- Diego Krause isn't reinventing the wheel. His tracks, which have arrived via Berlin outpost Beste Modus and his own Unison Wax imprint, are modest deep house tools hewn from well-worn motifs: deep kicks, bouncing bass loops, crisp claps, jacking hi-hats, reverb-drenched chord stabs and the occasional diva wail. Although he never challenges the conventions of garage-influenced house production, his tracks don't sound stale or boilerplate—rather, he brings a refreshing energy to the formula with simple and effective methods. On "Vertical," the B1 from his second Unison Wax offering, Krause uses subtle dynamics to keep things interesting. The hi-hats and claps occasionally change in pitch or rhythm, and sometimes the track seems to inhale itself for a beat before bursting into full force again.
While his contributions to the Beste Modus crew have incorporated piano stabs, organs and chunky vocals, the Unison Wax catalog features an even more stripped-down style and restricted range of influences. Like the inaugural release, the label's second 12-inch offers three house cuts constructed from dubby chords, buoyant drums and rolling basslines. "Mogul," the bright jacker on A1, maintains a lighthearted mood with wavy chords that refract around slapping drum hits. "Citizen" is its mellow counterpart on B2. Here, a gliding melody rises to the fore as neatly arranged hi-hats volley pattering hand drums and moody keys. To put it as simply as the tracks are made, Krause's productions are just too good to feel ordinary.
TracklistA1 Mogul
B1 Vertical
B2 Citizen