Sax Trax is the first full EP from CommsBreakdown + Socool, inspired by the question ‘How do you make saxophones sound good?’. The answer is to let CommsBreakdown + Socool work their beats and production magic on the humble saxophone.
What was the inspiration for making Sax Trax?
We started with an experiment: could we take two straightforward saxophone samples, chop them up into single notes, re-play them, change the pitch, process them and turn these source sounds into multiple new tracks. The answer is, YES, we could! And it was a lot of fun to do too.
Sax Trax is a collection of different moods, tempos and electronic music genres, but all featuring the same sax samples hiding somewhere in the mix. We cover house, UK garage, bonkwave, breakbeat, funk and ambient across the six tracks, taking you on a sonic journey that starts with those original sax sounds.
Let’s dive into the EP
So, what does the Sax Trax EP sound like? Here’s a quick overview of each track.
1. Westwild (CommsBreakdown Remix)
We kick things off with CommsBreakdown’s club remix of Socool’s Westwild track. Taking things straight to the dancefloor, this remix keeps all those delicious hooks from the original track while adding some DJ-friendly beats that turn this into a club stomper.
2. Sax Appeal
Sax Appeal hits the dancefloor with some sax-driven UK garage vibes, mixed with CommsBreakdown’s leftfield electronica. The swung grooves give it a great little shuffle, as shifting glitchy electronics serve up the perfect bed for some soulful saxophone melodies and deep, speaker-shaking low end.
3. Westwild
Socool’s original mix of Westwild takes you on an epic journey through electronica, bonkwave and her trademark melodic hooks and beats. There’s a beautiful synergy between the raw saxophone sounds and Socool’s precise melodies and crisp, programmed beats.
4. Funk My Sax (Socool Remix)
Socool’s remix ups the tempo and keeps things funky on this rework of the CommsBreakdown original. Reverse Rhodes elec piano leads you into the track as sampled guitars lazily introduce the processed, repeating sax lines. Funky stuff!
5. Funk My Sax
This one pairs the sax with a gritty breakbeat and turns things up to ‘maximum funk’. This track was inspired by my (unsuccessful) attempt to get a Prince-like groove going, with funky breaks, live funk guitar and some live funky bass guitar acting as the foundations for the heavily processed saxophone.
6. At One With The Woods
Rounding off the EP, At One With The Woods, dials things down for a super-chilled ambient mood. This track started with the lovely chilled sounds of an English wood, kindly donated by Marina Walker from her Instagram story. Lush pads accompany the mellow sax melodies and make this super chill.
CommsBreakdown + Socool on Bandcamp
Sax Trax is out now on the CommsBreakdown and Socool Bandcamp pages, Beatport, QoBuz and all the major streaming sites.
If you enjoyed this CommsBreakdown + Socool collaboration, you might enjoy our previous single release, My Brain Feels So Good, a mellow slice of guitar-driven house.
Dive into the full CommsBreakdown Bandcamp page.
And explore the Socool Bandcamp page.
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