- The Chicago-Paris connection of Mazi Namvar and David Duriez ignited again last month for ‘Chicago, A Wake Up Call’ on Brique Rouge, surprisingly, only their second studio collaboration (their maiden voyage was the tribal tech house of 'Everything is Alright' as Audio Soul Project back in 2002). Namvar, renowned for his darker grooves, and Duriez', with his ability to take things deep and funky, may seem like an unlikely combo, but times are a changin’ for the Gourmet and Brique Rouge honchos: on this 12” they look to electrohouse devotees Marc Romboy and Phonogenic to add a little zest to their original.
Marc Romboy delivers another trademark hunk of chunky tech on the A. Moving from Mönchengladbach to Berlin has obviously been good for Romboy, enabling him to extend the tentacles of his label Systematic as well as rope in collaborators of the calibre of Blake Baxter, Booka Shade and John Dahlback. This remix has plenty of bite and bristling bass-action to keep you happy on the floor, even if you're not the biggest electrohouse fan, and proves why Romboy is a much sought after remixer.
The baton passes to Finn Tuomas Salmela on the flip, who adopts his Phonogenic guise for an electronic funk excursion. Definitely the groovier of the two remixes here, Salmela manages to squeeze a parping horn into the track, developing it into the centrepiece at points. This is only slightly tougher than his recent work for 2020 Vision and should sit well in the boxes of tech-house spinners.
But Romboy steals the peaktime here in a solid, dependable package from Gourmet receiving props from Josh Wink and Namvar himself. Not a whole lot of melody in either wake up call, if indeed Chicago needs one, but then again heads-down stuff pays that no heed when it’s time to get busy. Gourmet's rugged side.
TracklistA Chicago, A Wake Up Call (Marc Romboy Remix)
B Chicago, A Wake Up Call (Phonogenic Remix)