I get that it’s tough to stay relevant in the oversaturated world of electronic music, but Sultan + Shepard are just resorting to desperate measures at this point. It’s not like the Canadian EDM duo has recently put out the most challenging music in the first place, but “Love Me Crazy” ft. Gia doesn’t even make sense as one of their releases.
First of all, Sultan’s dreadlocks don’t automatically give him the credentials to try to mix reggae with tropical house – especially Clear Channel-friendly reggae that No Doubt could have put out after their decline. The production elements intended to anchor it to a popular style don’t help matters whatsoever; pan flute and xylophone synths had been thoroughly run into the ground a whole year ago.
Adding insult to injury, the SoundCloud tag for “Love Me Crazy” is “Deep House.” Even if Armada turned out to have been at fault for the faux pas, after the Nubreed Global Underground mix that Sultan put out in 2009, he should definitely know better than to sign off on something like that.
Nobody’s expecting Sultan + Shepard to stop following the money anytime soon, but they at least ought to make educated decisions when expanding their stylistic range. Listen to “Love Me Crazy” ft. Gia above and hear what I mean for yourself.
