The 205th release is out this week on Balkan Connection and it features the debut of a hot new production duo from Russian called ‘2friends’. Balkan Connections has rolled right though the X-Mas and New Years break with great releases from Kanov and Nekliff. This new EP from 2friends entitled ‘Wishes and Fears’ looks to get 2013 off to a great start for Balkan Connection.
The EP begins with ‘Unobserved’ which comes with a with cool moody vibe that falls somewhere in between techno and progressive house. It’s quite a fresh sound and still great for the dance floor as the bass line comes with tons of groove and the overall framework of the record is quite club friendly. The second cut is entitled ‘Grotto’ and it comes with much more of a melancholy, melodic techno vibe. Filled with lots of glitchy electronics and gleaming keys over top of a unique and wobbly bass line this is one of the cooler tracks we’ve heard as 2013 begins. The title track ‘Wishes and Fears’ is next and it goes down as our favourite track on the EP. Again coming with a unique blend of progressive house and techno ‘Wishes and Fears’ has a cool, spacey groove at the outset that slowly gets layered with cool beat patterns, subtle electronics accents, funky synth hooks and a wispy atmosphere that just adds to the cool journey. The EP is closed out with ’12th Floor’ which is rooted with a stompy, techno groove surrounded by lots of warped sounding synths, and piercing electronics. The moody vibe is quite a fitting way to close out such a varied EP, there is a wide variety of moods and themes explored over the course of the 4 tracks here which results in a unique and inspiring EP from 2Friends and Balkan Connection.
