- Appearing at intervals throughout his career, Dave Huismans' Archive releases have housed some of his most straightforward productions. The Dutch producer has been getting ever more out-there lately, from the scattershot rhythms of Ahead / Endgame to last year's forbidding The New Today. So 2015 feels like a good time to be reminded that he can play it straight too, and with just as much style.
In some cases, the links between Archive III and Huismans' past work are quite direct. "Cheater VIP" reworks a cut from 2011's Fever LP, keeping the original's gaunt chords but bolstering them with a hefty 4/4 groove. Here and elsewhere, it's Huisman's distinct rhythmic sense that marks the track out from the techno pack. It's present in "Funkstation," which seems on the verge of tripping over its own feet as it trudges along. And it's there in "Them," whose itchy swing frames an odd patchwork of timpani rolls and tense orchestral chords. As these elements are carefully bled away at the track's close, they reveal a surprisingly nasty bassline down below; most of these tracks conceal some odd detail or other in a similar way.
"Us" is the grottiest of the lot. Shortly before the three-minute mark, a full orchestra swells alarmingly out of the murk, almost engulfing the mix before disappearing again. These rich, immersive tracks may not offer the dizzy thrill of Huismans at his wildest, but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
TracklistA1 Cheater VIP
A2 Funkstation
B1 Us
B2 Them