- A powerful comeback from the Toronto house producer.
- "We tried with the reggae music—reggae music had the message... but some people not listen to the music, them dance and sing and go crazy... that was what reggae music was all about, it was all about sending a message to the oppressed, to raise up themselves," goes a monologue that runs through most of "Babylon," the first single from Canadian producer Jordan Gardner in many years. (You might recognize him as formerly one half of Èbony, who put out one of our favorite records of the last decade.) "Babylon" is simple but powerful, a medium for a message. It's the latest entry in a long line of house tracks that center a diatribe, and the length and prominence of the voice should make dancers actually listen. Beneath the words is the kind of effortless, springy beat that Gardner specializes in, the perfect thing to start a set or bring a party to a simmer. Described as "a call to action to use the pain of 2020 as fuel to continue synthesizing resilience, subversion and activism into the future," it's a strong example of putting ideals to work, and in your work.