Lazer Strikes Back, Vol. 1

Major Lazer was formerly comprised of DJ/producers Diplo and Switch, but has now come under the complete control of Diplo and whatever guests he brings in to make a contribution. The release of highly-anticipated FREE THE UNIVERSE has been pushed until this April, but all is not lost.

After effectively giving their listeners the runaround for a week, Major Lazer attempted to appease the public with the release of their first installment in the LAZER STRIKES BACK mixtape series. This pint-sized mixtape makes up for what it lacks in size with originality, impact  and cohesion.

Major Lazer & Flux Pavillion start the revengeful project off with a Jack Beats remix of “Jah No Partial,” deeply rooted in moombahton builds, reggae croons and boom-bap percussion.

Next we “Get Free” with Amber of Dirty Projectors, while Yellow Claw delivers a trap spin that morphs this into the perfect follow up track.

Things slow down for “Original Don” which features The Partysquad on this DGRC remix, but the last song on the project “Look At Where We Are,” shows Major Lazer’s deep understanding of the spectrum of genres that has become EDM.

Big things come in small packages, and these four tracks are a promising glimpse into the universe that Diplo as Major Lazer plans on freeing come spring.