As we hurtle towards our 200th Freerange release the quality output you’ve come
to expect from Freerange shows no sign of faltering with Bas Amro bringing you an
absolutely stellar EP entitled You And Me. Dutch wunderkind Bas has built
himself a solid reputation through only a handful of releases on labels such as
Wolfskuil, Kutchuli and most notably his 2011 EP Ten on Freerange which has gone
onto become a stone-cold classic in the deep house mecca of Johannesburg. This
long awaited follow up delivers on every level and if early feedback and crowd
response is anything to go by looks set to push Bas further into the spotlight
where he deserves to be.
You And Me starts in a deceptively understated manner wrapping you in a shroud of
warm, dubby stabs underpinned by a rolling groove that can’t fail to draw you
onto the dancefloor. Things stay deep with hints of Chandler and echoes of Basic
Channel until the breakdown arrives, the filters roll up and the whitenoise
shines through bringing a new energy and dynamic to the track. A classic,
timeless vibe which we’re proud to be bringing you on Freerange.
As with his previous release Ten, Bas works hard to deliver not one but two
faultless originals so flip over for Across The Street featuring the vocals of
Kennifer and you won’t be disappointed. A simple, repeating six-measure synth
hook drives the track and brings with it a lovely looseness and lack of obvious
structure. Kennifer’s sparse, almost improvised sounding vocal drops heighten
the sense of space and freefall effect making such a refreshing change to most of
todays formulated and conventional house music.
Last up is an amazing remix of You and Me from rising start Matt Karmil who
brings his own unique and refreshing sound to the EP. Karmil’s recent LP on PNN
won rave reviews from all corners and with just two other releases on Beats In
Space and International Records Recordings he seems to have burst from out of
nowhere but has certainly become hot property in the last 12 months. His
forthcoming remix for John Talabot and Axel Boman under their Talaboman is
immense and here he treads a similar path focusing on a raw percussion-heavy
sound with very minimal tweaks and effects adding subtle colour and interest.
These days it’s very hard to breakthrough with an original, new approach to house
but Matt Karmil seems to have done it with ease.