Page 55 - Zone Magazine Issue 015

Herck – Sonetul Noptiler Fecunde EP [Curtea Veche] - Zone Rating - 7/10
Deep experimental electronica all over this great 4 tracker from Herck. It really is a great showcase of his leftfield take on electronica. Opener “Luminiscente Proprii” is a great deep tech groover with a cracking sub bass and floaty synths with chunky deep house drums. In the break the whispered female vocals add atmosphere,and dreamy piano licks give a sense of space.
Next up “Fluxio” is a more straight up house track, with again the same trademark sub bass and solid drums, but more glitchy drums and percussion, with of kilter synths punctuating things. “Sistem binar” is all about the spoken voice samples and a frantic, almost chaotic bassline that gives an air of menace to the track, but still keeps it funky.
Finally “Spektral” is a great deep house number, with smooth pads and shuffling drums, with more distinctive filtered vocals. Nice release.
https://www.deejay.de/Herck_Sonetul_Noptilor_Fecunde_Part_2_CV005PT2_Vinyl__253924
Various Artists – Sure cuts limited 001 [Sure cuts limited] - Zone Rating - 7/10
Great and varied 4 track compilation from Sure cuts limited here. Opener “D-track” from Lotche is pure chicago house, with the soulful female vocal over synth stabs and a solid 303 bassline. Punchy drums with just enough sway to give it a great groove mean this is a killer track. “Dona Fonda” by Julien Guzz, takes the tempo down a notch, with a low slung bassline, more of the female vocals and male spoken vocals on the top of smooth pads and funky bass.
“Lost in okabore kingdom” by Keedo brings things back up and is pure disco house. Great use of samples in this one aswell as great synth work and nice funky house drums give this a nice old school feel from the late 90's. Great stuff. Finally “Smooth a souhait” by Hatelate winds things up with a nice simple groove and a great funk/ soul guitar lick that give the track its unique feeling. Solid release.
https://www.deejay.de/Va_Lotche_Julien_Guzz_Keedo_Hatelate_Sure_Cuts_Limited_001_SCL001_Vinyl__259320
Katal – Il Sistema/Dioniso [Ewax] - Zone Rating - 7/10
Old school deep vibes all over this release. “Il Sistema” is a great deep house number, with analogue drums and synths all over it. Creating a bed of sound with surprisingly more layers than you may think on the first listen. Pads and vocal samples sit on top of the sub bass and solid shuffling drums keep things going.
Julian Sandre comes in on remix duties, and takes the title track and strips things right back to the minimal elements to crate a more moodier version of the original, but with a jazz swing to things to keep things upbeat. “Dioniso” a bare bones deep track, with building synth pads over a shuffling 808 drumline and tight bass, and the Swoy remix manages to beef things up with pumping drums and a deep house feel but still being faithful to the original.
https://www.deejay.de/Katal_Il_Sistema_Dioniso_EWX003_Vinyl__255049
Folamour – Nights over you EP [Roots for Bloom] - Zone Rating - 7/10
A great 4 track EP from Folamour here, all about the summer vibes this will work on the indoor or outdoor stage, guaranteed. “Nights over you” is chock full of smooth chords, a nice stabby lead line and a great, crisp bassline. Couple that with the garage inspired vocal hook and its a winner.
“Last morning” is a straight up deep house groover, again with great female vocal samples over the top, wah wah synths and deep bass, complemented by solid drums. “$0$” cranks things up a bit, and adds a bit of a disco element to things, bringing the tempo up a notch and going for a more peak time house vibe with the drums and bass, but keeping the smooth elements that hold the EP together and gives it identity. Finally label boss Jamie Trench gives us his re-edit of the title track, and strips things down to the bare bones and manages to go even deeper. Nice well rounded release.
https://www.deejay.de/Folamour_Nights_Over_You_Ep_RFBR014_Vinyl__258542
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