Dani Casarano & Felipe Valenzuela // D3 [Saw Recordings]
While diving through the constant stream of noise that finds its way into the SHA promo box, I can happily say that Satoshi Tomiie’s Backside Wave was an undoubted highlight last month. I fired up this latest Saw Recordings release with a high set of expectations thanks to the previous stellar work of the label head man. Now, if was to accurately represent my opinions via the medium of facial expressions, my response would be to push one corner of my mouth up with one finger and the other downwards. Let me explain why:
Fifty percent of the release is a success in my eyes, the original of Dani Casarano & Felipe Valenzuela’s D3 features a naggingly infectious Rhodes loop along with a faint jangle—akin to the chiming of boats, a sound familiar to anyone who lives by the sea—and gradually filtering swells. Satoshi then steps in with two remixes, one of which is in need of a compass. The main remix feels like it is unsure of which element of the 90′s revival it wants to pluck inspiration from; jumping from Strike-esque bass stabs to progressive hypnotism to aggressive 303′s with seeming unease, all of this then attempting to try to tie back to the original Rhodes motif. If feels as unnatural as pairing apple pie with chicken soup and leaves you wishing that everything had just been stripped back a little. This is where the Stripped Dub comes in; focusing on the 303, losing one of the basslines, a majority of the Rhodes loop and generally realising that, even though it is a vaguely similar colour, custard is possibly the better pudding accompaniment.
With our percentage count at 50% of win and 25% of not so win, the final 25% of my undecided smile unsurprisingly goes to the not so camp. Saliendo is a sparser experience; subtle dubby stabs, subtle electronic beeps, subtle two note bassline and subtle muted beats. Unfortunately this is your lot, and a little too much subtle means Saliendo feels like it melts through your fingers, leaving you unable to grasp onto something to capture the imagination. So some mixed results on this latest Saw release, but some areas certainly deserving investigation.
Release Date: Out Now
Words: fourfourfun
