Page 61 - Zone Magazine Issue 015

Tommy Vercetti - Bring It Back [FXton Records] [Tech-House] - Zone Rating - 8/10
FXtion Records returns with another sizzling release in the form of 'Bring It Back' from the fast rising talent Tommy Vercetti. The package comes fully loaded with remixes from Raffa FL, Lee Pearce and Alex Renerro along with an Original Mix.
The ‘Original Mix’ has choppy percussion, a big kick drum and female vocal samples and the ‘Raffa FL Remix’ has a 30 second kick and clap intro then a funky bass line and a massive breakdown which for me looses energy. The ‘Lee Pearce Remix’ Redeems it with a Funky Jazzy interpretation with wood blocks and a stabbing electro piano then the ‘Alex Renerro Remix’ completely saves the day for me with as it is a rather fine Tech House interpretation with a percussive intro into a funky bass line and organ stabs and the vocal samples used to a tee with risers and whizzing sounds that add tension as a snare roll builds the pressure and the track progresses with a real funky groove to it.
Its amazing how a good remixer can really make a track sing and that is what has happened here as Alex Renerro has really pulled it out of the bag and his version along with the Original really make this a release that's worth waiting for and I myself, will be hammering it for the foreseeable future.
https://soundcloud.com/fxtionrecords
Talamanca System - My Past Is Your Future [International Feel] [Balearic] - Zone Rating - 8/10
This three track release was penned by the trio of Gerd Janson, Phillip Lauer of Tuff City Kids and International Feel label owner Mark Barrott and it features three Balearic tracks of which one is a dance version titled the ‘Chukka Chukka Dance mix,’ and that is what I am mainly reviewing here as this is a dance publication.
The track starts with a muted kick drum and choral vocal pads then quickly introduces a conga rhythm then a harmonic tone and an arpeggiated synth riff. The effect is very calming yet moving and eminently danceable to in an intelligent way and is hard to categorize. It almost sounds like mellow progressive house I suppose as the track is airy and flirtatious. You could play it night or day and get away with it which makes it a very useful track. The other two mixes are piano led and are the same track but the ‘Beatless Stars In Space Mix’ has no percussion whatsoever and both are rather beautiful.
The three of them form an intoxicating partnership in Talamanca System and this EP gives a snapshot into their forthcoming album due to be released on International Feel in May 2017, and If it sounds anything like this release I will definately trying to get my hands on a copy.
https://soundcloud.com/international-feel
Oberon - Dead Dreams [Discover Dark] [Trance] - Zone Rating - 8/10
Described in the press blurb with the promo as a “thunderous beast of sonic filth,” this track immediately caught my attention as there is nothing that I like better than a grimey hard trancer and this is definitely one of the aforementioned.
It kicks off with a galloping bass line and a thudding kick drum and builds through risers and percussive elements into a hard driving tech house animal with synth stabs, snare rolls and much darkness and it is a hard driving dancefloor decimator. There is only one vocal sample which sounds like Donald Trump saying “the American dream is dead” which in itself is all it needs as this track definitely lets the music do the talking. There is also the added bonus of a Psy Trance remix by Diego Morrill & Neos that uses another vocal sample cut up and interspersed throughout the intro and then the Psy kicks in with lengthened bass synth notes, whizzing sounds and dark pianos plus the same Trump vocal sample used both in pitch shifted formats and cut up into small sections and put in wherever they see fit.
Both work very well but for me the ‘Orignal Mix’ is the winner by a nose as it is a no nonsense, heads down danceathon of a tune that I know will go off wherever I play it.
http://www.recoverworld.com
EDX - All I Know [Spinnin Deep] [House] - Zone Rating - 8/10
EDX is a name that spends most of its time in the beatport top 100 house chart with multiple entries so it would be fair to say that the Italian born DJ/Producer knows his way around a studio and then some.
His latest release ‘All I Know’ is a one track release and one is all you need as its as catchy as a common cold but a lot more fun. It starts off with a compressed kick drum and builds through a single vocal sample and percussive elements to a simple but highly effective piano loop that takes you to a breakdown with brass stabs, strings and a distorted sound that together with the word “Say” repeated over and over make a highly effective chorus of sorts. It then kicks in with the main riff played on a jangly piano with some vocals on top that I can’t decipher. The whole track is just under 6 minutes long and is a masterclass in how to produce a simple yet highly effective dance hit.
There are not many that can deliver hits as consistently as EDX and I have to say that it is a pleasure to hear the master at work both through his music and through his live DJ sets as he played for me a few years ago and like his tunes more than often do, he took the roof off the place.
https://www.facebook.com/EDXmusic
Hidden Identity - Phase Me -[Gate Null Recordings] [Techno] - Zone Rating - 10/10
If you are a fan of driving peak time techno you have come to the right place as this one is a floor filling, speaker destroying belter of a tune which was written and produced by England’s own Hidden Identity.
It starts with a booming kick drum and compressed hi hat and slowly develops with quirky percussion and trippy vocal samples into a take no prisoners dark Techno weapon of destruction. There are a number of breakdowns with a rising synth riff and then its straight back into the madness as the tune progresses on its way. There are loads of indecipherable vocal lines repeated here and there that lighten the mood and give it an uplifting edge so its not all darkness and at just over six and a half minutes long, it leaves you begging for more. Like a lot of great dance tracks that have been produced, one of the keys to its success is its simplicity. It just locks you in a groove and drives you ever forward and makes you just want to loose it on the dancefloor.
I have no idea who the artist behind it is but they sure know how to produce a behemoth of a tune and I will definitely keep an eye and ear out for more of their productions as this tune is rather special.
http://www.gatenull.com
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