After the departure of Diego, Dutch bass house music producer Moksi drops his third studio album, Moksi Crew, a collection of 12 tracks demonstrating that Samir is more than ready to go solo.
Talking about the new album, Moksi shares, “When I started Moksi in 2015, I never would’ve thought it would turn out to be such a versatile act. While pioneering the bass house genre, I quite organically expanded my sound to a much wider range within dance music. Touching on house, tech house, melodic house, deep house, and techno. For the ‘Moksi Crew’ album, I wanted to keep building on all those influences. The goal was to make an album that reflects me as an artist while challenging the popular sounds within today’s house music revival.”
He goes on, “My approach to my production process was quite technical for what I’m used to. All to find interesting new sound design techniques to make it sound different from other music I’ve been working on in the past. It was so fun to actually get my hands dirty and rediscover myself. My goal as a producer is never to reproduce other people’s sound or to release music that connects easily to the masses. The contrary is true; I want to make music that pushes a sound forward. Music that builds on the shoulders of all the house music giants that came before me. The goal should always be growth, never success, because success is the thief of ambition. With that in mind, I hope this album will add to the ever-evolving story of house music.”
Since first arriving on the scene as a duo in 2015, followed by releasing “Getting Higher” via Barong Family, Moksi has released two albums, multiple EPs, and numerous hit singles, as well as performing at elite clubs and festivals like Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas, Spring Awakening, Ultra Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Brooklyn Mirage, Academy LA, Ushuaïa, and Bootshaus.
Along with tens of millions of streams on Spotify and millions of views on YouTube, Moksi has collaborated with artists such as DJ Snake, Yellow Claw, Chocolate Puma, and Hardwell.
Entry points on the album include “The Treble” with Mike Cervello, featuring a low-slung tech-house rhythm dripping with funk flavors and burping synths. “Calm Down,” featuring Digitzz and Emy Perez, rides a pushing beat that allows Perez to parade her deliciously melodic flow.
“Killer Flex” travels on an extended rhythm as Bok Nero adds his hip-hop flow to the mixture, creating an innovative, contagious tune. A personal favorite, the throbbing pulse of “Me to Blame” hits like a jackhammer as industrial layers of synths, a piercing bassline, and distorted vocals imbue the tune with wild energy.
Another favorite because of its dramatic drops and crunching percussion, “Black on Black” with Eleganto delivers surging layers of gleaming harmonics.
The techno-laced “There Is Life” ties the album off with spoken word riffs and hints of dreamy, psychedelia.
With Moksi Crew, Moksi displays his evolving sound, showcasing an array of stylistic elements, resulting in an intoxicating album.
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