Coda… Now there’s a name we haven’t heard enough of in recent D&B times.
Having burst through in the late 2000s on labels like Audio Danger, and flourishing throughout the 2010s on his own Switch! imprint and respected mainstay stables such as Charge, Grid and Natty Dub, the last few years have seen him step back into the shadows a little.
In fact last year he only released one EP – Mister Beat.
Things are, however, set to change. There’s a good reason why Coda bangers have become somewhat lesser spotted in the last year or two. Besides his hectic day job. He’s been working on not one but two albums.
One is a fascinating multi-genre exploration of all kinds of genres and tempos that you might not usually expect to hear from him, while the other is a pure jungle exploration paying homage to one of the most seminal era of the genre – late 90s Bristol.
“Both are at the mixdown stage and I’m unsure which one will be completed first,” he explains. “But whichever one it is will be my debut album.”
Big news. And here’s more… We’re exclusively dropping his first tune of the year. Fantasies.
Yours in return of an email addy, it’s a soulful jungle workout that nods heavily in the direction of everyone’s favourite country singer – Queen B.
“It’s actually only the second bootleg I’ve ever made,” admits Coda. “I made one of Dub Be Good To Me which I made in about 2002 with a mate. It was the second or tune I’ve ever made.”
Preferring to work with vocalists rather than bootlegs for a great deal of his career, he explains how this one came about through a happy accident.
“I’ve been inspired by Clipz quite a bit post-covid,” says Coda. Real name Andi. “I love how he’s gone back into that classic Bristol sound. That’s the sound I grew up on. Anyway I made the drum beat and was looking around for a sample. I got everything in key, clicked and dragged them across but, because my computer is so old, I ended up dragging the wrong sample into it… Which was the Baby Boy sample and it fit so nicely. It was a very unintentional bootleg!”
It might have been made unintentionally, but we’re hyping it up very intentionally. It bumps! And it’s the start of an exciting new year for the artist. We’ve heard much of both new albums and highly recommend you keep an eye out. In the meantime, though, we’re looking back into Coda’s past and digging up other guilty pleasures.
“Eurodance, you can’t get guiltier than that,” grins Coda in a flash. Having spent six years living in Austria, and even more time flying back and forth to Germany as a kid, his passion for 90s continental commercial dance runs deep.
“I grew up with a lot of German influence around,” he explains. “My aunt lives out there and she’s a German teacher so I’ve been going over there since I was three or four and have been over ever since. I even went to school in Germany for a while. My aunt organized an exchange trip and I got on so well with the family I was with we organized for me to go over for a full term.”
Moving over to Vienna at 18 (and spending the first half of his 20s there) sealed the Eurodance deal. And while he’s known for timeless, concrete D&B funk, deep down his heart beats to a cheesier drum.
“I love it for its fun simplicity,” he tells us. “Simplicity is the hardest thing to get right. Look at tracks like The One and Warhead. Or Jeru The Damager’s Come Clean. Or Blue Boy’s Remember Me which is literally just one vocal acapella, one drum break, one bassline and it was a huge hit. Simplicity is the hardest thing ever and the biggest thing to learn in music.”
For more examples of simplicity, learn these. Coda’s five favourite Eurodance bangers. We’ll keep you posted about the albums later this year…
Cop Coda’s Fantasies right here
Corona – The Rhythm Of The Night
“This is one of those tunes that sits in the euphoric, almost melancholy areas of nostalgia. It somehow encapsulates the whole evening in a song… From the mingling all the way to the taxi drive home!”
Culture Beat – Mr Vain
“This was a huge hit when I was a kid and was probably the cause of my love for Eurodance. It’s a very European visual for me – driving down a European motorway with the window down and this pumping. You can almost smell Europe in the air!”
The Real McCoy – Another Night
“This one is a bit slower and it reminds me of being 16 and going to school parties. There was this nightclub boat we used to go on and this takes me back to then and reminds me of trying to pull girls and be cool. When this came on, this was the tune to get with someone if you hadn’t already pulled!”
Masterboy – Feel The Heat Of The Night
“In Vienna there’s a summer park called the Prater. You can buy a stein of beer, maybe buy some pig on a stick and go on some funfair rides. I might have been around 19 or 20, going out, on the pull or whatever. This was one of the main places to go and this tune was always blaring out on the fairground rides. Very fond memories.”
2 Unlimited – No Limits
“This has got to be the ultimate Eurodance tune. It’s been with me from childhood to adulthood, it’s one of those tunes that everyone seems to know it no matter how old you are. I have such a strong relationship with the song I’d event try and bring it into DJ sets when I could, mainly for my mate who’s a massive 90s head. I even tried to bootleg it at one point but wasn’t happy with the results so deleted it and tried to forget about it… Like I said, I don’t do many bootlegs!”
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