SomethingALaMode – 5am review

Artist: SomethingALaMode
Title: 5am
Label: Yellow Productions France
Genre: Electro House
Format: Digital
Buy From: Juno Download

Rarely do classically trained musicians transfer their skills and talent into making great dance music. SomethingALaMode (SALM) really do prove an exception though – a Parisian duo who keep their abilities with the violin and cello at the core of their electro tunes.

“5am” features singer K.Flay on the mic and is laden with perfect string parts that drive the tune, as well as deep bass and punchy drums to keep the whole thing club-happy. The breakdowns are where it works best though, with the languid chords suddenly breaking down to just the strings, plucked and processed to ebb and flow while the beat picks up. While the radio version is more gentle, the album version is much more pumping and typically French house, thanks largely to some tastefully distorted bass that wraps itself around the tune like a glove.

This approach gets taken further on the ASP mix, which adds loads of weight and punch, as well as some huge bottom end. The Star Guitar leaves the strings behind and constructs a whole new backing around it, bathing in melancholy and minor chords. James Curd again builds a totally unique track around K. Flay’s vocals, and it’s yet another killer mix from a man on terrific form right now. Expanding the vocals with some subtle reverb, he puts some serious bounce into the tune, even speeding it up a couple of notches to give it maximum energy. Not only is “5am” a cool and original tune, the mixes really elevate this into a pretty memorable single – check out just how far each remix takes it to see what we mean.

Review: Oliver Keens