Probably best know for his international smash remix of Kid Cudi “Day and Night,” Francesco ?Phra? Barbaglia, a/k/a Crookers, is obviously still in the holiday spirit – as he is giving away downloads of his new single “#Heavy.” The track starts kind of normal, with a bouncy house groove, until a foreboding space/horror movie tone comes in gradually over the beat. Electro and industrial bits begin to appear with skips and stutters. A male voice saying the title #Heavy is repeated by an effected kid voice – as if a call and response – leading to a dramatic rise up to the literal climax (and it’s definitely female). There is a sense of humor and playful perversion here that is seen often in records by other Italian DJs (Benny Benassi/DJs from Mars), though the best comparison is probably the literal “drop” in the recent Cash Cash/Kerli song “Here and Now.” One note to DJs, the ending comes kind of suddenly after the foreboding tone picks up a second time. Aside from the cliched # hashtag in the title, “#Heavy” is a rather strong track, and it’s surprising that it is being given away free as it is one that would probably do quite well on Beatport.
Image Courtesy of Ciao records.
Crookers – “#Heavy”