Paul Martinez - Ocean Roaming EP
"Ocean Roaming" comes on from the start with lots of atmosphere: warm, woolly synths, space-making clavier, diaphanous
vocals. It scans in every way as a reasonably agile take on deep house, but it's also absent a centralizing focus or force
that would make it do anything but float away, with little left to linger in the end. The singing is too sweet for its own
good, and little in the track beneath it grounds the understandably evanescent falling-in-love sentiment in terms that
translate to any other state.
The original of Paul Martinez ties gentle synth plucks, symphonic strings and feather-light pads to a soft bassline, which
stops the whole lot from floating away. Things are pleasingly unhurried, with deadened tom rolls half way imparting little
more than embellishment.
Matteo Monero ups the intensity of the bass, though just barely. Despite xylophone-like percussion in place of plucks, the
same serene, patient mood remains. Pitch-bending synths add a woozy, narcotic feel to the package. Llucas remix gives
"Ocean Roaming" some teeth and even a little snarl, with demented dub effects that play well with the rougher grain of the
rhythm. Alpino 13 remix takes the track in a "chilling state" that seethes as much as it shakes that fares less well
without the darker aspect. The remix by Mike Lowrey & Alpino 13 proves the most antic of the lot, and the most interesting
for the ways it flirts with falling apart, the outpouring of emotion may be too much for some, for DJs willing to let the
feelings flow, it's a true gem.
On the other hand, Fabio T. remix features staggered, thrashing drums and those familiar with basslines, but here they're
thrilling, indiscriminately slicing erratic paths right through the track like buzzsaws. System Zoid use of musique
concrète as a conceptual standpoint, with demolished breaks and real world sounds giving an impression of reality sans
visual, and arriving somewhere around the gritty desolation heavily distorted looped drum breaks drowning in layers of
screaming atmospherics. Mikrostar surrounding it expands and contracts. It seems more one-note at first, but that loop has
a hell of a lot of give to it, and it lends itself especially well to the pebbly-percussive breakdown that bolsters the
track's heft.
Buy: here
Tracklist:
Ocean Roaming (Original Mix)
Ocean Roaming (Matteo Monero Remix)
Ocean Roaming (Llucas Remix)
Ocean Roaming (Alpino 13 Remix)
Ocean Roaming (Mike Lowrey & Alpino 13 Remix)
Ocean Roaming (Fabio T. Remix)
Ocean Roaming (System Zoid Remix)
Ocean Roaming (Mikrostar Remix)
Label: Insomniafm Records
Cat: IFMR017
Released: August 4th 2011
Style: Progressive House