Palace – Trust

Label: Unknown To The Unknown

White Noise’s favourite label of 2012, DJ Haus’ eclectic and hyperactive UTTU, have their fingers in a lot of pies. Careening wildly from garage to electro, jungle to grime, the diversity of their output is matched only by the tunes’ astonishing energy. That said, the majority of the best releases from the UTTU camp have recalled the early-2000s bassline garage sound, the meaty sub-bass experiments that recall grime at its dirtiest that can be found on the label’s ace Tales From The Darkside compilation or Palace’s last release, Mandy.

Trust can be seen as a sequel of sorts, refining the sound of the producer’s earlier release while continuing to court the more excitable, leftfield sides of the dancefloor. The original mix is the best cut on here, taking no time to get started over a dusty 2step beat pattern that’s all snappy snares and twitching hi-hats. The centrepiece is an immaculately programmed bassline that scarcely repeats a phrase of its winding melody throughout the track. It’s a perfect example of one of those rare, showstopping elements that can make everyone on the dancefloor stand up and take notice, and the addition of a smattering of fragmenting diva cries only enhances the effect.

Trust

In-house remixes come courtesy of MATRiXMANN and scene stalwarts Mista Men to varying degrees of success. The former clips that monstrous bassline down to its core elements, adding a serrated bassline wobble and punchier beats, but the removal of the original cut’s key element leaves the tune feeling a little hollow, as if the fun’s been taken out of it. Garage duo Mista Men, whose excellent Forget U featured on our Best Tracks of 2012, offer a more impressive take on the tune. Laying down one of their signature 2step rhythms, the bassline is brought down to frequencies that will threaten even the meatiest bass bins, resulting in a more propulsive and danceable version of the title track that admittedly still feels a little less remarkable.

With two out of three of these tunes sure to destroy any dancefloor, the only question DJs will be left asking is how much they want to stand out. UTTU have thus far excelled at providing cuts that are more than a little different, and Palace’s exceptional bassline outing is an excellent start to what promises to be another year of stellar releases.

7.5/10

Best Tracks of 2012: 101-76

Year End Coverage

* Best Albums of 2012

* Best EPs of 2012

* Best Labels of 2012

* Best Breakthrough Artists of 2012

* Best Tracks of 2012 - 101-76
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 75-51
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 50-26
* Best Tracks of 2012 - 25-1

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It's been a big year! We'll end the festivities with a countdown of our favourite tracks of the year. All of these are great tunes, and the order is somewhere between deliberate and arbitrary, so bear that in mind. So many that got cruelly cut out of the list, but I reckon this is a solid roundup of what has been a great year for dance music. Enjoy!

 101 – MikeQ – Let It All Out 2012 feat. Jay Karan

Vogue is back.

100 – Pablo Nouvelle – Be True To Me

One of the few non-Dance tracks on here, irresistibly simple. EP Review.

99 – Four Tet – Lion (Four Tet Remix)

Huge vibes and slick atmospherics from The xx’s mastermind.

98 – Pangaea – Majestic 12

Breakneck darkness from a real master.

97 – Jimmy Edgar – Sex Drive

Just one of many brilliant moments of Edgar’s sleaze-fest.

96 – George Fitzgerald – Child

One of the year’s bounciest, most satisfying House tunes.

95 – Ejeca – Horizon

Massive House tune. It really does sound like ‘dinnertime’.

94 – Goodfoot feat Didz & The Organ Grinder

Utterly intoxicating piano House throwback from one part of CRST.

93 – Fantastic Mr Fox – Yesterday’s Fall feat. Alby Daniels

Strange, bassy, neo-pop from the inimitable Mr Fox. EP Review.

92 – Mista Men – Forget U

Muscular Garage workout from one of the UTTU crew’s very best.

91 – Body Double – Be Strong

(This is the audio for the A-side, What You Need)

Some weird House-pop from the 100% Silk camp.

90 – Jeremih - Fuck U All The Time feat. Natasha Mosley

This track was everywhere this year. Sensual, addictive, and filthy.

89 – Trikk – Jointly

One of the finest examples of the intersection between Techno and Bass. Absolutely kills on the dancefloor. Definitely big things to come from this Portuguese native. EP Review.

88 – The xx – Chained

Although Coexist was nowhere near as good as the band’s debut, this song perfectly encapsulated the powerful vibes of The xx at their best. Album Review.

87 – Maddslinky – Compuphonic

Super-stripped club track from Zed Bias, was doing the business in clubs up and down the country since its September release. EP Review.

86 – Alden Tyrell – Touch the Sky feat. Mike Dunn

Powerful Acid from a real legend coming out of the Clone camp. Top vocals.

85 – October – String Theory

Super-chilled House track from one of the scene’s unsung heroes. Totally unique, works great in the mix too. EP Review.

84 – Fracture feat. Dawn Day Night – Get Busy

Terrifyingly strong DnB / Footwork fusion that sets the floor on fire. Check out Dawn Day Night’s debut EP.

83 – TNGHT – Higher Ground

A bit too much? Definitely. Unbelievably large? Without a doubt.

82 – Shadow Child – 23

A late-December entry, this is not your average House tune. Excellent vocal build-up leads to one of the dirtiest drops this side of the New Year. Essential.

81 – 5kinandbone5 – Reset

Don’t you wish there was a button we could reset? Bassline brilliance from the UTTU camp.

80 – Funkineven & Fatima – Phoneline

Unbelievable genre-defying hybrid feat. Fatima’s gorgeous voice and Funkineven’s slick production, all from one of White Noise’s favourite labels, Eglo.

79 – Bwana – Baby Let Me Finish

Sounds like your average sugar-sweet Bass track until the percussive madness following the drop. Blissful addiction.

78 – Koreless – Lost In Tokyo

One of the Bass scene’s brightest stars only issued one release this year. It was 3 minutes long, and it wasn’t really dance music. Still, undeniably gorgeous so who really cares. EP Review.

77 – Bo Saris – She’s On Fire (Maya Jane Coles Remix)

Unexpected brilliance from one of the scene’s most consistent female producers (not nice that we have to say that, eh?) Twinkling midnight Garage, lush piano and moody vocals.

76 – Elsewhere – Trippin’

 

The darkest of the dark creeping out of your speakers from the Mindset camp. Huge, nasty, a real dancefloor killer. EP Review.