When We Dip: Wet Velvet & SHADED ‘Vice City’ on Dirtybird

Dirtybird has long been the home of low-slung, body-moving house music, and its latest signing slots right into the family. Chicago-rooted and Bay Area-based producer Wet Velvet arrives on the label with his debut solo EP, ‘Dance 4 Me’, a two-track outing built on slinky grooves and serious club weight. For this premiere we are zeroing in on ‘Vice City’, his collaboration with California heavyweight SHADED, and it might just be the EP’s darkest, most driving moment.

Where the title track keeps things understated and flirtatious, ‘Vice City’ shifts into a higher gear. Wet Velvet and SHADED lace deep bass pressure, zippering synths, and a sharp-tongued vocal into a late-night club cut that thrives on tension and swagger. It is the kind of record made for the moment the lights drop and the floor locks in, all swing and attitude with a groove that refuses to let go.

The release is a milestone for Wet Velvet. With a sound rooted in Chicago house and funk, he is a rising hometown addition to Dirtybird, having previously appeared on imprints like Benthouse Records, Holy Molé, and Tech My House and remixed fellow Dirtybird act AMPRS&ND. Earlier this year he made his Dirtybird debut with a collaborative remix of Will Clarke and DJ Funk’s ‘Booty Percolatin’’ alongside TCHiLT, and ‘Dance 4 Me’ now stands as his first solo original release on the label. Pairing with SHADED, the LA artist whose driving, psychedelic, funk-inspired productions have landed on Turbo, Desert Hearts, and Hot Creations, feels like a natural meeting of two restless, groove-obsessed minds.

You can now listen to the full premiere of ‘Vice City’ exclusively on When We Dip Radio. Enjoy!