David Schoenwetter is hardly new to EDM, and any raver or EDM fan worth his or her salt should know this production legend, who started producing on analog equipment in New York in the 90s. Schoenwetter has since produced many of his own EDM hits and also written songs for Tom Swoon and Swanky Tunes, not to mention the major commercial work he’s done for Warner Studios, the BBC and HBO.
The “new” bit to Schoenwetter’s latest work, then, is his collaboration with the super-hot up-and-coming vocalist and songwriter Muza. Two months ago Muza released the first ever Bangladeshi EDM track called “Bondhurey,” whose video broke records by gaining a million views on YouTube in its first two days, and is now up to over 5.1 million. Clearly there’s a demand for EDM in Bangladesh.
It’s unclear whether Schoenwetter reached out to Muza after the “Bondhurey” video, but the now duo’s first single together called “Roots” shows that it was a smart alliance, likely to produce a lot of good music. Both Muza and Schoenwetter consider themselves to be songwriters, focusing on melody and vocals before backing tracks and basslines. This style shows in “Roots,” which at its core is a trap/dubstep crossover but one would hardly notice because of the beautiful ambient melodies going on in the synths and vocals. Said vocals are sort of R&B/hip hop crossover and a little bit cheeky due to the fact that with all the pretty, ambient sounds and smooth vocal melodies, the tracks chorus is “that’s no fucking good.” Humor, musicality and EDM danceability? Sounds like the full package.
The merged styles of Schoenwetter and Muza seem to take on a sound similar to Gorgon City or Pretty Lights thus far musically, but based on “Roots” it’s clear the duo are planning to expand their sound and incorporate other styles like hip hop and R&B, jazz. It’s probably well-advised not to get too attached to the trap beat of this track as well, as with the two producers’ backgrounds, pretty much any beat structure is probably on the table. What fans can bank from Schoenwetter in Muza on is high-quality production, smooth vocals and no shortage of lyrical cheek. It should be a fun ride with this duo.
“Roots” by Muza and David Schoenwetter is out now on UFO Recordz and can be streamed on Soundcloud or Spotify. It’s also available for purchase on Amazon, Beatport and iTunes. Check out Muza’s breakout video for “Bondhurey” below.
