aden
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Posted : Oct 17, 2009 16:53:09
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Artist : Solead
Title : Mola EP
Label: Metroline Limited
Format : Digital
Release date : 28 sept 09
Tracklist:
1. Ice Cream
2. Les capitales
3. Mola Mola
4. Moonlight
5. Oasis
Sound-fest! London-based Metroline Limited has just released some sizzling hot Tech-House from the French sound wizards Solead, always at the cutting edge of dance-floor oriented sound production. Solead has excelled in all genres of electronica, with releases on a wide range of acclaimed labels such as Renaissance, Vapour/Evapour8, Citizen, Iboga, Tribal Vision, Beef, Blue Tunes, and their own imprint, Tree Hand. The talented duo comprising Charles Michaud (Triptych) & Vincent Courcau (Tektrakys, Motion) has garnered the attention of premier league musicians such as Vitalic, John Digweed, Jamie Stevens (of Infusion fame), Damian Lazarus, Minilogue, Kasey Taylor, Boris Brejcha, and D-Nox & Beckers, to name but a few of the artists with whom they have collaborated on various projects.
They return with a bunch of tech house tunes inspired by tropical rhythms to prolong the summer vibes.
Ice Cream
“Ice Cream” makes a cool start as the title suggests. It is a rather laid back, jazzy piece which however doesn’t fail to put you in the party mood, as rhum on the rocks is served abundantly right through the track! The combo delivers a soft, reverb-laden, rhythm machine, which nevertheless maintains the energy level high with Marcus Miller at the slapped bass, Tito Puente delivering spicy drums and congas rolls, while Eric Dolphy himself makes an appearance on the flute, and Jimmy Gourley drops a few elegant arpeggios on the guitar.
Les Capitales
I don’t know which capitals the boys had in mind when writing this one, but the sultry rhythms, sticky bassline, and lush orchestration oozes the humid atmosphere of Bogota, Bahia or Fortaleza in the rainy season. The percussions have never sounded so acoustic, and the snare rolls are irresistibly driving and pumping. The synth work deftly mixes all kinds of atmospheres, and evokes tropical bird chirps, nocturnal jungle life, a jazzy Hammond keyboard, and the severely altered states of liquor ridden party!
Mola Mola
Mola Mola takes a deeper, housier direction, and convincingly tells the story of a Saturday night Mambo party in a remote, uncanny part of the jungle, where bird chirping immediately takes over after the music breaks for a couple of seconds. A whole percussion combo plays congas, drums, cow bells and marimbas, while the horny horns blow sax and trumpet riffs as in a hot jam session, triggering the happy crowd’s hullabaloo.
Moonlight
Moonlight is a collab with Clutch, one of Vincent’s former partners in music composition. It belongs to an earlier cycle of composition, hence its difference in style. It explores a tech-house repertoire that the duo has plumbed in the past, territory that is also familiar to fellow composers such as Jakiro. It delivers a panting rhythmic combo, with a minimal theme and abridged riffs. The track features a voice sample shredded by fx, which, IMHO, sits uncomfortably in this context. The least surprising track of the package.
Oasis
Oasis takes us back to the true roots of all these musical stories: Africa. This piece plunges the listener into a more dubby bash, and its syncopated and serpentine bassline perfectly backs up and bounces along with the enchanting African female choir that soars in the mid section, emanating grace, warmth and the contagious spirit of dance. The track breaks with perfect precision, and is another master class in orchestration as it resonates, once again, with profuse real-sounding percussion arrangements.
Bottom line:
I have been conquered by the sensuous seduction of these tropical pieces, which offer an original and totally convincing blend of tech house beats, deep house feel and West Indies/latino inspiration. They are superlatively produced, as Solead’s craft is second to none (or to very few). They sound so fresh in the often formulaic contemporary tech house soundscape, even if there have been a few precedents (Schumacher etc.). Drop one of these pieces and get immediate response from the grateful dance floor. This release has already been supported by heavy-weights of the ring, one of which I hold to be particularly meaningful: Seb Mullaert from Minilogue. Needless to say these tunes will earn you success, guaranteed!
Related links:
http://www.myspace.com/solead
http://www.soleadmusic.com/
http://www.ml-limited.com/
  http://myspace.com/adenbeatersweet
http://www.flow-records.com |
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