Two days was all it took for Candidate's debut EP on NeXup to hit the top of Beatport, and the eighteen months since have kept much the same pace. Records have gone out through Hottrax, Three Six Zero and Belief, with backing along the way from Jamie Jones, East End Dubs, ALISHA and Max Dean.
The diary has taken in Lab 11, 93 Feet East, Depot in Cardiff and NX in Newcastle, alongside Eastenderz and Flow dates and a set at After Caposile in Italy. He has been passing the knowledge on as well, with production tutorials for Josh Baker's Syntho platform and a sample pack of his own on Samplemarket. A great run, and worth mentioning that he’s a producer who started out here in Liverpool, just like us!
He and Saigon last shared a credit on President Pump, part of the Rock The Scratch EP that went out on the UK's Dansu Discs in March 2024. The House Mania EP is the two of them going it alone, self-released with nothing behind it but the record and their production chops.
The EP is house through and through, which is obvious from the first bar of Don’t Go. A solid 4/4 launches us into an old-school orbit. Ravey keys whip us right back to the 90s, giving the track a nostalgic feel. The star of the show has to be the vocal sample lifted from ‘94 classic Don’t Go, by Awesome 3.
Still packing old school flava, we have Get With It next. One thing we will say about Candidate and Saigon with the EP is they haven’t been shy with the kicks; their low end is massively well presented by booming kick drums and funky, undulating basslines. Certainly the case here; Get With It is loaded with energy and boasts some lovely little acid licks hidden away in the mix there too.
As you might expect Te Quiero has a certain Latin tinge to it. This is 100% initially down to the percussion in the opening segment of the track, which is later joined by some equally carnivalesque vocal phrases. There’s a killer breakdown around the 3:30 mark before the track expels its final throes of energy.
The EP closes on X-Rated. The track boasts some delightful organ stabs which remind us somewhat of Bug in the Bassbin by Carl Craig under his Innerzone Orchestra moniker. Again, a nod back to the old school.
Head to Bandcamp and pick it up.