Dance music icon Jauz continues his strong summer showing with his album The Rise of the Wise. Fusing progressive house and bass house, this album brings a refreshing wave of festival dance music.
Many of Jauz’s recent releases, such as Lights Go Out, have featured a softer, more sentimental side of the producer. This album leans into that.
Headshot of Jauz from jauzofficial.com
Jauz’s History
Referencing his previous LP The Wise and the Wicked, The Rise of the Wise represents visions of order, harmony, and futuristic technology. The storyline provided in the interludes in his 2018 record further delineate the lore. The stylistic choices of The Rise of the Wise parallel those of Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 of The Wise and the Wicked, both of which are tagged as “The Wise”. Jauz uses this type of continuity to build out a soundscape of shiny, ethereal dance music.
The Opening of the Album
The Rise of the Wise opens with “U Feel”, which features simple yet effective house drums complemented by washed-out gritty basses. This track introduces a changing theme for the album- Jauz’s use of reverb.
Following that, “Lights Go Out” perfectly captures the futuristic theme of The Rise of the Wise. This track feels lighter and more melodic than “U Feel”. Lit up by trance-inspired synths and organic percussion sounds, the track builds an engaging, uplifting atmosphere.
Crazy (3AM Sound)
“Crazy (3AM Sound)” brings the heat with shiny, layered saw chords. Similar to the sound of other artists pushing house music (like Rome in Silver), Jauz emphasizes creative sound design and transition effects to keep the listener engaged.
Staying true to the title, Jauz supports a trippy late-night feel with slowed, almost drunken spoken word samples. The Rise of the Wise seems to follow the beauty and dangers of wealth and technology; showing this carefree yet enjoyable side of the party scene in “CRAZY 3 AM SOUND” fits the storyline nicely.
How The Rise of the Wise Evolves
Jauz brings a classic club feel to the album with “Don’t Leave Me”. Beginning with a one-chord electric piano chord vamp, Jauz builds interest and tension. He fills out the space with sustained basses and plucky leads leading up to a drop.
The clean “wub” basses and melodic feel of the drop sound like a middle ground between Jauz’s bass house and progressive house styles. The result is effective and innovative- potentially the highlight of The Rise of the Wise.
“Who U Are” allows Jauz to explore his changing use of reverb in The Rise of the Wise. Rather than having spacey synth sounds like in “U Feel”, this track features more front-and-center synths with washed-out vocal samples. Similar to “Lights Go Out”, the trance-inspired aesthetic maintains a sense of nostalgic, stylistic continuity.
Jauz brings The Rise of the Wise back to a drum-focused sound in “What I Wanted”. Using laser-like sound effects and bass shots to maintain interest, Jauz keeps the energy up throughout the drops. The vocal melody floats nicely above sentimental chords.
Closing the Album
Jauz’s penultimate track on The Rise of the Wise is “Just Hold On”. Jauz branches out with his usage of space in this track, emphasizing short reverb and in-your-face synth sounds. The subtle, low-passed bass creates a striking effect against the brightness of the synths, and the vocal panning fills out the space nicely.
Jauz brings a refreshing groove change to end The Rise of the Wise with “Fall Into Me”. The synths are bright, highly-compressed, and filled with energy. By bringing garage-inspired, breakbeat-like drum patterns, Jauz cues listeners into what the future of the Jauz project could sound like.
The Future
Following this release, Jauz will continue his summer tour with a few performances in August at Veld Music Festival on August 4 and Das Energi on August 12. Releasing an album of this caliber while balancing his tour, Bite This! Label, and fatherhood remains no small feat. Fans of both Jauz’s melodic and aggressive sounds will likely find something to love in The Rise of the Wise.
