ayokay - If That’s What You Need

We haven’t been off this week. We’ve been around, sulking in a perpetual state of disappointment after having made our way through our massive 4/22/22 New Music Release bin. But barely anything resonated. And instead of being disingenuous and posting a song we weren’t passionate about, we decided that, in this instance, less music was more. Fortunately, ayokay’s “If That’s What You Need” came through as one of a handful of saving graces. Due to the sheer popularity of this Michigan-born producer, we held off on even writing about his previous fantastic single “Waiting For (with slenderbodies).” At the time, there were other artists that could’ve used the minimal exposure we have to offer just a bit more. But with this week providing different circumstances, it offers us the perfect opportunity to spotlight a producer who we’ve been following since he catapulted on to the scene in 2016. “If That’s What You Need” seems to take a page out of deadmau5’s book - specifically his successful attempt at a mainstream deep house track in “The Veldt.” It’s got that same sense of impending, carefree wonder that’s a lot harder than you might think to recreate in a pop song. And what really elevates this song from good to next-level good is the recurrent textural vocal sampling sprinkled in that seems to be a play off Lyn Collins’ famous “Think About It” drum break. We love the style of sound he’s been exploring on the new singles leading up to his next LP - that’s ever-so aptly titled Digital Dreamscape. Check out the visualizer for “If That’s What You Need” below.