The Requesters

Roughly a year and a half ago, I predicted that both The Bloody Beetroots and The Requesters would explode. In retrospect, it turns out I was only partially right. While it was almost a given that the Beetroots would take the world by storm with their standout, ferocious brand of electro, The Requesters were a little bit more of a gamble. Although it is undeniable that they ticked all the right boxes for an up-and-coming dance act, particularly within the electro and house genres, they never received the same mainstream exposure as the likes of Justice, Digitalism or Crookers.

Hailing from Barcelona, The Requesters have been kicking up a fuss on the local and festival circuit for quite some time, yet in spite of this, even though they were the darlings of the blog community, they have become less and less talked about in recent times. This was most likely due to the fact that after releasing such bombs as Warriors, Air Guitar and the sensational Delorean remix As Time Breaks Off, they seemed to just disappear off the radar. It wasn't that they stopped playing, as their tour schedule has consistently been packed with slots and residencies. Rather, they stopped releasing original productions as frequently and thus somewhat slipped away from the spotlight, which was a crying shame as they brought a degree of funkiness and flair to a genre that had been becoming overpopulated with stagnant fidget/wobbly productions and remixes.

With the release of their self-titled EP, however, all of that has changed. It seems they are ready and more determined than ever to get their original productions out there, which can only be a good thing for the rest of us, as they craft a sound which has an unmistakable, exotic disco flavour that doesn't compromise that big beat dancefloor feel. One of the most interesting aspects about their music is that they place a large amount of emphasis on infectious piano/keyboard segments, and more specifically, piano breakdowns; a rare occurence in dance music. On the other hand, what is perhaps most engaging of all is their subtle yet remarkable use of sampling. It is often difficult to pinpoint the original sample, which most definitely adds a layer of mysteriousness to their work, as you never really know what's sampled and what isn't unless you're some kind of encyclopedia of music. One sample I found particular fascination with was the vocal melody of Live, which contains the line "ain't nothin' tooty fruity, get on the floor if you got that booty," a sample from the MC Cool Rock & MC Chaszy Chess record Boot The Booty, released in 1987. To listen to the tracks side by side, while there is a major comparison on the vocal front, they are literally nothing alike. In fact, the original track only uses that sample in the intro and then takes it in another direction, whereas it is a predominant feature within The Requesters' take. This is just another example of their creativity and originality in a genre which has a tendency to focus on repetition and heavy build-ups. Hopefully this EP can garner them some attention because right now they are one of the freshest acts in the business. Don't just take my word for it, take a listen to the tracks or better still buy the EP.

The Requesters - Chrisis
The Requesters - Live
Delorean - As Time Breaks Off (The Requesters Remix)
The Requesters - Tiumfalizm Live (a forgotten gem)

I was also going to post Air Guitar here, but unfortunately my other computer is fried at the minute and as usual any blog that has it either isn't responding or their bandwidth is full. Hopefully I can get it hosted sometime in the near future but for now enjoy the Youtube link. It really is fantastic.