Page 49 - Zone Magazine Issue 013

Waxhands [UK] - House & Techno
MUSIC REVIEWS
Mark Moore and Roland Faber – Dreams of de ja vue [Fetch U Records] - Zone Top Tune - 10/10
Mark Moore, yes him if S'Express fame, teams up with Fetch U records head honcho Roland Faber once again for a large slab of acid house, featuring the distinctive vocals of Billy Ray Martin. The original is all about the 303's and the 808s. With rolling toms and snare punctuating the repeated bassline. With a huge acid breakdown and a new topline coming in after the second break the soaring vocals from Martin bring things all back together wonderfully. It could have been written 30 odd years ago but sounds as fresh as ever.
An impressive selection of remixes is included and pick of the bunch is a cross between Hifi Seans remix and Brave Noize. Hifi Sean takes things on a more circa 2000 deep house tip. The kind of thing you could have expected Deep Dish to be playing in there sets around the time. This is not to say it sounds in any way dated. Full of energy and giving the vocal space to breath with a simple bassline and tribal percussion giving movement to the rhythm, before a huge acid line comes in the break to take things to another level.
The Brave Noize remix strips things back for a journey into the world of electro circa 1988. As with the original, the drums are pure Roland 808, with the snares rolling and the hats keeping things moving. The kick is big enough to keep the punch and the bassline is pure Acid Trax.
If you like Acid or tribal house that will fill a big room and keep the floor moving, there will be something in this package for everyone. Dynamite.
https://www.beatport.com/release/dreams-of-deja-vu/1894432
We Take Polaroids – Radio (Simon Morgan mix) [JULA Music] - Zone Recommended Tune - 9/10
Mark Zowie, former frontman from Burn the Negative, and as a solo artist, having had releases on labels such as Minisrty of sound, 9G records, Gung Ho! And Southern Fried to name a few, has decided to use his “We Take Polaroids” alter ego to launch his own “Jula” label, and the first release is a cracker.
Straying from his usual brand of techy, deep house he usually relases under his own name, We take Polaroids is pure electronic pop music. The original mix of “Radio” is pure uplifting escapism, with Zowie's vocals obviously being front and centre, with crisp drums and uplifting synths in the chorus.The Superstringz remix does an effective job of essentially “beefing up” the original mix, with a bit more bass.
However the most interesting mix for me is the Simon Morgan remix. Essentially deconstructing the original and piecing it back together into a deep house monster. Stripping back the vocal to create a mysterious soundscape. The drums are all about the 808 toms and claps, with a nice solid kick drum. Chord stabs keep thing going and the bassline will make any decent sub shake.
A great first release from Jula, and a good indication of things to come. http://www.traxsource.com/track/3897862/radio-original
White Drives – Deepest Joy [Census sound recording] - Zonr Rating - 8/10
Duo White Drives, consisting of djs Martin James and Dj Wadcutter, met in the early 90s, and with a string of releases under their belt, have a new one for us, and its a cracker. All about the indian influence, with a soaring vocal and tabla drums taking you away to another place. Add to this a chunky bassline and sweeping pads and synths, its all layered together beautifully. The breakdowns are perfectly placed and long enough for everything to come back together before taking off again, with the shuffling shakers adding another element and keeping the energy going.
Ettica takes the track in a definite tech house direction, with minimal use of the vocal and instead filling the space with a massive, heavy bassline and hi hats all over the place. Its a perfect accompaniment to the original and just gives a new take on it without taking things too far away.
Alan Cross on the other hand, with his remix, goes off on a huge techno direction, with the droning bassline giving a more aggressive feel to the track, with pumping drums and rolling open hats keeping things going nicely before the breakdowns come and give a sense of relief, as the vocal comes in and everything calms down a bit. But not for long as we take off again and you can see hands going up in the air. 3 great tracks and I'm sure many djs will be laying this release out! https://soundcloud.com/censussound
Simon Hinter – Athyl EP [Just Move Records] - Zone Rating - 7/10
Germany's Simon Hinter cites his influences as “hip-hop, soul, jazz, funk and rare soundtracks of the sixties and seventies” and have given his unique take on melodic electronica an truly one of a kind. With releases on Prog City Deep Trax and Love Unlimited Vibes, his latest release on Just Move Records is a showcase of his style and doesnt disappoint.
Title track “Athyl” is all about the ethereal vocals layered on top of dreamy pads and piano stabs laced with reverb. The drums are simple and chunky but never boring. This is perfect music for a club or at home. “Bloody knees” is the more leftfield of the 2 tracks, with glitchy drums and stabs all over the place. The undulating bassline gets under your skin, and will sound great on a big system. I hope Simon starts playing out live as I think these and his other tracks would make for a really interesting show. Nice well rounded release from Just move, and look forward to hearing more from Simon. https://www.traxsource.com/title/719364/athyl-ep
Bontan – What you want [Suara] - Zone Rating - 8/10
UK based DJ and producer, Bontan has been pretty hard to keep away from as of late. His portfolio of remixes and original material is growing at an amazing rate and garnering some heavyweight support.
His latest original effort, being released on Barcelona based Coyu's imprint Suara keeps things up to the standard you'd expect. First thing you notice is the production. It is outstanding on this track. Every element is crystal clear and the the kick drum pounds all the way through. That's not to say it’s heavy, it’s just a beast, and if anything, this track has a certain soulful vibe to it with the repeated vocal hook acting as a rally call to the dance floor to literally “do what you want” before the bassline kicks in with devastating effect.
If you're looking for a straightforward house number that will keep the room happy you can’t really go wrong with this, it’s simple, effective, not overly complicated in terms of structure, but it doesn’t need to be. Beats, bassline, vocal, are three elements that when used in a clever way, can be all you need to create a little bit of magic. https://www.beatport.com/track/what-you-want-original-mix/8607035
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