Moksi (NL)

After four years of moving full-speed ahead, dropping some fifty tracks – including remixes and collaborations with Yellow Claw, DJ Snake and Hardwell – and establishing their unique, bassline-driven, UK garage-influenced sound around the world, Moksi found themselves looking for a fresh approach. To their own surprise, Samir and Diego re-emerge in 2019 with not just that, but with an actual full-length debut album to boot: The Return of House Music. It’s a provocative title, for sure, but one that makes a lot of sense to Moksi. Reaching back to their roots in club music, Moksi present a musical statement that oozes joy, confidence, freedom and optimism. Collaborating with a range of songwriters and performers, the Dutch duo have created an abundance of new material after a year with relatively few releases, but all the more insane experiences, hyped crowds and new opportunities. By releasing their debut album this summer, Moksi is shifting into another gear altogether. The Return of House Music was conceived far away from clubs and festival stages: moving into a cabin in the woods at the start of 2019, Samir and Diego invited a handful of singers and rappers to come over and collaborate on a set of new songs that would expand the Moksi sound beyond the earth-shaking bangers that they’ve become known for (although they still have a couple of those). Rappers Digitzz and Lil Debbie lend a new energy, and on songs like ‘Downtown’ and ‘Love Yourself’, Moksi even unleash previously hidden disco and funk influences with a little bit of help from fellow DJ/producer Ookay and new singer Sienna. Two years after collaborating on the successful Connections EP for Barong Family, Moksi link up again with brother-from-another-mother Chace on the romantic club song ‘Doorman’. Other familiar names on the album are those of OGs Chocolate Puma, who feature on ‘You Lose Nothing’, a track that perhaps comes closest to the trusted Moksi sound. Moksi’s debut album The Return of House Music is a clever reinvention, from the bluesy ‘Slow Burn’ to the exuberant ‘Ghetto Gossip’. It’s a sly look back as well as an enthusiastic leap forward. As their 2017 smash ‘Lucky’ already hinted at, the album proves that they rely on a deep well of musical inspiration to get a crowd of any size going. As more people continue to vibe with Moksi, Samir and Diego are also pushing their newly established label Moksi Family, as well as the trendsetting Moksi and Friends events. After debuting (!) at Tomorrowland in 2015, Moksi have played hundreds of gigs in over 40 countries around the world, and the instantly recognizable duo have no plans to slow down. Witness the return of Moksi this year at Spring Awakening, Tomorrowland, EDC and Parookaville.