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12"
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HEIST 089EP
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Crackazat seamlessly blends contemporary electronica with dancefloor euphoria on his new record In the sky. Crackazat has had quite the run of amazing releases on Heist since his first outing back in 2021. Alfa, 2022 follow up Demucha, and his mini album Senses released in 2023 have shown that Heist is the perfect label for him to show off his keyboard wizardry and broad musical influences. In the sky hits you right in the feels and sees the talented musician navigate from synth-happy dancefloor cuts to electronic and jazzy deep house. What might stand out most on his new record is how Crackazat feels totally at ease with all these different styles and how he blends his voice seamlessly in the tracks to add depth, meaning, and energy. This might be most apparent on the title track, which is built around a syncopated Alfa-esque key loop. There's gorgeous vocal chops and warm arpeggiated synths in the background that give the track lots of texture, while the percussion shuffles along in perfect swing with the song's energy. Add some lovely strings, leads, and a moody breakdown, and you've got yourself a fine piece of dancefloor magic. On "Burnin'," Crackazat channels his inner raver with '90s inspired percussion, a honky piano loop, and some very catchy and quirky vocal chops. He freely sprinkles claps and snares around like it's Christmas and the big breakdown has the kind of madness-inducing energy that gets every clubber going! EP closer "Dark" is Crackazat in his most contemplative mode; a vibe he always loves to explore on his Heist outings. The bass is deep, the kick heavy, and the synth licks are mellow but powerful. His voice and effects give this track a beautiful extra dimension that would even make Fred Again jealous. The stripped-back percussion has clear influences from contemporary African dance music, which adds yet another layer to Crackazat's broad sonic landscape.
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12"
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HEIST 073EP
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Crackazat and Heist Recordings present: Senses. A stunning mini album that sees the artist deliver a heartwarming perspective on contemporary electronic music. Crackazat takes you on a sonic journey exploring his musical personality with live keys, vocals, bass and production all coming from his studio in Uppsala, Sweden. The jazzy horns that are featured throughout are recorded by Adeev and Ezra Potash, better known as the Potash twins. The duo took a sidestep from their recordings with John Legend, Robert Glasper, and even Diplo to dive into this project with Crackazat and help him deliver arguably his best work to date. The six-track album starts off with the low-slung groove of "I need to know". The whole atmosphere is warm, dreamy with plucked strings, arpeggios, and long horn notes supported by lo-fi drums and sparse bass licks. "Do you think about me" keeps the energy tight with a lovely drum groove and a sparse bass section. If "Do you think about me" is Crackazat in pop mode, "Freddie's Groove" is Crackazat in full-on jazz mode. The nod to Freddie Hubbard is clear, and Crackazat cleverly takes ideas from both the jazz legend and his legendary French sampler, Pepe Bradock for this track. The horns are deep and moody, the groove is jazz-house at its best and Crackazat's soft vocals have the perfect amount of fragility to fit the groove. "Phantom" sees Crackazat move into a shuffling Latin-dance vibe. Here, the song reaches its full potential through the horn section, so it's only fitting that this is the feature track for the Potash Twins. "Endless life" is a track that feels like it's building up momentum with every repetition. Whether it's the broken beat groove, the offbeat keys or the sparse horn hits, chord hits or leads, there's a certain energy in this track that takes a hold of you and simply doesn't let go. The outro "When we last met" is built around vibey drunk keys and a downtempo hip-hop groove.
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12"
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HEIST 063EP
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What do you do when you've just released an amazing album and your last EP on Heist Recordings was one of the label's best-selling records in recent years? This is the "question" Crackazat had to answer when writing his new EP for the label. His solution? Just deliver something even more amazing. Easy. When Crackazat released his Alfa EP early 2021, Heist knew it was going to be a great record. It had everything we've come to expect and love from him; a great balance between creative musicality and downright beef for the club. Fast forward a year and a half and here is Demucha EP. Title track "Demucha" starts with the jazzy energy of a double bass, flanked by brushed percussion and some vocal chops. You feel the speed of the track working through every part of the song, which becomes even more evident when the main key comes in. A typical Crackazat-esque finger-twirling loop brings the track to its top speed, where horn stabs add to the excitement. This is peak-time jazzy house executed to perfection. "Sarge" takes a more mellow approach, where you see Crackazat navigate the idea of timelessness with dreamy keys, strings and a dubby bass. A mid track crackly arpeggio and faraway voices add to the contemplative vibe of the track to great effect. The EP closer "We Know" stays away from Crackazat's renowned skippy beats and instead, make way for a driving staccato stomp. Rough key stabs along with the talented multi-instrumentalist's own faraway vocals make for a mesmerizing track that takes you on a lovely sonic journey that will work as well on the dancefloor as in any other space. The Demucha EP is another great example of Crackazat's talent to write an earworm of a melody and produce a sonically rich record in a manner that feels both effortless and compelling throughout its full-length.
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CD
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ZEDD 052CD
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The whole Period Works series from Crackazat compiling for the first time onto CD. Featuring two brand new tracks, Crackazat remixes of Sean McCabe and Joey Negro. "The Period Works Series has been a fantastic opportunity to explore of my biggest personal influences in dance music ranging from the rich instrumentation of disco, to the raw energy of early house music. After starting off with Acapellas from the Z Records Library for inspiration in 2016, the series has now culminated into new and original songs influenced by a golden age passed. Thank you to David Lee and Z Records for the opportunity and creative direction, and thank you to everyone who has purchased, listened and danced to the Period Works Series. Best Wishes" --Crackazat
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