Tiga - No Fantasy Required (2016) Lossless

There’s tension at the heart of Tiga’s musical soul. On the one hand he’s the underground techno don, the producer who made ‘Mind Dimension’ (2008) and, together with Audion, the pounding ‘Let’s Go Dancing’ (2013). On the other, there’s the pop sensibility that led him to record electro versions of Corey Hart’s 1984 hit ‘Sunglasses At Night’ (2001) and Nelly’s ‘Hot In Herre’ (2003). It’s this duality that makes him one of electronic music’s most engaging characters. He’s about as far away from your faceless techno DJ from central casting as it’s possible to get.

His new album, ‘No Fantasy Required’, is a case in point. It neatly balances the two sides of his character. Recent single and club smash ‘Bugatti’ is included, with its typewriter beats and deadpan, slightly daft vocals. The re-rubbed Mad Decent version featuring “unless it’s getting played on the beach in Ibiza“ Pusha T cemented its hip status. This is the kind of dance music that works as well driving around on a sunny day as it does at 4AM on a darkened dancefloor. The pulsing sub bass riff and twittering hi hats on ‘Make Me Fall In Love’ are offset by a restrained yet infectious vocal from Scissor Sister’s frontman Jake Shears. “Jake is an old friend,” says Tiga. “He sang on ‘Hot In Herre’ and ‘You Gonna Want Me’. He seems to be the only co-vocalist I can work with.” Then there’s the harder edged ‘Don’t Break My Heart’, which sees a pile-driving kick drum underpinning atmospheric, Burial-like disembodied voices. And ‘Planet E’, a collaboration with Hudson Mowhawke that channels classic Detroit techno and updates it for 2016. This is dance music that’s about so much more than just dancefloors.