You probably know Rudimental, the London-based dance collective whose album Home (released this past April) spawned two No. 1 hits in the U.K. Along with tracks by Disclosure, Duke Dumont and Chase & Status, Rudimental have nudged the top of the British charts away from EDM and back towards sounds like house and drum & bass. But you may not know Black Butter, the small dance imprint that pressed Rudimental’s earliest records. In 2013, the label has released a string of singles by underground artists that have, with a boost from outlets like BBC’s Radio 1, helped define a sound that revives the spirit—if not always the particulars—of the type of vocal house music that crossed over into the pop world in the 90s.
Black Butter was founded in 2010 by veteran industry figure Olly Wood. In an interview with eMusic last year, Wood said that he intended for "the label to not be restricted to any one genre and to make a real point of being all over the place, sonically." Rudimental—who lean on the clattering percussion of drum & bass but who dip artfully into house and sometimes garage— are a visible example of this ethos, but Black Butter’s 2013 output (or at least the best of it) uses the tempo and tones of house music to build songs that are distinctly pop.
Listen to five of Black Butter's stand-out 2013 tracks after the jump.
Kidnap Kid - "Thin Lines" [ft. Lotti]
With its husky vocals and major-key piano chords, "Thin Lines" sounds eerily similar to how Feist might if she decided to make dance music. Even when the beat kicks in, the track rolls along on an easy, hummable bassline that settles on a rather mild tempo. There is a strong vocal hook from the little-known singer Lotti, but this is the dance music of bouncing and swaying, of feeling breath on your neck. Kidnap Kid has opened for Disclosure and Rudimental in America and first scored a notable track with 2012’s "Vehl", but this is his best, most accomplished single yet.
Gorgon City - "Real" [ft. Yasmin]
"Real", from duo Gorgon City, showcases the distinct vocal stylings of Yasmin, who provides an elegy for a broken relationship: "We used to be real." Of all the tracks on the shortlist, this one is the most shamelessly 90s, with piped in samples from a male vocalist and even laser sounds(!). Black Butter isn't exactly a label of hands-in-the-air bangers, but "Real" is the exception; this is an anthem.
Syron - "Here"
Okay, "Here" really isn’t dance music at all. It's straight-up pop with the flavor of dancehall, though sonically it reminds me most of Ne-Yo’s "Miss Independent" (which inspired a hit Vybz Kartel remix, so it’s all coming full circle). But that "Here"—from the 19-year-old singer Daisy Tullulah Syron-Russell—doesn’t sound out of place on Black Butter speaks to how much the label has gravitated towards pop, and vice versa.
Drums of Death - "True" [ft. Yasmin]
Colin Bailey has been producing as Drums of Death since 2008, but didn’t put out a record on Black Butter until last year’s Blue Waves, a slapdash but often invigorating EP of club-driven house and techno. With "True" he streamlines his sound towards the poppy side of house, but doesn’t go full crossover: Instead of a soaring chorus, Bailey dices up Yasmin’s vocals to sound like a sample.
Sinead Harnett - "Got Me"
"Got Me" is a funny song. The vocals track along a simple, almost dinky, little keyboard melody that straddles the line between instantly catchy and incessantly annoying. But the vocals from Sinead Harnett—who sings alongside the prodigal MNEK on Rudimental’s soulful single "Baby"—really can’t be denied. "Got Me" is a nice tune, but ultimately serves as a warning that Harnett is a vocal talent who will release something very, very good in the not-too-distant future.