Episode 021: October 27, 2010

This throbbing monster of a track has been hailed as a return to past form from many fans, and while we think that it has some chic attitude to it that early work no longer holds, we can’t deny that there is a melodic quality to it that we haven’t heard from these two for a while. The song is just dirty in a beautiful way, and throbs just enough to make your head bob. Perfect opener for the day.

Adrian Hour is a young talent out of Buenos Aires who is seriously channeling a certain mister James Holden on this one, but it’s still impressive considering how complex Holden’s melody lines and rhythms really are. The track is reworked by London journeyman DJ and producer Max Mason who puts a sophisticated and stripped down tech-house twist on it. It’s the best we’ve heard from both.

Fixtures of the huge Anjuna family of labels and oft-partners Andrew Bayer and Boom Jinx’s big style are complimented perfectly with David West’s deft hand at bass line/drum construction. West has always had a knack for boiling a melody line down to a single or dual synth cut, played over and over. It’s wonderfully conceived in this case and leads directly into the more epic breakdowns and buildups, which are likewise impeccably executed. Edgy and big-room prog meets techno.

Neither of the two of the artists involved with this next track have really had that busy of a year in 2010, but both are batting a perfect 1.000 when it comes to what they have put out, especially Pleasurekraft who, as we’re fond of saying in situations like these, needs no introduction. The enduring melody line throughout this particular remix of theirs very closely puts it as our favorite from them this year. If the gargantuan quirky-smash “Tarantula” is to be de-throned by anyone, this would be the one to do it.

The Ukranian techno-smith is back, this time with his own grassroots project “I am Techno” of which there’s little information except what you’re hearing playing in the background. Whether or not it becomes an enduring project or not, we’re digging the result right in front of our faces. It’s a driving slice of exuberant melodic club techno, the kind that we’re really come to expect from Spartaque who seems the straddle the world between melodic progressive and true techno very well.

I know it’s been bandied about, even by us here on Fresh Produce, but I really don’t think there’s another choice for producer of the year other than Gui Borratto. If the Massive Attack remix from earlier this year wasn’t enough alone, which it is, especially given its recent Lincoln car commercial licensing, this remix here is so effing well done and downright huge that it’s hard to have a debate about it. This is off a massive single package from PIAS Recordings which includes several other choonies, which we’ll get to in just a moment actually.

While not exactly bigger than Borratto’s mix, this one certainly rises a bit off the dancefloor grind to a more upward-gaze fist pumping level. Mark Knight’s tracks are so crisp, so fat, and so LOUD it’s no content who wins for best studio production/mastering this year. It’s also exciting to hear Faithless return to such a bigroom form, a sound that really put them on the map in the first place, after several years of “where are they going next”? It’s proof that music run in cycles…we’re back in the early 90’s, except this time it’s even cooler.

Truly an example of exactly how *exciting* this time in music can be for those who otherwise wouldn’t have a voice, The XX was largely a myspace/internet phenom whose first and only album has been listened to millions of times, and received high praise from media giants Rolling Stone and NME. Their track “Intro” is perhaps the biggest underground hit, and here it’s getting full-fledged club treatment from one of the greatest out there, Sander van Doorn. The fact that this incarnation has topped Buzz charts already all over the world with support from the likes of Tiesto, Pete Tong, etc. is a testament to where pure songwriting meets practiced skill. It’s all well-deserved.

Rasmus Kellerman I don’t know. His band Tigr Lou has been sometimes loudly and often quietly making waves in the indie scene, and obviously its swedish lead singer has found a hankering to branch out. Zoo Brazil I do know. Also from Sweden, the moniker that John Andersson has operated under for the better part of a decade now has been home to some of the most varied and wide-ranging progressive, trance, techno, and electro beats out there. Together, they’ve struck gold on this one. It’s hands-down one of the catchiest vocal tracks in memory, we literally can’t stop singing it. It’s a partnership we wouldn’t mind seeing again, even if it’s half as memorable as this one. The year of the Swedes continues.

Keeping with theme today is another songwriter; Ormatie is the brainchild of Aleksander Sergeevich who really burst onto the scene two years ago with his synth-laden “Emoke” EP from Hope. This time he’s on Proton with a track in the same vein. He’s amped up the percussion a little, which cheekily defies his personal statement of his work: “sometimes I love to make some simple music.” His tracks have a sweetness that imply simplicity, but we’re certainly not fooled. This track is an impressive example of his unique aesthetic. Props well-deserved.

Thanks everyone for tuning in today, we’ll be back right here next week for more Fresh music and interviews. We’re officially two months away from the end of the year, and we’ll be plowing right through to the end, so keep it locked right here. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter for our stream of information, tracks, guests, news, giveaways, everything Fresh Produce. Remember to think outside the genre box, buy your music, and keep it fresh. We’ll see you next week!

Fresh Produce is managed and produced by friskyMedia, a division of Frisky LLC