Think About How Positive Life Is! Here's DJ Fourth Drop's 'Soft Inertia' Mix!

Photo courtesy of DJ Fourth Drop

DJ Fourth Drop isn’t a big name yet, but I’ll bet you a unlimited buffet lunch that he will be before too long. Earlier this year I came across his debut EP, IV, and it hasn’t left my iPod since. IV blends vocals from across the spectrum—Enya, Tink, Miguel, Puerto Rican rapper Arcangel, and the late Speaker Knockerz—with hypnotic reggaeton and bachata percussion. Fourth Drop’s agile dembow grooves land in the sweet spot between aux cord firestarters and sensi subway-window-gaze catnip.

Eager for more, I asked Fourth Drop for some perspective on where he’s at. He sent me a tremendous mix, teeming with everything from deep cut elec-twee-nica artists like Guy Akimoto and easyFun to rising bop young guns Sicko Mobb and RahnRahn $plash—and, of course, unreleased originals. The mood is splashy, high-velocity fun, with saturated colors nearly dripping from the Soundcloud embed.

Tell me about a few of your favorite songs on this mix.
I’ve been listening to “Water Qualm” a lot lately. I really like how he utilizes the minimal percussive elements and builds the rest of the track around it. I’m also a sucker when it comes to hardstyle kicks and the use of them in this track is so on point.

I can't stop listening to “l0st.” It's amazing how much the emotion of a track can change when you speed it up. Shout out to fan fiction for this one. You made me feel.

“My Love” is also amazing; I really like the balance of emotional lyrics about love and the playfulness of the beat. You can also hear some Speaker Knockerz influence in his music, which kind of adds to the overall emotion.

Karman always blows me away with his production. “Eaux (‘Til the End)” is no exception. I love how he flipped the Au5 vocal sample into a beautiful airy track with sporadic percussion and weepy synths.

“No Quiero Saber” is a Different Sleep deep cut. I love the blend of raw R&B emotion in the Mario Winans track with the gentle cumbia drums. Its like “I have feelings” *airhorn*

What's an activity you recommend someone do over the course of this mix?
Bubbling up, thinking about how positive life is.

What's an activity you recommend someone not do over the course of this mix?
Having negative thoughts.

A lot of your work is built around dembow. What draws you to reggaeton?
I'm originally from small town Wisconsin where we didn’t get a lot of culture, so when I came to Chicago and first heard reggaeton and dembow it was completely new to me. Because of this I looked at reggaeton like a blank slate: I could interpret the music in my own way and put my own spin on it with no preconceived thought on what it should sound like.

What's your favorite physical texture?
Something soft and nice, like silk.

You start off with the poignant Skrillex Spring Breakers orchestra cut. What's your favorite memory associated with Skrillex?
Being super lownt with my roommate watching his Coachella set last year via live stream, realizing everything will be okay.

Your most embarrassing fail?
Not appreciating Speaker Knockerz enough while he was alive.

Originally this mix started with an Enya track, but it got flagged. Say a prayer for Enya:
Dearest Enya, sweet angel of the Celts, hallowed be your voice. I pray for your strength, for your transcendence, for your love, and for your music to have less strict copyright laws. Lead me always to be positive, sremm life, amen.

What's the scene like in Chicago these days? Should I move there?
Chicago is a sort of breeding ground for music, which really inspiring. There’s a lot of artists doing cool stuff and pushing things forward like The GTW, DJ Earl, Sicko Mobb, DJ Nate, Different Sleep, Priztats, The Click, Teen Witch, Kevin Carey, and Jody (to name a few). Chicago is constantly changing, which I feel shows in the music and corresponding scenes. Come through :)

Tracklist:

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Angels Wept) – Skrillex v.s Ferro
Laplander – easyFun
Flexin & Finessin – Speaker Knockerz
xe2 (Cadenza’s Liberace Remix) – Mssingno (IV Gentle Uplift)
Water Qualm – Kevin Carey
COLLiDE – Poor Sport
l0st – Fan Fiction
My Love – RahnRahn $plash
Don’t Let It Go To Your Head – DJ Fourth Drop Feat Charlie Rose
Cold (Reprise) – Different Sleep
Kool-Aid – Sicko Mobb
Eaux (’Til the End) – Karman
Erica Kane (Eternal Life Edit) – DJ Fourth Drop
Descontrol (Drippin Remix) – Dinamarca
Rude Boy Talk (Toddla T // Mele Remix) – Tenor Fly
No Quiero Saber – Different Sleep
Pretty Face – Vybz Kartel
Me Ama Como Tu Haces – DJ Fourth Drop
Bubble Up Yuh Body – Keshan & Vybz Kartel
RUFF (Guy Akimoto Remix) – Lil Toku
When You’re Gone – DJ Fourth Drop vs Indivision & Moleman

Ezra Marcus is moving to Chicago. Follow him on Twitter.