Loving You Is Easy - Camo & Krooked

PART 5 - AUSTRIA SERIES

I’ve chosen this track off Camo & Krooked’s third studio album “Zeitgeist” (released last September) for the 5th instalment of my Austria Series, firstly because of its relaxed, yet danceable vibe, making it the perfect track for any summer party, and secondly because Camo & Krooked themselves rate it their favourite tune off the album.

Austrian DJs Camo & Krooked (whose real names are Reinhard Rietsch and Markus Wagner) started collaborating in 2007 and have since been making a name for themselves as a drum and bass production outfit. Their track “Watch It Burn” (feat. Ayah Marar), for instance, has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube, and they are sought-after DJs, with upcoming gigs at locations from the UK and Belgium to Russia and Japan. And their 321,000+ Facebook likes speak for themselves.

Expanding their range

Camo & Krooked have expanded their musical range with their latest album. They’d been feeling a bit bored with the electronic dance music scene, so they wanted to do something fresh and organic. And in my opinion, they have created a tasteful album that works in the club, but doesn’t grind on your nerves if you put it on at home. 

When asked to pinpoint their main influences, Camo & Krooked name disco, French house and minimal. There’s no mistaking these influences on “Loving You Is Easy”, which I love because of the stark contrast between the upbeat disco parts and the extremely restrained minimal sections. I’ll talk a bit later about what C&K do to intensify this contrast.

Disco meets minimal

The first few seconds of the track leave no doubt as to what awaits us: the long brass note and arpeggiated strings immediately take us back a few decades and put us in a disco state of mind. The intro then introduces the piano/bass riff that forms the meat and potatoes of the entire track. (I’ve written it down in a simplified form, i.e. without the ghost notes, although it’s exactly those ghost notes that make it so rhythmical and funky.) If you listen closely, you can also hear little breathers that are used as percussive elements. The soulful vocal sample (I’m tempted to think it’s an original vintage sample, although it could just be one helluva studio singer) is then introduced and gives the disco sections body and warmth. Its extreme emotionality also contributes towards the contrast between the disco and minimal sections. 

Masters of their craft

So, what do C&K do to enhance the contrast between the sections? With the precision and attention to detail we’ve come to expect from C&K, they create more density in the bit leading up to the next section and then make a clean cut. For instance, in the second half of the vocal part they build up the sound effects and add a swoosh sound, all of which are abruptly cut off when the minimal bit begins (0:33). This technique highlights the new section’s decidedly dry and stripped-down character. This is exactly the same effect I’ve always loved about “One Night in Bangkok” (Murray Head, 1984): the chorus begins – “One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster” – with its expansive instrumentation and no shortage of reverb, and in the second line – “The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free” –we have a cutoff on the word “temples”, with only a minimalist bass line remaining until everything builds up again. I love this effect – if done well, it is a moment of surprise that creates variety, excitement, intensity.

Less is more

But back to “Loving You Is Easy”. So, the secret is in the build-up through the addition of instruments, effects, etc. so that the next bit is all the more surprising. In essence, the minimal bit consists only of bass, bass drum and a minimal sound playing the F minor scale (without the 6th; see it notated) – you can hardly get more minimal than that. And again C&K amp up the effects and the reverb towards the end of the 8-bar form, as well as putting a delay on the melody, just to cut it all off again when the next section begins.

In the subsequent disco parts, C&K reinforce their homage to that era with a Chic-style guitar and later with a couple of string falls (2:36 and 2:44). And, as if they hadn’t made me happy enough yet, C&K end the track with a synth sound that would make Giorgio Moroder proud. 

Conclusion

Thank you, Camo & Krooked, for creating an infectious track for no other reason than to make us happy! It’s the soundtrack of my summer.

See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9IiagqBBHs

The deutsche Fassung dieses Blogeintrags gibt’s zu lesen auf zartbitter.co.at.