Simoncino - For My Father

Label: Crème Organization

DJ TLR’s Crème imprint has always been a singular voice in house and techno music, but their A&R department has been on a roll of late. With excellent recent offerings from Innershades, Legowelt, Xosar, and D’Marc Cantu (not to mention the ace R-Zone series), the Dutch imprint now welcomes Italian house wizard Nick Anthony Simoncino to the stable for a gorgeous EP of polished, dreamy analogue house.

EP Clips

Fresh from the synth-led mystique of his recent LP on the tasteful Mathematics imprint, Simoncino kicks off with a beautiful beatless mood-setter. Interval I only has two elements: growling bass and iridescent, heavenly synths, but it makes for a striking opener, adroitly setting the stage for the wistful club tracks to come. The hardest and most impressive of these dance offerings is served off first, as the propulsive Tape I gets underway with a tense drum machine workout and seething bass pressure. It’s in the high-end, however, that the track achieves its blissful singularity, as feathered synths caress stuttering kicks and dubbed-out claps. Tape II is more reflective, the soundtrack to contemplating the horizon from a space station, as gentle synths play over a detailed field of bleeps and clicks.

The EP is classily polished from start to finish, as the celestial strains of the short Interval II lead into For My Father’s brooding closer, Tape III. Another cut aimed at the dancefloor, here those blissful synths are matched by a darkly patient bassline, a perfect counterbalance of optimistic introspection and shadowy dancefloor know-how. Simoncino’s releases hardly ever miss, and For My Father is no exception, a beautiful collection Chicago-indebted house at its most thoughtful and elegant.

7.5/10