Overview

Our featured artist of the day is Niles Cooper. Cooper is a Danish producer and DJ who was nice enough to send us a few tracks to review. According to Kimbo Records, when talking about his music Niles exclaims:

“I like my music to have groove, but with a deeper, melancholic aesthetic”.

Niles nails these sentiments on his tracks, Don’t U Know, Miss U Harry, If We Try We Can Start Anew, Can’t Let Go, and House Gospel. They make you want to dance but also have a thoughtfulness about them. When speaking of Niles, most people would refer to his background in classical piano and his tasteful melodies. On the contrary, we found that his drum patterns held songs together with some hypnotic grooves. This marriage of strong arrangements and classy stabs creates a fun yet reserved dance environment. Categorized by bouncy bass lines, radiant melodies, and crisp drum patterns, these tracks flow smoothly from start to finish.

Influences

Niles began his career drawing heavily from early to mid 2000’s tech house groups such as Booka Shade and Sweely. However, as time went on, Niles developed an old-school house style. His approach is similar to contemporaries Harrison BDP and Subjoi, and it is categorized by steady beats, synthesized basslines, and off-beat hi-hats. Conversely, Niles cleverly crafts his own vibe that is unlike any of the artists previously mentioned. His music tends to be more subdued than his counterparts, yet he is able to maintain a nifty dance-floor vibe.

Conclusion

Cooper wants us to take something more away from his music then just a brief 7 minutes of dancing. This kind of thought and effort instantly drew us to Niles’ music. He simply has a passion for music, and it shows when listening to his songs. Furthermore, his use of old-school style samples is nothing short of immaculate. According to Niles, Miss U Harry, Can’t Let Go, and House Gospel may be making their way to vinyl in the near future. We are keeping our fingers crossed and would like to give a special shout out to Niles for sharing his tracks with us. His original compositions and mixes are both worth checking out. You can find his work at his SoundCloud page.