Song of the Day: Electric Punanny feat. Donae’O “TigerEye”

DJ Jasmine Solano and producer MeLo-X tour as Electric Punanny, a partnership that started as a party in New York City inspired by contemporary electronic dance music, reggae and dancehall and is now an international phenomenon. The obvious next step is original material that drives the concept home and “TigerEye” definitely gets the point across.

I’ve been following MeLo-X‘s career over the last 10 years or so. He first made his way into my library with slick collections of beats curated around themes, and every time I checked in he’d have a bigger chunk of the forward thinking New York arts scene under his sway. Then he started working with Beyoncé and everything accelerated.

Many of us who mine African and and Caribbean sounds for our DJ sets have marveled at the way afro-pop, dancehall, soca, house and EDM have cross-pollinated, reaping a reward of massive sounds for the serious dance floor. Donae’o combines Guyanese, Nigerian and Ghanaian descent with a British passport which is a country where all those immigrant sounds come together smashingly. With bangers like “Party Hard” in his discography, Donae’o was the perfect fit for a jam like “TigerEye” with the poly-rhythmic swing of afrobeats, a carnival ready hook, big festival synths and trap beats for the half tempo turn-up.