That’s how you do it. That’s how you keep the old rock-and-roll vibe interesting, infectious, effective, and forward-thinking. “Ride” is the sound of a band really mixing it up – southern rock grooves, NYC rock and roll grit, and some cool hip-hop moves acting as the cross-genre catalyst for change, courtesy of Public Enemy’s DJ Johnny Juice
Forget all those ill-thought-out rap-rock crossover records of the nineties; this new single from NYC’s Killcode is the sound of the two worlds coming together effortlessly and naturally, a world away from those clunky, unsatisfying experiments of yore.
The drums beat out a funky tattoo, the depth-charge bassline drives from below the sonic waterline, and the guitars tip their hat to southern rock traditions. And, if to begin with at least, DJ Johnny Juice’s influence can be merely felt here and there between the riffs, the final third of the song is his domain – he breaks the song down, replaces the old school analogue sounds with some deft digital dexterity and takes us to a whole different finish line.
What a great track, one that the rock and roll fraternity will love, the sound of the familiar and the fresh dancing as one, of evolution and revolution happening at the same time, of the musical world moving forward. But it is also a song so full of groove and attitude that the urban set will love it too. In fact, bikers and B-boys, DJs and dudes, soul-rock freaks and hip-hop honchos, movers and groovers…and everyone in between, I can’t imagine anyone who isn’t going to love this.
