What if you inverted part of the Chillwave formula; instead of dropping funky pop from house tempos to 85 BPM, you pump it up to 145, 150? You'd get Patrice & Friends, give or take an 808. Champagne Saunas is a smart and successful attempt at bringing some pop sensibility to juke, and I am smitten. Its 11 tracks are as fast-paced and spazzy as any Addison Groove or Ramadanman cut, but the old school funk jams layered on top of the hyper/-repetitive booty bass makes for a collection of songs that you can sing along to as hard as you'll want to juke to it.
I have some minor gripes with the production, and at times it seems like the samples do all of the heavy lifting, but those are minor blemishes on what's otherwise a solid listen front to back. Saunas' cohesiveness lends it an air of musical maturity, and although all of the tracks are cut from a common formula there's enough musical and lyrical contrast to let each stand out. "Back Room" is dark and abstract; "Dancefloor Whispers" is glittery disco euphoria; "Stutterin'" is wistful and melancholy. I wouldn't expect Champagne Saunas to light the world on fire, but it's a brilliant experiment in juke that'll please more than a few ears. Check it all out on Bandcamp:
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