Label: Swordtail

  Released: November 5th, 2007

  Reviewed: 8/10

  Australian label Swordtail Records brings us its 10th release. this one is by Simon Firth and includes remixes by Alexander Popov and OBA.

The Original starts off with some percussion some bells and some hi-hats in a very nice combination reminiscent of religious afro-Cuban rhythms. After a few loops the kick comes in giving the track a nice bounce. It goes on like this until a very deep bass line drops. The kick dies down and the track goes into patterns of broken beats. The kick comes back in rather unimpressively. Quite some time later the melody comes in. This is a nice bit of sinth work on the part of Simon Firth: a very exotic yet pleasant enough sound accompanied by some very nice metallic ambiances. This process repeats a couple times with little change. Over all not that impressive a track but has some nice details to pay attention to. It is definitely a pick for a radio mix or an after-hours.

The first remix is by Russian Alexander Popov. This starts out with a straightforward 4x4 kick but then explodes into sinth ambiance and a very danceable bass line. There are some Very enticing grooves and nice sounds here. The breakdown goes into only synth work without totally killing the flow of the tune. This ends with a very laid back yet energetic bass line and intertwining flute like synth melodies. It is overall a very synth driven but danceable track. It is appropriate for a beach side morning set or as a nice warm up tune.

The second remix is by OBA. Like the original this starts with some percussion and some hi-hats. Similar to the Alex Popov remix this explodes into synths and bass line very soon. Unlike the others this track is dark!!! It also breaks down into a very serious bass line accompanied by a piano like sinth melody. This is shortly after joined by the beat. The track lacks significant change for a while, but then this ambiance steadily starts to grow in volume and then the track dies down only to burst into melody in a second wonderful break down. Again the track goes back into a monotonous loop. This track like the original has its very nice details but lacks drive in general. Again I would recommend it for radio play or very small spaces.

My pick out of the three would definitely be the Alexander Popov mix. But the release is nice overall.

Dave Lock [18-Oct-2007]