Hot Picks: BABA Shares 10 Records That Shaped His Deep House Perspective
- Undrtone Blog
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
New York producer BABA arrives on Modern Delivery Xpress this month with ‘River’s All Wet’, a loose-limbed house cut built around winding low-end grooves, sweeping melodies and the kind of understated movement that rewards repeat listens.
The release marks the first MDX appearance from the multi-instrumentalist, whose musical roots stretch back to indie surf rock bands, piano lessons and years spent developing as a songwriter before turning his attention towards club music. That live background continues to shape his productions today, with ideas often performed rather than programmed, creating records that feel organic, fluid and full of character.
Ahead of the release of ‘River’s All Wet’, we asked BABA to share some of the records that continue to inspire his approach to house music, groove and sound design. The result is a selection that moves between Hot Creations classics, deep house staples and modern club weapons, all connected by a shared sense of personality and individuality.
Lee Foss – Run Around
“This track is perfect within its imperfections. Throughout its runtime, the third ever Hot Creations release continuously threads the needle between dissonance and consonance. Repetitive beeps and squawks draw in a peculiar soundscape that can only really be found in this era of music. The vocals are repetitive yet switch up at the perfect moments. The whole song just feels kinked, like something is wrong with it but everything is right at the same moment. It never fails to leave me craving for more.”
Crazy P – Disc Odyssey (Remix)
“After seeing a video of Ben Sterling drop this track in his Raw Cuts Brooklyn set, I was instantly hooked. ‘Disc Odyssey’ has so much organic character to it. It's a perfect breather, giving the audience a fresh taste of the past while tying in the present. The second drop features a supercharged moment that I can only describe as a psychedelic explosion.”
Yamagucci & Mary Jane – Please You
“Yamagucci and Mary Jane really do their thing on ‘Please You’. It's a sleek, futuristic thumper with enchanting vocals and one of the catchiest, most provocative basslines I have ever heard. My favourite part about ‘Please You’ is the fact that you can listen to it in the club, in the car with your grandparents, when you are going to sleep, or when you are waking up. It’s incredibly versatile. It's one of those tracks that's easy to instantly fall in love with, especially through its beautifully curated simplicity. If a spaceship from the year 2070 were a song, it would be ‘Please You’.”
Lee Foss & Lee Curtiss – Closer
“‘Closer’ is hands down one of my favourite Repopulate Mars releases because it refuses to sit in a box. The synths are reminiscent of Foss’s earlier works with Hot Creations, playful yet driving. Slightly off, while being exactly where they need to be. The vocals are seductive, hypnotic and full of air. It's a quirky yet confident piece of timeless art that will forever be one of my favourite songs.”
Calussa, Ammo Avenue & Jungle Jack – Vacilón
“Not many tracks radiate the same warmth and comfort as ‘Vacilón’. I remember discovering this one in the peak of the NYC winter, only to feel like I was in Miami hearing the boys play it out live. The sampling is just immaculate on this one, accompanied by percussion honed through years of experience. It's impossible for me to listen to this track without feeling the irresistible urge to smile and dance.”
Patrick Topping – Shwicked
“This early Hot Creations release does what Lee Foss’s ‘Run Around’ achieves, perhaps in a slightly more stripped-back manner due to its lack of vocals. This song has so much space in the mix, occupied by playful, percolating synths. The bass sounds a little detuned which throws things off in the right way. ‘Shwicked’ has a certain humour to itself, a self-awareness of the absurd settings it might find itself being played in.”
Jay De Lys – Someday
“This elrow Music roller is an instant standout and immediately got me into Jay De Lys. The M-1 organ lead and catchy vocals drive the track while percussive elements keep the groove running on high. The track is relatively simplistic yet genius in its strategic placement of all elements. Each ingredient is clearly curated through Jay’s expertise, proving how important it is for a producer to have an artistic ear.”
Babak Shayan – Believer
“‘Believer’ holds an extremely special place in my heart. It represents everything I love about the Plastic City label, pure deep house class. The soft-spoken, breathy vocals are the cherry on top and the track’s blissful simplicity carries it to vast depths. The amount of space in this mix is also worth mentioning.”
Nick Curly – Joystick
“I could picture Nick Curly dropping this masterpiece in Ibiza with the sun beaming down on a packed dancefloor. The drums and background textures carry serious weight, but the glitched-out, hypnotic one-note synth is the true reward of ‘Joystick’. The energy is undeniably taken up a notch with this track. I can only imagine its impact live.”
Nick Curly – Ushuaia
“With ‘Joystick’ featuring bright spurts of energy, ‘Ushuaia’ represents the darker side of Curly’s discography. You can literally feel the lights being dimmed as you listen to this 8bit Records story. The melodic synths and samples are hard to pick apart as they deeply blend into the track. Every sound feels very rounded off in this piece. Nothing is too harsh on the ears. A whispered vocal chop percolates throughout the track and the melodic aspects yearn for more, leaving me to wonder what was running through Curly’s mind when he produced ‘Ushuaia’.”
BABA
Modern Delivery
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