Quickweave and Redance team up for split EP 'Burning Heat'

New Orleans-based producers and DJs Redance and Quickweave have released their collaborative split EP, 'Burning Heat'.

It contains two tracks from each artist plus a pair of remixes from Toronto's Nick Holder and New York City's Acemo, with the record's sound drawing inspiration from more subtle house sounds of the early 2000s plus some heavier rhythms and more hypnotic elements to boot.

The tunes have been selected from over 20 new productions in total - having already been played at parties across New Orleans and further afield - with the record being a work in progress for some years now.

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Available via Mystery Zone Records, the 12-inch is split into "WHITE HOT" and "RED HOT" sides, with the overall intention on "fostering connection, joy and romance on the dance-floor".

"I guess I’ve always been into deep house without knowing I was into deep house," says Redance. "I was drawn to the sultry and hypnotic side of house, or dance music in general, but it wasn’t until spring 2021 that I got interested in house records from the early 00s. A friend stumbled on an old DJ’s stash that had been sold to a local shop and I got lost in record land.

"I started to get pissed at the idea that so much of this music had been slept on, most of it not even available on streaming sites, so I started buying it and ripping digital copies. Eventually I started sampling my favourites and making tracks inspired by the sound and texture.”

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Meanwhile, Quickweave explores his track contributions: “This project and these tracks are really representative of who I am and where I come from. When I think of what New Orleans sounds like in the Summer, I think about my grandma yelling from the front porch to 'come get a frozen cup' because it’s too hot outside. I tried to put as much of that moment into this project as possible.”

Whilst Quickweave refers to the vocals on his track 'Too Late, Don't Care' as an example of "grown folks conversations" he's heard repeatedly from his mother, aunties and grandmothers - which he praises, lauding their "confidence and outspokenness" as the reason that "strong feminine vocals are a part of my sound" - Redance's 'Hot Wax Summer' on the record is an ode to early 2000s deep house, "the sound I didn't know how much I loved".

Both Quickweave and Redance made a name for themselves in New Orleans via their party series, 'Function', prior to the pandemic. In summer last year, they launched their latest party 'Mercy', aimed at cultivating a familial atmosphere.

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You can listen to Quickweave and Redance's EP 'Burning Heat', available via Mystery Zone Records, now.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter