Marc Romboy // More Muzik [Systematic Recordings]
I was fortunate enough to review ‘Taiyo’, Marc Romboy’s last release on Systematic Recordings – a strange and beautiful heavyweight beast of a collaboration with Ken Ishii. This new track could not be more different, and nicely exemplifies the German’s versatility as a producer.
Romboy’s original shuffles into action with nice percussion and some hand claps before an insistent bassline drops in – as things develop the bass notes gradually morph into big piano chords and, after 90 seconds have passed, a thumping kick and bass combo arrives to simultaneously toughen things up and lift things higher. The percussion then returns, aided and abetted by a vocal sample, before they all stand aside as the main riff arrives, which goes up through the keys and back down again very nicely indeed. Things are building very nicely indeed, and you can already picture the hands in the air on the dancefloor as the bassline makes another welcome appearance, and the momentum builds with every repeated progression.
Just when things are threatening to get ever so slightly staid, the riff peters out as some nice spacey synths start to occupy the high ground as we go into the break – there the momentum begins to gather very nicely again, with those big chords again being stacked on top of the chunky bass notes, this time with the very welcome additional of those high synths. We are then left with just vocal, bassline and kick drum again as the track heads off to join the jacket queue, shuffling along nicely as it goes. In the wrong hands this could have sounded cheap and cheesy, but Romboy’s assured touch means that it has real quality and considerable gravitas to it, and the 90s house staples of piano stabs, congas and cowbells are so well used the track will be like manna to people of a certain age and inclination.
Dutchman Gerd’s remix starts with a nice kick and a subby bass groove, as a synth blows digital raspberries at us – we are then hit with a very powerful snare, as two different atmospheric pads rise in the background, creating a feeling of edginess and unease. After a couple of previous bids for freedom, the piano chords from the original finally make it out, and are cut up very effectively indeed, coming over like the remix is trying to hold them back in a fight, but they still succeed in getting a good few shots away.
The chords then start to melt away into the break, where a whole new synth melody takes centre stage, and things build again from there – the piano stabs then gradually start to change their state again and begin to get their original shape back, before making a very powerful return, sounding very good indeed as the track really starts to fly. Things then start to melt away one last time before we are left with just the muscular groove of the bassline and those fat beats, appearing like a couple of bouncers to dance us off the the premises – overall, a remix that is interesting and enjoyable in equally generous measures. Speaking of generosity, Gerd has also supplied us with a Rough Tool – a mix of raw power and sunny stabs that comes across like someone with real anger issues trying their best to play nice.
Top Marcs all round, really.
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Stevie Reid
