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Last year, San Francisco's Icee Hot made the jump from party to record label, kicking off its run with a release from resident/co-founder Ghosts on Tape and following it up with a record from Lando Kal, an artist whose ties to the Bay Area (and the Icee Hot crew in particular) ran deep. For its third offering, Icee Hot has extended its reach beyond its inner circle, enlisting Montreal duo Grown Folk and offering up the pair's first new songs in more than a year.
Following 2011's impressive City Wind and Droptop EPs (released on Templar and Silverback, respectively), Grown Folk locked itself in the studio, cooking up a batch of songs that combine the rich melodic sensibilities of late-'90s/early-'00s progressive sounds with slow-motion house grooves. Both "The Boat" and "Keep Few Near" are slow-burning, synth-driven productions, albeit ones with chunky basslines and enough groove to keep the dancefloor moving. Deep, hypnotic, and quite unlike the efforts currently being put forth by most young producers, these songs are the work of a production outfit whose artistry has quite clearly taken a major leap forward.
On the flip side, the Icee Hot has once again proven its mettle when it comes to remix curation, as Dutch veteran Gerd has followed up his stellar 2012 by transforming "The Boat" into a muscular, drum-heavy house workout, one that eschews melody almost entirely while putting a modern spin on booming, Dance Mania-style rhythms. Similarly potent is Ghosts on Tape's remix of "Keep Few Near," which also puts the drums front and center as it rolls out an epic flurry of darting, warehouse-rattling synths that recall the glory days of early-'90s hardcore. With remixes this good, it might be hard to decide whether the original cuts or the reworks pack the greater punch; luckily, those who grab this record won't have to make that call.
Support from Boddika, Serge (Clone), L-Vis 1990.
Tracklist
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4