i'm gunna put more effort into listening promos from people whose name doesn't immediately mean anything to me. it's a risky business, but one of the joys of electronic music is hearing something from an unknown then scurrying off to unearth more. one such catalyst has been this ep from us producer deepak sharma on us label hidden recordings. a quick google reveals the man to have once booked craig richards & lee burridge as tyrant - one of my enduring favourites - to play at his brooklyn night a few years ago, and anyone who does that is alright by me, even before they soothe your mind and soul with their dragging deep house.
the track he offers here (alongside dieter krause) is built on a raw, unhurried kick. all important contrast comes from the dry, echoing claps (which cut gorgeously through the bass clouds like, well, thunder) at unexpected intervals; a distant, longing and muted organ line (i think) and some heavy hearted synths. it's melancholic but optimistic, and has a certain classiness to it which i really dig.
the first reinterpretation operates on a less emotionally intense, but just as deep, plain than the original. throughout, remixer rene breitbarth is content to go at his own speed, with no curveballs, tempo shifts or huge drops to grab at your attention along the way. he doesn't really want it, what he wants is for you to get lost in the occult and simmering synths which dissipate over the horizon, or the gentle churn of woody clacks which keep you moving, but somehow moving nowhere. this track could go on forever and you wouldn't really mind, which is skilful stuff.
that dj qu influences seem to hang heavy in the air of 'wolkenreise' is only confirmed when he turns up to remix it. it's a sometimes urgent, sometimes sparse cut which has an intimidating backdrop of faintly shimmering bells fading in and out all the way through. squelchy glitches, indecipherable vocal snippets and alien sounds randomly break through to suggest something nasty lurks behind it, but listening in to find out what is as enjoyable as anything. as well as those, there is also a deep disco-fried effort from gustavo lamas, a reverb heavy, analogue sounding deconstruction by karraskilla and a shiny sci-fi excursion from john tejada, but none sound better than the previous three. hidden recordings, i'm coming looking for you...
Read my RA review of 'Wolkenreise' here.
Via http://machinesarefunky.blogspot.com/2011/02/wolkenreise-deepak-sharma-dieter-krause.html
