Tchami - 'Rainforest'

It’s been a minute since we can remember a time we could use the term ‘House’ without immediately having to follow it up in the same breath with the name Tchami. From selling out shows across the globe, launching Sirius XM Radio show ‘REVELATIONS’, and perhaps most notably curating the label responsible for signing some of the hottest artists, tracks and even genre’s of the decade, to say that this Parisian entrepreneurs meteoric rise has been anything short monumental would be an understatement. But with grand gestures of global domination aside, Tchami applies the light touch with his eclectic new single to ever so assertively let the world know; when it comes down to the art that got him here, he can still produce.

In a bold move by the ‘CONFESSION’ head honcho, ‘Rainforest’ shifts the focus this time to a few key lead elements, notably the industrial yet simultaneously playful brass that darts around the stereo field, and is a conscious departure from his previous bass line centric anthems such as fan-favourites ‘Untrue’ and the iconic ‘Afterlife’.

Although decidedly experimental for an established pioneer of the ‘future-house’ sub-genre, the core elements of the track remain accessible so much so that it never strays too far away from what we’ve come to love from the Frenchman; the lush ambience of piano chords, the rhythmic shuffling of various hi-hats and percussion, to the classic Tchami–esque low-passed FM bass lines holding down the groove of the track throughout. A distinct omission of the gaudy vocal lines almost a pre-requisite in the current EDM scene help to strip the song down to it’s bare elements, instead opting for repetition that serves in leaning favorably into the mysticism of it’s smoke and mirror aesthetic.

Much like the restrained use of vocals, the video for ‘Rainforest’ itself follows suit with the absence of any particular grand story, character ensemble or pretentious allegory. Instead, we are introduced simply to only a boy and girl, and are left to interpret the story much the same, the titular ‘rainforest’ itself the device to unify it all.