Walker & Royce have structured a career path for themselves around being at the right place at the right time with the right talent and the right people. They’ve only been producing with each other for a few years now, but their discography thus far boasts releases on labels like Nervous, Crosstown Rebels, and Moda Black which has cemented them onto the forefront lobe of the underground house community.
Their newest EP, a debut on Pets Recordings titled My Stop, is a vibrant indication. It’s an elaborate piece that adeptly explains what makes them so good, how they got that way, and why they’re slowly, but surely, creeping into your list of favorite DJs. The 2-track extended play features a serious amalgamation of house flavors ranging from acid to jacking, four-on-the-floor beats showcasing a fluidity that has marked Walker & Royce’s style. The title track, “My Stop,” opens with a full-bodied kick and snare combo before building into a flanged vocal drop that switches gears into a quirky playfulness complete with claps, alarms, and distorted vocal chops. “My Stop” is the peak hour stomper that packs more wallops than the Energizer Bunny throws on his drum and more finesse than a girl in a Garnier commercial; the track literally oozes steeze.
“My Stop” is paired with the much more technical “Seventeen,” a track that can be described as a cut that twists and turns like an Escher drawing if it was laced with Molly. The sidewinding bass and cycling patterns give the track life and makes it sweep and spiral like a tornado. It’ll lift you up. It’ll make you jack. You’ll bounce, weave, jump, wail, flail, and wonder why it took you so long to get a sudden interest in tech house.
It takes a certain combination of ego and talent to create a house moment, but this recent EP by Walker & Royce is fitted with so many that it leaves us wondering if they’re going this hard just to prove a point or if they’re purely insane. Either way, the release is balanced, expertly produced so each finite detail is at its maximum potential, and a blaring siren that’s gonna let everyone know that these gents mean business. And with early support already coming in from Eats Everything, Hannah Wants, Doorly, Groove Armada, and Friend Within, it looks like the My Stop EP could be a sleeper hit going into the fall.
Stream the My Stop EP, out now on Pets Recordings, in its entirety below and mark your calendars for August 28 because Walker & Royce will be joining Maxxi Soundsystem at U Street Music Hall alongside hometown heroes Jus Nowhere and Jackson Ryland.
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