Tom Demac / Kris Wadsworth - 10 Feels Good!

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  • Morris / Audio celebrates its 10th anniversary in low-key fashion, not with a broadly encompassing compilation, but a tidy two-track 10-inch from Tom Demac and Kris Wadsworth. I'll admit that there's something refreshing about a decennial celebration that foregoes the fireworks and fanfare in favor of the business-as-usual task of simply putting out solid tracks. Both tunes here hew to a '90s inspired model of deeper tech house, and with their blushing chords, brittle drum machines and processed vocals, they complement each other well. Wadsworth's "Genre Electric" is trim and steppy, with heavily swung arpeggios wrapping themselves around rickety drum programming while a downpitched voice mutters something about "Genre tracks... whatever happened to electric?" The vocal feels a little like an inside joke, but it never really distracts from the business at hand. The track's strongest feature is the way it gets weirder as it develops, with a relatively streamlined groove eventually turning into a jumble of tones vaguely resembling one of Nathan Fake's haunted music boxes. Demac's "Trigger Happy Baby" is deeper, swirling with shimmering pads and off-beat, plink-plonk arpeggios. Again, the vocals never really get in the way, with a muttered refrain of "Trigger happy baby" recalling Kalabrese's occasional habit of off-the-cuff spieling. The drum programming has a nice, chunky rattle to it, giving you something solid to hold onto while dissonant synthesizers dissolve like wet cotton candy. Still, it's those keys that carry the day: with their slippery attack and wispy, opalescent timbres, they're a reminder that even "genre tracks" deserve compelling sound design, exactly what this one gets here.
  • Tracklist
      A Tom Demac - Trigger Happy Baby B Kris Wadsworth - Genre Electric
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