Page 69 - Zone Magazine Issue 006

Danny Slade [UK] - Dance
MUSIC REVIEWS
House
Techno
Trance
Le Visiteur - With You [Spirit Soul] - Zone Top Tune - 10/10
It has already been a great year for Le Visiteur as he has been a regular fixture in both Beatport’s and Traxsource’s top ten download charts and has been added to a prestigious circle of DJ’s that supplies mixes for the British Airways in flight entertainment system along with the likes of Carl Cox and Giles Patterson. This his latest release is as yet unsigned to a major label, but as it was the most in demand tune at the recent ADE and was number 1 in DMC’s unsigned buzz chart great things are expected for this two mix release. The first of the two is the Club Mix’ which is a solid noodle house tune with a dead sounding kick drum, claps and cut up vocal samples which lead into a male vocal and a tight electro bass sound and tizzy hi hats. As it builds the production values are really high with pianos and some great stereo panned sounds. The ‘Original Mix’ is slightly slower and when listening through the headphones you really appreciate the time that must of been spent in a studio learning his craft as it is beautifully put together. It has a more relaxed vibe than the Club Mix but because it is so well produced and features a great sung vocal hook, it still has a kind of laid back energy. I am not picking a favourite here as they are clearly both excellent and will no doubt be snapped up by a major label in the near future! https://soundcloud.com/levisiteurmusic/le-visiteur-with-you-club-mix-edit
Conga Squad - Make U Feel It, A Groovy Situation, Tri [Holographic] Zone Rating - 9/10 As genres of dance music are always in a state of flux, this three track release ticks a number of boxes and is what I would best describe as Cut Up Disco House and House. My favourite and the first track on the EP is called ‘Make You Feel It.’ It has a frenetic funk laden back beat with a solid bass riff, one note string lines that create an atmosphere, disco stabs and rises that give it an anticipated tension. The percussion is a solid four to the floor beat with claps and congas and there are a number of vocal samples that sit nicely together and give it a real party starting feel. ‘A Groovy Situation’ is in a similar vein and is again full of funk and vocal samples that give it a pumped up nu-disco feel. ‘Tri’ is the odd one out insofar as it has a more techy feel and features less vocal samples and a repetitive stabbing synth line as the main hook. it really locks you into the groove and reminds me of the sound that the labels ‘Fresh Fruit’ and ‘Moving Melodies’ were putting out in the 90’s, which is no bad thing at all. As a whole this is a great release as all three tracks are strong and stand alone as eminently playable. It is infectious and exciting and if you are a person that digs ‘the funk,’ this release is well worth looking out for both to dance to, and to load onto your memory stick.
https://soundcloud.com/abbeloosolivier/01-conga-squad-a-groovy-
situation-extended-version
Ferry Corsten - Find A Way (Remixed) [Flashover House] - Zone Rating - 8/10
Ferry Corsten is a name that first rose to fame in the Big Room Trance days of the late 90’s and the early 00’s where he made some of the genre defining tracks of that era. Since then he has gone on to prove that he is easily capable of creating tracks in pretty much any style of dance music that he wants and for this remixed release of the incredibly affable Original Mix of ‘Find A Way’, he has gone down the route of what has now been dubbed as ‘Future House,’ and as usual he has created an excellent piece of music that comes in the form of two remixes. Firstly there is the ‘Listenbee Remix’ which features Ferry’s trademark slick production levels and a repeated male vocal sample that says ‘Love Will Find A Way.’ There are also female sung pads, muted pianos and a simple but effective synth line. The ‘Worthy Remix’ takes it down a Bassline House path just a little and is faster and has a beefed up synth-bass line, a breakbeat breakdown and snare rolls. Both are really atmospheric and engaging and I really can’t pick a favourite as both work so well, as does the Original Mix I have always been a fan of Ferry’s productions and I am happy to report that again with this release he doesn’t disappoint. https://soundcloud.com/ferry-corsten/sets/ferry-corsten-find-a-way
Riki Inocente - Northern Rose EP [rEJEKTS] - Zone Rating - 8/10
This three track EP features two new artists to the rEJEKTS label and all of the tracks have been written by Riki Inocente. There is also remix included of the title track ‘The Journey,’ carried out by Jamie Trench. The ‘Original Mix’ is a perfect example of the new genre of Noodle House and features a swung drum pattern, some lovely burbling acidic sounds and a simple repeated two note lead line. ’In Groove’ starts with a high string line over building percussion and kicks in with a nifty muted kick drum and builds through the addition of a low warbling sound and a simple little bass hook that is dropped in and out throughout the song. ‘Mood 5’ has a big clue in the title as it is indeed a moody atmospheric track which features bleeps, snippets of vocal samples and a breakdown with crowd samples. Finally the Jamie Trench Remix of ‘The Journey’ has a relatively long intro by today’s standards, an offbeat throbbing sound and closed hi-hats. It is a real builder of a track with layers of sounds and the added bonus of a rising sound or two and some simple spoken female vocal samples. On the whole this release is a masterclass in ‘less is more’ and all of the mixes work really well, and are great for those deeper techy sets.
https://soundcloud.com/rejekts/sets/rjkt012-riki-inocente-northern-rose-ep-jamie-
trench-rmx
ESSENTIALDANCEMUSIC 69