[Album Review] DJ Snake – Encore

From a general viewpoint, DJ Snake’s career looks highly tried and tested out, but look closely and you will find an artist who is much more than a viral hitmaker. Having belted out one hit after another, nearly four years after his international debut with his single “Bird Machine”, the French act is now one of the most recognizable faces of the dance music industry.

Having helped bolster trap music’s more respected position within the music industry during recent times along with the likes of RL Grime, Flosstradamus, Baauer and more, tens of millions plays of his five platinum singles and several other productions later, the Parisian has now finally released his massive debut LP which will more likely than not, cement his position as a true power player. Titled “Encore”, his debut album is nicely paced with no dud tracks and more than a few infectious ones. Having already worked with the likes of Lady Gaga, Diplo and Dillon Francis, the entire album is absolutely loaded with features by A-list names including Skrillex, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Swiss Beatz, Justin Bieber and more.

“Intro A86” welcomes you into the world of DJ Snake in a moody and hopeful fashion. Next up is one of his LP’s earliest singles, “Middle” and as it still continues to rake in plays, the track stands out owing to a playful production and an incredible vocal effort by UK talent Bipolar Sunshine.

Aptly titled “Sahara”, his highly anticipated collaboration tune with Skrillex has indeed been a long time coming. As the intro kicks off in adventure-like fashion, the track overall is exponentially wild and sounds like the perfect meld of both artists’ signature sounds. “Sober” with JRY is a beautiful downtempo jam which definitely needs to be listened to. As a spaced-out and airy production takes over accompanied by radio-friendly vocals, the track is a potential hit.

A dynamic follow-up comes in the form of a Moksi feature as “Pigalle” takes it up a notch owing to its high octane bass house influences. The LP’s most recent singles “Talk” and “Ocho Cinco” are next in line and have already done incredibly well till now. While the former features vocals from George Maple’s “Talk Talk” and is a smooth melodic jam, the latter is a massive heater in collaboration with Yellow Claw which is already being churned out on festival mainstages throughout the globe.

Already halfway into the loaded LP, DJ Snake offers listeners with his take on hip-hop with two back-to-back tracks “The Half” and “Oh Me Oh My”. Featuring the likes of Jeremih, Young Thug, Swiss Beatz, Travi$ Scott, Migos and G4shi, these tunes are poised to be hot favourites. Next up is his massive single “Propaganda” released back in December last year which makes a “bass heavy” appearance. And more likely than not, you ought to have listened to this banger somewhere!

“4 Life” is a phenomenal hip-hop track solely featuring Albanian rapper G4shi who deserves a massive shout out. A clean production offered by DJ Snake has been done justice by the Brooklyn based act and stands out as one of the strongest pieces to come out of the album. Next up is Bipolar Sunshine who returns for another round as the powerful dual effort dishes out “Future Pt. 2”. An eclectic electro funk piece which enables the talented vocalist take over control a smooth production, this one sounds like an instant dance-floor classic.

Two of his strongest suits within the LP, that too for two completely different reasons, these two collaborations respectively end the star-studded offering on a high. While “Let Me Love You” with dance music’s hottest vocalist Justin Bieber has already managed to hit #1 on iTunes Chart in less than a span of 12 hours within its initial release, the tropical influenced jam feels like a tried and tested experiment but will be heavily churned out in the days to come. And lastly, “Here Comes The Night” with frequent Kanye West collaborator Mr. Hudson sounds surprisingly multi-dimensional and indeed, is a remarkable end to the massive LP. A synth-heavy tune which feels melancholic yet exciting, vocals act as the undeniable centre piece backed by a highly impressive production work.

Call me a purist, but this LP feels like a compilation of a series of singles which hold the potential of topping charts on their own. In fact, while it surely has its high points, and that too major ones, the optimistic expectancy listeners had, gets washed away to an extent due to an overall lack of coherence. But make no mistake, this album is a piece of true craftsmanship and there genuinely are some brilliant new tracks that build on his previous works, as well as exploring the potential for a range of exciting new avenues he could explore with very little difficulty. And moreover to good measure, “Encore” is what will finally take him to another level altogether having finally explored the creative path an album allows you take and fully discover your true potential.

In a nutshell, his debut album is directed towards DJ Snake’s hit making skills that have led him onto the top throughout his entire career and is a tasteful offering ready to be delivered to the masses!