When DJ Dave Nada arrived at his cousin's homecoming party in Washington, D.C. to begin his electro-house DJ set, he discovered that the partygoers were already jamming out to reggaeton beats. Nada quickly realized that he had to adjust his set list in order to accommodate this reggae vibe. By slowing down Afrojack's remix of Chuckie's song, "Moombah," to 108 beats per minute (bpm), Nada managed to maintain the reggae tempo without sacrificing the original electronic house sound.
Thus, the electronic dance music (EDM) subgenre of Moombahton was born. While Nada's breakthrough occurred only three years ago, many electronic artists have since experimented with the Moombahton style to bring more excitement to their remixes. Munchi, for instance, has a remix of Datsik's "Firepower" that infuses even more energy into the original dubstep banger.
While Moombahton is still relatively new and exploratory, some artists have fully embraced it as their own, defining themselves as producers of electronic music within that 108 to 112 bpm range.
Some EDM artists have successfully dabbled with the genre. Knife Party produced a fun remix of Porter Robinson's "Unison," and the duo has also collaborated with Skrillex for the jam called "Zoology." In his remix of Krome & Time's "The License," Doctor P switches to this tempo as well in his second bass drop.
A few weeks ago, London-based EDM duo Delta Heavy released a Moombahton remix of Nero's "Must Be The Feeling." With its wild Knife Party-esque sounds, it has quickly become one of my favorite Moombahton tunes.
L.A. native Dillon Francis has pioneered the Moombahton charge and can be thought of today as a kind of inheritor to the movement Nada created.
Since the Moombahton focus has been on remixes rather than original material, some complain that these types of songs can get repetitive or boring. Luckily, Francis is an extremely talented EDM producer who has chosen to focus his efforts almost exclusively on Moombahton—the results are astonishing to say the least.
After listening to his recent hit "I.D.G.A.F.O.S"(short for "I Don't Give a F--- or S--t"), it becomes clear just how addictive a well-produced Moombahton song can be. The song begins in typical Francis style, with a jumpy pop sound that is soon joined by layers of melodic riffs and a pulsing bassline.
Every electronic fan knows that there is nothing more frustrating than having to wait through a minute or two of boring buildup before reaching a song's climactic drop. The true beauty of Francis' songs is that the production of his buildups rivals the quality of his bass drops, making the entire song worthy of repeating over and over.
In fact, Francis tends to avoid the drum pattern typical of reggae or bachata songs in his tunes, which can make it easy to forget that he is still working around 110 bpm. This is especially obvious when one compares Francis' songs to other Moombahton classics, like "Pendejas" by Tittsworth & Alvin Risk.
But this is not the only way in which Francis deviates from the norm. He also draws upon middle-range dubstep and other EDM styles in order to incorporate heavier electronic sounds into his tunes.
Perhaps the most satisfying facet of a Francis song is his focus on melodic riffs and the way in which each tune seems to have an overarching thematic plan. While some EDM tracks sound like electronic noises were jumbled in a bag and thrown together at random, Francis' songs have a clear plan and sound painstakingly composed.
If "I.D.G.A.F.O.S." wasn't impressive enough, Dillon Francis released his three-track EP under Skrillex's OWSLA label on February 14. The EP, "Something, Something, Awesome" boasts two solo tracks as well as one impressive collaboration with Kill The Noise called "Dill the Noise."
If one were to have any complaint about the EP, it could be that the songs all sound similar. But this hardly qualifies as a flaw, for Dillon Francis' sound is far from becoming tiresome.
Another group to look out for in this emerging genre is the Los Angeles duo gLAdiator. They have already produced a dozen or so Moombahton remixes of popular electronic songs and don't show any signs of slowing down. A few months ago, they released a clever original tune called "Danger Zone," which features a hilarious sample from the TV show "Archer."
As a final note, when artists like Doctor P and Knife Party use their patented middle-range dubstep sounds within the context of a Moombahton tempo, it can become difficult to define where exactly these songs lie. Dubstep? Moombahcore? Moombrostep? The ability to easily cross over between EDM subgenres easily has been both reason for excitement and cause for debate, yet people should spend less time worrying about how to define an EDM artist's song and spend more time listening to it on a great set of speakers. It's unclear where exactly Moombahton will go, but with people like Dillon Francis pioneering the way, its future is sure to flourish.