Dirty South has a resume that is long and historic in the world of dance music. His name is synonymous with beautiful progressive ballads full of palpable emotion. His latest release featuring ANIMA! found a home on Above & Beyond‘s imprint Anjunabeats and has brought a breath of fresh air to the label.
By no means are we suggesting that Anjunabeats was in anyway struggling as a label. Consistency is the word you think of when you consider all of the releases pouring out of the London HQ of over the past decade. That being said Anjuna releases have a bit of an undeniable pattern. Intro – melodic break – build – euphoric drop – outro. While there is nothing wrong with that we love hearing an artist do the unexpected. That is exactly what Dirty South has done.
‘I Swear' starts off steadily and sultry but soon develops in mystery as layers of intrigue are added. Bouncing synths accompany the voice which seems to increase in confidence. This leads to a tension which only added to with ever heavier filtering which is broken by the explosive entry of a tech house drop. The vocals weave back in and as this track comes to an end the listener is left with a sense of inescapable introspection. Bravo to both Dirty South and ANIMA! for crafting a one of a kind tune as well as Anjunabeats for taking a chance with a release that doesn't follow it's usual arch.
