Fellow Glaswegian Andy King returns to the mighty Lowbit having previously contributed both a remix and a track to their catalogue, with the latter impressively sitting at the label’s number one spot on Beatport almost a year after its release. His ‘Finale’ EP sees him turn in three new chunky progressive housers, which are destined to have a big impact on dancefloors all over the place.
‘Alien Discotheque’ kicks off with heavy percussion and drawn out pads, before unleashing a massive ‘I Feel Love’-style bassline on the unsuspecting listener. As the track builds towards the break, subtle little ripples pan from ear to ear, adding considerable texture. The breakdown introduces a simple motif, which gradually reappears as the track powers back up. There’s not really much to the track aside from that, but in Andy King’s hands these few ingredients are built up into something very effective and exciting, which will sound terrific at high volume.
The EP’s title track ‘Finale’ combines a bold and funky bassline with nice little rippling melodies and a nostagic ‘Oh yeah’ vocal refrain. The highlight of the track is definitely the dreamy breakdown, where a rippling melody snakes its way to the forefront and floaty pads add atmosphere and emotion. It’s probably the least distinctive of the three tracks, but it’s definitely great feel-good material.
‘City Life’ initially has a rawer, nastier sound to it than ‘Finale’, tight, futuristic percussion and growling basslines propelling the track along, before a surprisingly uplifting chord change reveals a more melodic heart to the track. The chord changes really dominate in the breakdown, where they’re wrapped in twisted spacey sweeps, which carry the main melody once the track picks back up again. The track ends on a deeper note, with the chord changes replaced once more by a steady growl, and a sprinkling of lovely, delicate little metallic moments. This is strong stuff from Andy King.
I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t an EP that’s interested in breaking much new musical ground; the sounds and arrangements root things firmly in familiar territory for fans of progressive house. Still, Andy King manages to make it all sound bigger and better than most, and all three tracks will pack a tremendous amount of dance-floor punch. Of the three ‘Alien Discotheque’ grabbed me the most when I first heard the EP, and ‘City Life’ was my least favourite. Oddly enough, I’m now a bit torn between those two, with ‘City Life’ probably currently edging ahead. Well, it doesn’t much matter, since in the end you’ll want to check out the whole EP for yourself. Great material yet again from Lowbit. 8/10
