- Words Notion Staff
Raise your lighters to ten of Jengi's all-time favourite tracks, from Underworld to Tiësto.
Dutch producer Jengi knows a thing or two about hard-hitting club music. His recent tune “Bel Mercy” was a viral sensation, prompting a string of remixes from UK drum and bass talent .goddard, as well as the one and only will.i.am.
Jengi, real name Jan Theo Berendsen, has just dropped his latest club-focused EP, “Nothing Is Easy”. Featuring four tracks, the collective work encapsulates the spirit of the dance floor, gliding effortlessly between electronic sounds from speed garage, to techno, to phonk.
With a big summer on the way, performing at Berlin Dance Event and Tomorrowland among others, Jengi runs us through his top ten summer tunes.
"Feedback" by BAUGRUPPE90
The industrial drums in combination with the epic house chords remind me of my song “Raise Up Your Lighters”. It’s fast as well and it throws you into space. I like the way how these guys make their tunes, it’s minimalistic with a lot of energy. The mixing process is what I dig too, it’s a bit distorted but still got that clean sound.
"Born Slippy (Nuxx)" by Underworld
I was inspired by the build-up and the heavy drums of this song. Always puts the crowd in the mood when I play this tune, the chords are amazing and it’s long enough to reset your mind before the drums kick in. You need a break sometimes because the music that I play can be heavy. I usually play my song after this one, as the vocals disappear 16 bars after the drop and it’s a perfect moment to go on to the next track in your DJ sets. I think I’ll keep playing this song for many years.
"Slaap Lekker" by KETTAMA
KETTAMA’s new releases are really great as he’s got his own unique sound. I was DJ’ing before him in the spring of 2022 and he blew my mind. I heard this demo a few weeks before its official release when he played it in his DJ mix, I couldn’t wait to hear the final results. I don’t know how he made the melody but it’s so cool. The euphoric break that this song has is such a good feeling.
"Dancing on the M1" by Sam Alfred
Sam Alfred’s music is energetic, fresh and melodic. It brings you back to the classic sounds of 90s club music. The iconic 909 house drums, rave chords and the Korg M1 are something pick up on a lot in his music. I used the same choir pad of the Korg M1 in Raise Up Your Lighters too and that’s why I picked this tune in my list. I love that plug-in; these pads make the track a bit brighter and fresher, and everyone knows these sounds.
"Schwung" by BAUGRUPPE90
Back with BAUGRUPPE90 again. This one is a great tune too. I’m in love with the synth lead this song has. The lead has some swing but at the end, it changes, and it gets bigger and bigger.
"Backseat" by Southstar
Raise Up Your Lighters is the first official track I released that has reached the 140bpm double-time drums. I think listening to Southstar for the first time made me realise that fast house beats are really nice.
"Temperature Rising" by Mall Grab
Mall Grab never disappoints, he’s released many tracks with different moods, from 125bpm to 150bpm. I picked this song because it has these trance synths and dark basslines. Hearing Mall Grab made me decide that you can make different types of club music, just try something new with your own sound and let’s see what people think.
"First Day of the Year" by SWIM
The euphoric build-up this song has is crazy, the synths have fresh sounds and happy melodies but it's dark at the same time. The vocal chords and arp are both something that made me pick up this tune for the list – it’s warm and bright at the same time.
"Can't Stop The Night" by DJ Heartstring
Fast drums, wavey chord progressions and vocals. These guys make really nice music. I think I heard them for the first time when I checked out Hör Berlin. It’s different to my music, but it reminds me of the old feelings of motivation that I had a few years ago: to continue making music with synths and harmonics again. I can’t wait to start tweaking new music on my hardware soon thanks to them.
"Adagio for Strings" by Tiësto
Everyone knows this classic. I can’t finish the list without a song that represents Dutch dance music, so I choose this track made by Tiësto. I play this tune at festivals,and it always hypes up the crowd. I’ll never forget mixing this track during set at the Mysteryland afterparty in 2022. It was a magical moment and at that time it felt great to be Dutch - even though it’s not my song haha.