Wolf + Lamb vs. Soul Clap DJ-Kicks
Can four DJs coexist on one mix? DJ-Kicks thinks Brooklyn’s Wolf + Lamb and Boston’s […]
Can four DJs coexist on one mix? DJ-Kicks thinks Brooklyn’s Wolf + Lamb and Boston’s Soul Clap can. These like-minded duos upturn the sad times promised by their ironically bummed-out cover photos by mixing a big-hearted, slow-tempo house cocktail stirred with vintage techno to transport even the coldest hearts to warmer climes and good times.
Where other DJs tapped by the series used their mixes to aggressively flaunt their eclectic tastes, this quartet stays lazer-focused on their own nascent scene, drawing exclusively from their own productions and those of close collaborators and labelmates. So while Double Hill’s “Everytime I Go” leans on throttled bluesy vocals for a hook and Greg Paulus’ “Suchashame” employs a wandering muted trumpet, they’re linked in the mix by the same spacious production, polished keys, and relaxed percussion. Transitional tracks are aggressively shorn down into interludes, letting the more surefire dance-starters like Locussolus’ modern disco-house number, “Next To You,” work through their paces in full.
But close links can lead to group-think: The album rarely strays from the pillowy tempos that made this double pair’s name at their infamous Marcy Hotel party nights. This is absolutely well and good if you’re ready to drop into a lush house embrace for a few hours, but it’s the offhanded flashes of Soul Clap’s energetic R&B edits, Wolf + Lamb’s deeper Miami bass influence, or the pure weirdness of the Auto-off-Tuned vocals on “Lonely C” that provide the tart contrast required for a memorable mix.