Prior to his India tour, King Unique exclusively curated a playlist featuring his favourite sounds.
Renowned globally for his distinctive sound, Matt Thomas aka King Unique will be here this weekend to give the country a much needed dose of unadulterated techno. Possessing a taste for tripped out cosmic techno and rough edged underground techno, the Brit has set his own ‘unique’ standards wherever he has stepped foot.
1. T. Williams –Bahia Repulse : This is the perfect example of the music that’s appealing to me currently – it’s a melodic techno/progressive arrangement with future garage beats & bass, a complete fusion of sounds that is perfectly representative of the best stuff coming out of the UK right now.
2. Daniel Avery – Knowing We’ll Be Here (KiNK Remix) : KiNK is making this beautifully ugly & above all wonderfully organic techno with his vast array of voltage-controlled gizmos. Best of all he isn’t afraid to go fucking crazy & let a track scream to the heavens when it should.Deep’s dead – it’s time to start dancing like no one’s watching again.
3. Grum – Autumn (King Unique Remix): Perfectly captured retro 90s house flavours that take a sudden left turn into depth charges of bass that shake your brain – nostalgia meets neuralgia.
4. Rufus – Sundream (Claptone Remix): It’s a clichéd phrase but this one is really a sun-drenched beauty of a tune, with a slightly mournful falsetto vocal giving it some emotional depth & longevity – one or two listens aren’t enough. I fact it’s so good …
5. Rufus – Sundream (Wordlife Remix): … I’m putting it in twice. Not the same remix though – this is from Aussie duo Wordlife a little treasure of the club scene who somehow straddle the EDM/underground divide with grace. They have a knack for making tracks that for one dj might be the start of a big-room snare-fill heavy peak time set but are equally at home mixed in with the wonkiest of UK bass music. Check out their track ‘Small Talk’ from last year for another perfect example.
6. King Unique – 7 Hours (Pedram Remix): Pedram/Park Hill/Pedramovich has been knocking out great music for a few years now but seems to have gone into overdrive of late. Having heard some of thedemos that are going towards his forthcoming album he’s going to be a major player on the production scene soon – without a doubt. I couldn’t think of anyone I’d sooner have work on the remix of my last single ‘7 Hours’ & happily he agreed. I won’t tell you too much so as not to ruin the surprise but it’s as good a remix as I hoped – & I was hoping like a kid on Christmas Eve.
7. Taiki & Nulight feat. Herve – It Ain’t Even About The Dough: This a tune I absolutely love that clears as many dancefloors as it fills – so obviously I keep playing it because I’m a contrary bastard. Surging soaring pads over hiccupping beats that suddenly give way to half-speed bass slurs that make you feel like you’re riding one of the great sandworms in ‘Dune’. Monumental track.
8. NT89 – To Love(You) : I gather this may not be coming out which is a shame for anyone without a copy. Nima is an amazing producer who covers so many sounds effortlessly & always stamps his mark on them all. This is an etherally beautiful piece of music allied to a marching techno kick. I’ve had to really force myself to stop playing it as a set opener everywhere – its just a perfect intro tune.
9. The Beatles – Paperback Writer: My daughter & I sing this together in the car when we’re driving round town. I flatter myself that I’m pretty good at the verses but she absolutely owns the choruses.
10. Future Sound Of London – Papua New Guinea (Shadow Child VIP): One of the all time great tracks, full stop, updated by one of my favouriteproducers of the moment. Played at just the right moment in the night this is a tune that sends people flailing around the room trying to find the jaws that they dropped.
While on his tour you can catch Matt at the following venues :
1st August – I Kandy, Delhi
2nd August – Blue Frog, Mumbai
3rd August – Pebble, Bangalore