As the “Melbourne Bounce” subgenre continues its stranglehold on mainstream EDM, track after track continues to be churned out by the likes of TJR, Will Sparks, and Deorro. But with every emergence of a new category comes a few tracks that go against the grain in an attempt to take their niche in a different direction even if it’s only for the sake of amusement. This is “Dark Chicago” by Adrian Gia.
Coming off New York’s Brooklyn Fire label, the Australian producer decided to strip away the big room and main stage aesthetics that have made Melbourne Bounce so popular amongst Kandi beaded ravers and he’s replaced it with a minimalist techno vibe that is sure to turn a few heads. In a way, “Dark Chicago” is exactly what the name makes it sound like: a deeper, more sinister, edgier take on Chicago house music. And that stems out from every element of the track including the thumping bass that straddles a fine line between disco edit and main stage ragefest, a woodblock sample that keeps the tempo up, and a good use of ambience. There’s even the added novelty of a sample from the film “The Blues Brothers” to immerse it further in Chicago flavor (and even that has been deepened and darkened for the sake of solidarity).
In the end, Gia’s noodling around with the Melbourne format has produced a very tight, concise track which is much more rooted in the underground techno scene than the mainstream Ultra scene and that, my friends, is worth the full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, and wearing sunglasses.
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