Contributing Writer
James Supplanter is a UK-based DJ and producer, known for his eclectic style that bridges deep tech house, acid, and minimal. Supplanter has garnered attention for his ability to craft sets that balance high-energy rhythms with introspective grooves, captivating both club and festival audiences alike.
2024 has been a solid year for him, with a string of releases that further solidify his place in the electronic music scene. His latest single, “See The Danger”, released as part of Unlearn Records’ Amsterdam 2024 VA, showcases his distinct sound, blending tight percussion with hypnotic basslines.
With the release landing 11 October, we asked James to put together a playlist of some of the tracks that have most inspired his own music.
Eli Brown – Searching For Someone
This song is probably my favourite tech house track. I find the fat kick drum and thick 1-bar bassline enthralling. The composition is simple, but effective. This track reinforced the value of adding variety to my drum loops to maintain interest. You can drop this song at any party at any time and it will go off! Eli Brown continues to make bangers but none can top this for me.
Max Cooper – Darkroom (John Tejada Remix)
I was in the car driving to work when I decided to play a CD I picked up at a weekend party, and 16 tracks in, I discovered a masterpiece of minimalism. I appreciated how the leads and chords changed throughout, and how the offbeat HH was washed in reverb and pushed back into the mix. The octave change at 2:01 lifts the energy from moody depths to a bright vista. John Tejada did a blinder with this remix and it was probably the first minimal deep track I had ever listened to. It has inspired me to just get rid of the fluff, and let the main elements sing clearly.
Gronery – Flicker
A stand-out track from Gronery, the first time I listened to it, I was really captured by the main synth which has a lot of movement and width. Listening to it encouraged me to be braver with my stereo effects, and to not shy away from using phasers and chorus. The arrangement is not like that typically found in deep house, so it really stood out when I discovered it, and has inspired me to be more adventurous with my arrangements ever since
Josu Freire – Move On
This track by Josu Freire lures you in with an enthralling drum groove, and then at 0:33 it captures you with a dirty, thick, ignorant bassline – there’s very little foreplay here. I think you can hear a bit of this track’s spirit within my own track ‘See The Danger’. This track makes you want to call your friends and go to a rave, or- at the very least, it makes you want to raise the drive on the LP filter.
DJ Bone – Cultural Variance
DJ Bone made something special here, it is a genre-blending track that is hard to categorise, it is a bit deep…a bit acidic, has unusual vocals- it is so leftfield. As soon as you hear the jittery organ sounding lead you know you are listening to something special. At 0:59, the track begins to transport you away from reality, at 1:29 you pass through the mesh separating this world from the next, and finally at 2:57, you awaken in a new realm where everyone is vibing to house music. This track is a journey, it embraces the unusual and when I listen to it, I feel encouraged to embrace the ideas that will make me stand out from my peers.
Alvaro Smart – Bubblegum (VLTRA Remix)
VLTRA outdone themselves with this remix. The track has these oral sounding, squelchy percussion sounds that bounce around the stereo spectrum, a thick and deep bassline, and a brilliantly used soulful sample, that all combine into this amazing musical amalgamation. I love the tasteful use of the sample, the tight drums, and the contrast between the pre-drop and drops.
Bress Underground – Music and Something
This track was first discovered by my partner who shared this track with me during a long drive to a festival. Long drives are typically where we share music. The track feels gritty, raw and focused. I love the vocal call and response in the background of the mix, the stripped back drums, the subdued bass line and the wispy pondering chords.
Mezigue – Aucunes Nouvelles d’Alexis
I enjoy listening to Mezigue’s discography in general, I think his music takes a lot of chances, his tracks feel very distinctive, and this is another such track. It begins with an interesting vocal and a menacing pad, and then the pad makes way for a fat kick drum that doesn’t care about 4 on the floor and doesn’t care about the new trends. The drums are interestingly programmed throughout, and the song feels like a sonic adventure, in which the listener does not know what is around the next corner. This is an adventurous and bold production that can inspire many artists to be divergent.
Nathan Jonson – Let Your Body
I want to be dancing at the parties that play tracks like this one. If there’s a club in The Nightmare Before Christmas, the DJ there plays this song every night. The song begins with an eerie detuned organ, giving it a spooky vibe and then introduces hi-hats with dub echo to add to the unsettling introduction. The bassline is simple and relentless, the vocals have a satisfying call and response and the song jives with an infectious energy. Revisiting this gem from Nathan Jonson reminds me that if you have a great story and bassline, few other additions are necessary.
Paris Underground Trax – Sexy Thing Remix
This song is just epic, the way the chords just roll in, the groove of the whole song and the way the chords and the bass play around each other. This is a song that transports me to the moments where me and my friends look at each other with a grimace, knowing that we are listening to a banger, and that fleeting feeling, when you couldn’t shazam it, and realise you may never hear it again.