Generally, a "song of the summer" is commercially released in the springtime and develops a devoted Top 40 following as the temperature rises. Things work a little differently in the dance world, where connected DJs get their hands on — and spin — an irresistible tune, months before it becomes available to the public.
Anonymous Welsh producer dJJ has been sitting on "Just a Lil" for over a year. His cohorts at the Bristol, UK record label Crazylegs have been selectively deploying it in mixes throughout 2015, before dropping it commercially on August 14th. The track is an uncomplicated, feel-good club banger, complete with a hook made from R&B-vocal samples and low-pass filters; which might sound like a house music cliché, but all cooks know that a recipe's ingredients are far less important than the manner in which they're prepared. And dJJ appears to have a preternatural nose for coaxing complex dance-floor flavors from simple elements.
We asked dJJ to shed a lil' light on "Just a Lil," but he's not one for interviews, so Crazylegs label owner Shandy (real name Andy Musgrave) offered this context:
We've known J for a couple [of years], but when he sent "Just a Lil," it blew our heads off a bit. It always, always, always goes off: ID requests and Soundcloud comments every time we play it in a mix or on radio. Mad reaction! And I love that because it's a house record — so far detached from the kind of sounds that are buzzing in our 'scene' at the moment. It's just a great record and I guess great music shines through — regardless of genres, styles etc. So simple but you never get sick of it. It's crazy."
"Just A Lil" is available now on Crazylegs, with extended club remixes arriving on Sept. 11.
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