CLASSIXX – HOLDING ON

Los Angeles-based production duo Michael David and Tyler Blake have built a name for themselves over the last few years as remixers that can turn anything into a slice of summer bliss. Their long-gestating debut as Classixx, Hanging Gardens, is seeing release on May 14 via Innovative Leisure, and lead single “Holding On” continues to refine their yacht-house aesthetic. Anchored by sleazy, lipstick-smeared bass and the kind of four-on-the-floor thump that grabs you by the hand and onto the dancefloor, there’s a lot going on here– strings emerge and then fade, blocky synths gleam from the corners, there’s even whistling at one point– but no matter what elements are added, it’s never at the expense of propulsion.

It also helps that the core components of “Holding On” are its most tactile: bittersweet house pianos and the vocal sample from which the track gets its titular phrase do the heavy lifting, providing physical thrills as well as an emotional heft. “I’ve been holding on,” sings the soulful disembodied voice, “and I can’t take it anymore.” But in the hands of Classixx, holding on starts to feel a lot like catharsis.

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