly seems to be a variation from the blistering electro house that we usually get from the head of Big Fish Recordings. Rich has been experimenting as of late, departing from the 128 BPM range, most notably with the 114 anthemic stomper, "Give Me Crazy." Now "Knock Me Out," the supposed trap track, which sits at a paltry 104, yet again sees Lazy Rich getting bored with the monotony of 128 bangers. However it still fits well into the Lazy Rich library, delivering the delightful get down that we've come to expect from him.
From the foundation of the piano he lays down in the introduction to the super sexy, and ultra alluring, synthesized saxophone, the track is constructed with the kind of mastery only a seasoned veteran could muster. Like the label it is released on, it truly is Big & Dirty, and although the lyrics say the "lips are paralyzed, before I even got your name" I rather think it's our ears that are paralyzed, in utter disbelief at the sheer magnitude of Rich's production. He truly knocked this one out of the park; regardless of what genre you want to call it, this is a big time production full of fun and frivolity.

I really regret not getting it in last night's extended episode of Bump In The Hump, but will remedy that by including it in my upcoming posts on this blog, as I go through my favourite tracks from this year of Bump In The Hump, and put a cap on the year of music that was 2016.

FOLLOW LAZY RICH: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Felguk & Lazy Rich - Dance To The Beat

The gift just keep coming down the chimney, this time it's in the form of a collaboration between two of the most twisted electro producers out there, Felguk and Lazy Rich. "Dance To The Beat" brings so many great elements to the table including all that could possibly be expected from such a massive collaboration. It's got all of the right pieces; powerful builds and whacked out drops rife with perverted synth warbles, hard grinding rhythms and a strikingly funky, contrasting middle section that calls to mind Chromeo. The Chromeo connection is strengthened by the talk box use in the repeated "Dance To The Beat." When all of these components are combined the track hits and drives at such a powerful, potent and compelling way that you cannot help but get your grimy, filth shaking like a dog on the dancefloor; you instantly become a kindergartner with no body control flailing uncontrollably possessed by the magical creation of Felguk and Lazy Rich.  Grab the download and lose yourself to the beat.

SUPPORT (FELGUK): FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER 
SUPPORT (LAZY RICH): FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER