musclecars – She Raised Us in Sunset Park (Spotify)
“When different music genres meet, quite interesting results may occur. This is the case here with "Musclecars" fast track. Plenty of acoustic loops are combined in a mix with soft keys, wild guitar chords and many more instrumental sounds. The result lies somewhere between House and Indie Electronic magic!”
-Nagamag.com
musclecars, composed of Craig Handfield & Brandon Weems, are staples in NYC’s House scene and beyond through their party-turned-label Coloring Lessons, effervescent sets on The Lot Radio, and increasingly acclaimed productions. Expanding on their debut EP ‘Street Dreams’, the duo returns to toucan sounds with ‘Street Dreams (Deluxe)’, bringing together remixes from London’s K15 and Tokyo’s Dazzle Drums alongside original cuts.
Leading the release, ‘She Raised Us In Sunset Park’ sees the duo offer a fresh take on ‘The Man Who Kept Bedstuy Warm’, bringing a flurry of dense live percussion alongside soaring guitar licks, vibrant horns, and smooth keys. K15 brings wildlife ambiance and gorgeous, soft chords for his take on ‘Sol’, burying the vocals under a bed of dreamy house.
Dazzle Drums takes ‘Sun Track I’ into downtempo territory, reworking Tiff Ortiz’s vocal performance into a delicate and organic affair. Offering two parts to the release, ‘Street Dreams (Deluxe)’ includes a digital three-track release of brand new material alongside a 12” vinyl including the latest works alongside tracks from their 2020 debut.
www.instagram.com/musclecars.nyc
Native to New York, musclecars is a DJ / Producer duo consisting of Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield. As musicians, they equally share an admiration for the art form. Their desire to blend genres and express their appreciation for music is focused around their community- the end goal is to bring people together. Through a regular stream of high quality mixes, they have begun to turn heads in underground circles.
In 2018 they launched ‘Coloring Lessons’, a party that was aimed to add value to their city’s nightlife culture. While the party and sound is not genre specific, it is heavily focused around house, disco, jazz, and soul, embracing the musical elements of their black and brown ancestors. The monthly party's intention is to bring New York City's dance music scene back to what it was during the golden era of NY nightlife. They aim to spread the music that has been influential to them, and share it with a younger generation of their peers.
Reviewed by Nagamag on July 4, 2021