VNSSA’s output is every bit as dynamic as her DJ sets. While her style remains distinct through each release, she continues to explore every edge of house music. She posses a well-honed gift for jilted bass lines, curious melodic riffs, and crispy beats – but this summer she began to experiment in the realm of breaks, dropping a few IDs in streams.
Now, we finally get to experience the full span of her journey into the broken with the Dance Night EP. It’s out now on Christian Martin’s Trippy Ass Technologies.
The title track, “Dance Night” is a spacious foray into classic electro. The drums are dirty with a bit of extra weight on the 808. VNSSA (real name Vanessa Barnes) toys with a multi-faceted array of psychedelic melodic motifs with a gritty 303 at its core. A hallmark of VNSSA’s tunes and a source of their allure is her own voice giving the song a hook. It’s worked so well on hits like “Word” and “Rave Grave,” and she continues to prove her songwriting ability by crafting a fun spoken word that only adds to the quirkiness of “Dance Night.”
She continues the electro onslaught with “Out Of My Head” featuring Bianca Gardner. This one has a heavy dose of acid and a spicy countermelody. What’s most fun about it is the balance of crispy clean drums and increasingly dirty and wonky synths. It’s the best kind of weird.
Label head Christian Martin joins brother Justin on the final tune to remix “Out Of My Head,” Evening out the EP with a bit of 4/4 action. The boys grab the melodic elements, make them even dirtier, and then repurpose them as a rollicking bass line, offering a perfect example of paying tribute to the original while making it the remixer’s own.
Dance Night is available via BandCamp, Spotify, and Beatport.
