DJ Pants Finds A Heavier Edge To Balearic On 'Local Lane/Khow Cafe'

A steady Delhi nightlife fixture this decade, Aditya Mehta aka DJ Pants has kept his musical output to the decks, only rarely presenting himself as a producer. Twice, by our count, and usually as part of compilations. The New Delhi-based musician finally presents a standalone release, with a 2-track release out on Creative Bin Records, the label by his local contemporary Pluto Monkey.

Bouncy chords, a synthetic slap bass loop, congas, a trusty alternating pulse of a kick and open hi-hats, and, eventually, soft pads and chiming melodic leads – on 'Local Lane', Pants assembles all the staple elements of the sun-kissed dance genre labelled Balearic, the sub-style named after the region containing the club culture holy site Ibiza, and trusts them. No big breakdowns or drops, just the sustained energy of parts that work well with each other as a repeating sample declaring, "My mind is going" turns the repetition of the jovial track into an inward hypnosis.

A similar set of elements, this time even supplemented by noises akin to seagulls, gets a grittier treatment as they mix with a distorted acid synthline on 'Khow Cafe'. With a different approach but rooted in a similar genre in both numbers, Pants' manages to keep a weighty onerousness within his sun-kissed party tunes, including a new colour even when playing it by the book to make the style his own.

Listen to 'Local Lane/Khow Cafe' below and head to DJ Pants' artist profile for more information.