Various Artists - Colour Series: Violet 08 Sampler

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  • So it's spring, and just as the wonder of nature breaks forth from its winter dungeon, so Freerange release another Colour compilation. The sampler preceding it—their 150th release, in their 15th year—might be even more interesting to some as it features four unreleased tracks. The press release reckons the compilation itself is their best yet, and although I haven't listened to all of them, judging by this sampler that might be the case, as it's got two of the most fundamental things that a good LP should have—quality and variety. The producers here are doing pretty different things, but nail them all. Aussie lad Mic Newman heads for classic deep house, with a choppy beat and fizzy synth stabs and wipes, and block-party roughness thanks to chattering voices throughout. It's solid, peak-time party fuel. Jimpster's effort floats along with lots of high frequency fizzing, hazy melodies that tickle the edge of either your Daiquiri or your Whisky and Coke, depending on whether you're chilling at the beach or relaxing into a night. It'd suit both. Matt Masters and Pezzner team up for their first outing as Arithmetics, not messing about at all with a melodically percussive stormer which combines a kick-heavy, rolling beat with bobbling synths. There's tons of chunk in the funk bassline too, flirting with a through-composed feel (running with this might have made it even better). Martin Patino, meanwhile, goes for a beatless instrumental builder which layers arpeggios of strings on top of each other with a weighty piano in the bass. It grows more dense, reaches a climax with rushing cymbals and snares, then drops right off, leaving only a couple of intertwining strings for the last few bars. There's an obvious use for it, that is, to use it as a surprising break before bringing the kick in and the hands up near the end, but really (assuming you're playing this out) it's an interesting take on the DJ tool which could be used in a range of different ways.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Mic Newman - Filthy Forever A2 Jimpster - Cloudwalking B1 Arithmetics - The Faint of Heart B2 Martin Patino - Make Love
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