- Snuck out in August as a no-info white label on the made-up DHT label, this meeting of the disco minds (and generations) gets a full digital release via Plant Music. This is New York DJ Beto Cravioto's first production; Whatever/Whatever member Justin Strauss's career dates back to gigs at the Mudd Club and a single on Stiff Records. (More recently, with his production partner Bryan Mette, Whatever/Whatever have remixed the likes of Jacques Greene, Yacht and Woolfy.) "No Social Culture" brings appropriately old school vibes, with a dizzy drizzle of Rhodes keys over a crisp machine beat, and faraway vocals lending a wistful touch. It's a simple track, but effective, churning plucky bass riffs and sampled loops until it's all as fluffy as butter.
Remixes from Eddie Mars and Richard Richard both exploit the tune's laidback, late summer air, preserving both its 110 BPM tempo and its faintly nostalgic air; Eddie Mars replaces the Rhodes with bright, sumptuous synthesizers, while Richard Richard goes for a fine filigree of funk guitars and a buoyant vibe you might call ambient Afrobeat. L.I.E.S.' Willie Burns takes the most liberties with his interpretation; his "New Beat Mix" is a lo-fi synth reduction that digs into its minor-key arpeggios like a dog worries a bone.
Tracklist A1 No Social Culture
A2 No Social Culture (Eddie Mars Remix)
B1 No Social Culture (Willie Burns Remix)
B2 No Social Culture (Richard Richard Remix)