- Big-room bangers.
- Sometime back in 2021, with little fanfare, Beatport retired "big room" from its list of genres. While I don't think too many mourn the loss of the cringe EDM that had become synonymous with the genre, it might be time to reclaim the term. Every weekend, the most renowned and ostensibly underground DJs—from Ben UFO to Helena Hauff—are playing some of the biggest rooms in the world. This isn't a bad thing, but it does change what we mean when we describe a tune as big room.
So what does big room club music actually sound like in 2024? The music the Irish producer and DJ Sally C makes and plays is a pretty good place to start. Filled with the ghosts of house music past (from hip to prog), her tracks are polished with a technicolour finish that marks them as ultramodern. I'd even go so far as to say that her label, Big Saldo's Chunkers, is ground zero for neo-big-room choons. The latest release—and first that isn't from Sally herself—is the debut EP from BELLA. Note to Self is packed with hip-hop vocal samples, chunky basslines and neon synths designed to be heard through every channel on your local warehouse's Funktion-Ones.
What would happen if Âme released a record on Radiant Love? It might sound like BELLA's title track, where the closing synth solo has all the trappings of sunset on the White Isle—'80s camp, slinky bass and trance arpeggios. The other two originals are subtler, but only just. It's tech house meets rave on "Orchestra Spring" with plenty of snare rolls ideal for soundtracking your next outdoor festival. "Odd Symphony" starts with an afterhours feel thanks to its bubbling 303 squelches and hand drums, but it evolves into a primetime anthem with chords that sound like Godzilla bashing away at a skyscraper-sized keyboard.
Note to Self is a populist EP of club music in the best way possible. Each track is big and brash and practically forces you to dance. For an artist who has only just started to play big rooms herself, it's also a pretty flawless debut. And who knows? If Beatport resurrects the genre, maybe it's this sort of energetic and accessible house that will be hopping up the Big Room chart.
Tracklist01. Note To Self
02. Orchestra Spring
03. Odd Symphony
04. Odd Symphony (Olsvangèr Remix)