By now, you should be well acquainted with US duo GTA. For well over five years they've been dropping some of the biggest tracks and remixes in dance music. They've unleashed fury on Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money, made people pucker up with Red Lips and picked up millions of plays for an assaulting remix of Skrillex's Ease Me.
There's something unmistakeable about the GTA sound but that doesn't mean it's predicatble at all. It's all about transcending genres and as such they've dabbled in trap, future bass, hip-hop and R&B.
Tomorrow they release their album Good Times Ahead and by "ahead" they surely mean from track one forward. It's a mixed-back of bass-heavy tracks that surprises throughout from the ferocious Little Bit Of This to the sliding sensuality of All Caught Up. It's a record bound to soundtrack your summer particularly as the duo will be in the country in December for HARD Festival (Check the dates below).
We trust that you know a thing or two about GTA but their album is packed full of guests that we reckon you needa know. While some of them are big names, there are also hidden gems to discover so here you go:
Jarina De Marco
Jarina De Marco is the first voice you'll hear on Good Times Ahead. She's a quirky, individual artist who had a hand in the Broad City spundtrack. That kind of small, glitchy sound that's all over Broad City is not exactly GTA's style but on the opener for the album True Romance she eases us into the record, delivering a cruisy, melodic cut that's in the same sort of wheel house as Major Lazer's Get Free. She's from the Dominican Republic and here to add some much needed personality to left-field pop music which is exactly what she's done on the GTA record.
Vince Staples
Long Beach rapper Staples shouldn't really need much of an introduction. His LP Summertime '08 was one of last year's best and he followed it up this year with an equally excellent EP Smile. On the GTA record Staples undoes the calm of opener True Romance with a furious flow that races like a runaway train. It's one of Staples' first dance collabs but he nails it sounding completely at home with that dirty, pounding abss. This one is the album's biggest banger and it wouldn't have been pulled off by anyone other than Staples.
Tunji Ige
Tunji Ige is a 20 year-old rapper from Philadelphia who is really generating hype at the moment. He sits in the same lane as Kanye and Kid Cudi delivering raps that are both hard-hitting, inventive and melodic. This year he dropped his Missed Calls which was worlds away from the GTA song he features on Feel It. It shows that he's got enough crossover talent to please the hip-hop crowd and also get festival crowds jumping. This is a huge instrumental but Ige tackles it with personality, energy and attitude.
What So Not
Most Australians should already be very well acquainted with What So Not. He's one of this country's biggest producers, bringing a weight and rushing energy to everything he produces. His latest release is the mighty Divide & Conquer EP which features his collab with GTA Feel It as well as collaborations with Kimbra, JOY., Ganz, Rome Fortune and George Maple. He's starting to work more and more with hip-hop producers which is a style that really suits him. Of course, GTA's festival-ready sound is also something he melds with extremely well.
Wax Motif
Wax Motif is an Australia-born DJ and producer who is now living in LA. He's worked with the likes of Motez and Destructo and has also delivered a killer Diplo & Friends mix for BBC Radio 1. His specialty is late night deep house music he combines that with GTA's anything-goes-style to create something that has soul and grunt. Get It All is one of the album's most personable tracks and that's because it takes the consistency of deep house and couples it with interesting, innovative sounds that elevate things to party-ready mode.
Tinashe
Tinashe is basically an R&B superstar now so you should all know the name even if you're not completely familiar with the music. She's got one stellar album to her name Aquarius and is prepping for the release of a second Joyride. She's collaborated with everyone from Nick Jonas to Snakehips and KDA so nothing she does really surprises anymore. Her cut on the GTA record Caught Up is definitely in her R&B lane though. It's spacious and sexy - late night music that's more likely to make a club grind than a festival jump.
RKCB
RKCB are an LA duo who are generating some serious hype with their smooth R&B-tinged tunes. At this stage they've released one EP, 2015's Short Films but they've really started soaring this year with the twinkling Elevated and the jittery Future Being. Their GTA collaboration is definitely in their wheel house pairing wavey, groovy electronica with falsetto vocals. It's yet another stylistic turn for GTA on this album - one that declared "Death To The Genre".
Iamsu!
Iamsu! is a Californian rapper who has been dropping mixtapes since 2010 but his profile has really started to rise in the past few years. He's worked with Ty Dolla $ign, YG, 2 Chainz, Dej Loaf and more. This year he released two records 6 Speed and Kilt 3 but this is his most different collaboration to date. On Contract GTA pull him into an experimental hip-hop world of icy beats and woozy synths far that could easily get spins on urban radio as well as pumped in bass-heavy festival sets. On paper, this collaboration seems like one of the oddest on the records but it's actually one of the most exciting.
GTA's Good Times Ahead is out tomorrow.
