Sultan + Shepard – Samba Sixteen

Canadian producer mainstays Sultan + Shepard have found a new home at Armada’s imprint for their latest output. It appears, however, that the boys drew inspiration from Brazil first. Colorfully titled “Samba Sixteen”, the track takes typical fixings of a popular mainstage track and adds in Latin-inspired elements and instrumentation as well as the famous “Samba de Jeneiro” hook. It’s almost as if the Brazilian Carnival and Sultan + Shepard came together and created a peppy lovechild perfect for the new wave of dance music fans. Released on October 1st, “Samba Sixteen” is a catchy follow-up to the duo’s recent collaboration with Gia “Love Me Crazy“,  which went on to be a favorite in mainstage sets.

On the surface, it brings everything you’d expect from a mainstream banger, including frenetic, synth-driven build-ups and drops. That said,”Samba Sixteen” isn’t noisy or overblown, there’s a teensy hint of tribal once the beat starts rolling in between the builds, and it’s easy to tell this one was created by artists who understand the basics of dance music. Hitting the studio for  autumn 2016 release, Sultan + Shepard find their stage presence within production, the end result being the festival-wrecking “Samba Sixteen”.  The bulky beat leaves no stone unturned and little room to catch breath, just the way it comes delivered.