Despite being one of the foundational elements of hip hop and dance music, electro is often overlooked in recent years. It’s throbbing funk recently found more favor among a new wave of techno and tech house producers, however. Such is the case with this beat-heavy remix of Sang Froyd‘s “Unsweet Street,” by L.A.’s Ocean Roulette.
Ocean Roulette (real name Louis Garcia) immediately establishes a bed of snappy broken drum beats that fill out every end of the sound spectrum. The slightly distorted warmth of a funky breakbeat completely wraps around one’s speaker before the track mutates into a symphony of car horns, eerie synth stabs, and gritty bass. An enigmatic voice interjects in a half-robot/half-human baritone, adding to the darkness. Garcia, who has made a name for himself with his unique takes on tech house, deep tech, and bass house, fully flexes his diversity on his “Unsweet Street” remix.
Over the last five or so years, Ocean Roulette has established a diverse yet cohesive sound. His background is in rock, yet he found the oversaturation of the genre confining. Dance music, meanwhile, offered a broad canvas on which to place his sonic paintbrush. Inspired by the psychedelic side of rock, Garcia has stamped his work with a similar aural fingerprint. It’s this unique approach to writing that has seen him release with tastemaker labels like Psycho Disco, Medium Rare, In/Rotation, and Desert Hearts.
He’s taken his ability to create peak dance floor experiences one further with his work as part of the Jackson Collective, a self-described, “collective of artists inspired by music that gathers together to create a communal platform of love, creativity and human connection.” The group has come to prominence in L.A. as a curator of events that include a stable of innovative emerging dance music artists and bands. Unfortunately, the spring installment of their boutique festival, Jackson Tree, had to be postponed due to COVID-19.
Ocean Roulette’s remix of “Unsweet Street” is available now at across platforms. As always, though, it’s best to support your favorite tunes via purchase.
