Today we welcome dedex to the Digbox. Hello, dedex! Off you go!

Hello, welcome to the Digbox. This is a [now confirmed] blog(!) series where a person throws down a few epic jams and talks about them a little bit, or a lot. List is digs, and all that. The only rules set by local resident JohnnyoftheW**b are 1) no more than nine songs (what a random choice btw), to keep this succinct for the readergang, 2) this is primarily about songs, not albums or other things(?), and 3) at least most of the songs have to be really, really good for reasons that aren’t ironic. Cool? Cool. Digbox: begin:

[“Digbox” – reimagined by SandwichBubble, 2021] 

Disclosure – “Watch Your Step”

The biggest mystery of 2020: where were y’all when the last Disclosure album dropped? With an, erm, impressive amount of 46 ratings, it was less hyped than some obscure metalcore album. I get that some specific genres attract many peepz here, but the lack of ass-shaking praise makes me sad. What makes it even sadder is that the average is painfully low, the record being unashamedly tackled for its “genericness”. “Watch Your Step” ain’t no generic mainstream fodder, no! It’s a dangerously infectious banger that bleeds for us all to go tear the clubs up, its catchy refrain only waiting for hundreds of voices to join in unison while dancing feet swaggily stomp the floor. Maybe y’all just weren’t ready and were too busy pondering forlorn thoughts while jamming that one pretty nice New-Zealand dissonant album. I don’t blame you, but please don’t forget what it’s like to fucking dance.

Kekra – 9 Milli

OF COURSE THERE’S A FRENCH RAP TUNE!!! NO PLEASE DON’T RUN AWAY! For all you Rosbeefs, “9 Milli” adequately plays on a UK garage beat as well as a mindless chorus which could be roughly be translated as “i wanna make dem moolah but these bastards wanna snitch on me lol i’ve got a 9MM rekt amirite”. 2010s French Poetry right here. The track’s high energy verses are nothing but filler yet dope bars to make you go apeshit when the chorus finally hits back. Since he never shows his face, Kekra does not embarrass himself with deep messages or societal diatribe: he’s playing the rap game to make more money than you could dream of, but with an irrefutable knack for catchy lines and a certified love for UK hip hop that guarantees him some uniqueness. “9 Milli” is one of French rap’s last decade heroes, the kind of tune whose inherent quality can only be possibly matched by its greater degree of silliness.

Lous and the Yakuza – Dilemme

OF COURSE THERE’S A BELGIAN TUNE!!! Congolese-born Belgian sweetheart Marie-Pierra Kakoma is the new hot kid in town, her now-established hit “Dilemme” gathering everything musically-2020 together in an undeniably catchy fashion. Beware: the rhythmic structure is built by trap beats, oh no! And, while her flow at times mimics rap, her versatile voice is the song’s biggest appeal, switching from alt R&B voicing to classic French song reminders. Such an upbeat must tackle happy themes, innit? Hard nay, Lous talks about dilemmas (wouldn’t expect this judging from the song title): she wants to live alone, like ermits who read too much Nietzsche for their own sake, to break her chains and distance herself from everyday problems. It does sound oh-so simple, but even when one’s filled with nothing but despise towards their human companions, some friends/family/Tinder match do get some affection. What you’re left with is hatred towards humanity mixed with comfort to live with such goofballs. What a time to be alive when you’re a misanthrope.

Uppermost – Fly

Daft Punk disbanding saddens you? Jam “Fly”! French DJ Uppermost is in the end not much more than a Daft Punk copycat, but “Fly” unfolds its musical qualities in such an obvious way that your head will ultimately bop hard. The slow electronic rise explodes into a synth-laden wall of sound that would land in my space travel playlist if only Musk was less busy manipulating stocks on Twitter. Bref. Gotta say “Fly”‘s parent album is a competent compilation mixing all things Daft Punkian without that much of a true originality to it, but successfully copying one of the most revered electronic formation of the past 25 years still remains an impressive feature. Also, I discovered this one thanks to an early-2010s YouTube love of mine, MrSuicideSheep, which proved to be a more reliable means of discovering cool kids muzak than radio ever dreamt to be.

Hüsker Dü – Pink Turns to Blue

1984: The year alt rock broke. 1984: the year of Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime and Husker Du’s Zen Arcade. While it still retain the hardcore energy and lo-fi production the band started its career with, this is the pinnacle of the noisy, hooks-full formula that would later be transported from the indie to the mainstream thanks to relatively unknown bands like Pixies or Nirvana. The idea sounds so simple: play a pop song, shout your anger, blast the distortion. Voilà. Still, don’t expect Nevermind: it’s way too subtle about its chorus’ catchiness, and the distortion it’s drenched in is far more prominent. For every successful song you know, there’s the proto version, rougher, less marketable, but more adventurous. So, yes, sometimes it’s a bit of a noisy mess. But when the pop melody starts crawling its way into your head, this fucking hits.

<Thank you lovely dedex for digging into the Digbox and sharing your precious cosmopolipunk dance booty.>

<Who will be the next Digbox Person. Will it be you?>