MUMBAI: When two of the Netherlands' biggest dance music names combine, you know you’re in for trouble. Pooling their many years of collective experience, Sander van Doorn and Chocolate Puma clash heads on the thumping new dancefloor bomb 'Raise Your Hands Up' this month. What on paper may seem like an unusual collaboration-Sander van Doorn known for his tough-edged sounds that border tech, trance and electro and Chocolate Puma with their chunky house stylings—actually makes for riveting results.
Meeting perfectly in the middle of their two worlds, 'Raise Your Hands Up' has an old skool hard house feel that combines groove and power in equal measures. Shuffling percussion draws us in as a squelching bass groove gradually morphs into life, doubling up its rhythm when the kick and open hats drop in. The atmospherics slowly build until we reach the break, when a ravey stab line filters into action over huge snare builds and classic rap vox snippets. The build in tension is markedly different to the usual dance structure, with a heavy nod to the past in its style, and when the drop unleashes that raw riff in its full glory, it makes for a huge impact. The rolling groove continues until the last second and keeps you hooked throughout.
The track is heading for big things; with a DMC Buzz Chart number one spot already in the bag and a video of Tiësto dropping the track at Ultra Music Festival has already had 200,000 plays in a week.
Sander van Doorn and Chocolate Puma ‘Raise Your Hands Up’ is out now on Musical Freedom.