A New Russian Banger and Some Funky Vodka

Hey, those two things go together pretty well don’t they?

As I often explain, I’m always scanning the Beatport Top 100 list to see what’s popular among the DJs around the world. More often than not the songs are frequent plays in the majority of DJ sets I see/hear at a given moment in time and are often by the bigger-name artists in the world. One song in particular I’ve been seeing in the Top 10, but not hearing live or on mixes, is TJR’s “Funky Vodka”. At the time I’m writing this, the song is sitting at #2 on the Beatport Top 10 and was released back on February 20, 2012. That’s right, this song is sitting above songs by the Swedish House Mafia, Mark Knight, Alesso, and Zedd. Well, fuck. I can see why. This may be the funkiest song I’ve heard in a while – the title does not lie. This is uplifting straight House music that will do nothing but make your body move. It has the kind of feel that Duck Sauce’s “Barbra Streisand” infected me with the first time I heard it.

I know TJR most recently from his work with Nom de Strip and Sue Cho with “My Life”, which was a heavy banger seeing support in the Electro-House charts. He’s originally from Connecticut but now lives in Los Angeles. He broke out of his original Tech-House and Acid House roots to produce more listener friendly tracks. Check it for yourself and buy it if you like it! By the way, “Funky Vodka” is actually a sped-up version of Toots and the Maytals’ “Funky Kingston”.

TJR – Funky Vodka

TJR Facebook
TJR SoundCloud

The second track this evening comes from a bunch of Russians – Swanky Tunes (a Russian trio) and Hard Rock Sofa (a Russian duo). Both have really started to become big names in the world of EDM, releasing notable tracks such as Swanky Tunes & R3Hab’s “Sending My Love” and Hard Rock Sofa’s song “Quasar” which was made famous when it was featured at the Swedish House Mafia’s Madison Square Garden Set. Now they’ve come together to create a banger that is sure to be a new anthem all over the world. I had the pleasure of seeing Swanky Tunes in Boston and they killed it (pictures here) so absolutely you see them if you have the chance.

Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa – Apogee
(apogee means the point in the orbit of an object (as a satellite) orbiting the earth that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth. or, the furthest or highest point.)
Hard Rock Sofa – Quasar

Swanky Tunes Facebook
Swanky Tunes SoundCloud

Hard Rock Sofa Facebook
Hard Rock Sofa SoundCloud