Greece-based producer Blusoul has been making music since 2005, refining his progressive house and breaks sound, and 2013 is already looking set to be the year in which he really proves what heโs capable of. His collaboration with Amber Long was not only selected for 99percentโs โTenโ album, but was picked by Cid Inc. to be his mixโs emotional closer. โVoyagerโ sees him make his first appearance on Bastards of Funk and Sonic Unionโs hugely respected Lowbit imprint, while Colorblock, Monster of Density, and Li-Polymer supply the remixes.
Blusoulโs original is moody, spacey, slow-burning progressive house โ proper Bladerunner gear. Persistent bleeps, metallic melodies, and distorted, distant fragments of speech keep the sci-fi feel strong, before the track gently winds down and fades out. It feels a bit more like a journey for the headphones than a club track, though thatโs certainly no bad thing.
Colorblock (Lankโs new collaboration with Forteba and DJ Stone) offer something much more squarely aimed at the dancefloor, utilizing the central themes of the original well, while building it into a storming progressive workout. As youโd expect from anything Lank has a hand in, the end result manages to be chunky and driving without compromising too much on atmosphere.
Argentinian trio Monster of Density here follow up a run of great remixes in 2012 for the likes of Crossfrontier Audio and 99percent with their first release of 2013. They initially stick pretty closely to the original, but as the track progresses they introduce drifting pads, rippling melodies, and a simple but effective offbeat bassline to offer their own dreamier take on โVoyagerโ.
Finally, Li-Polymer offers a characteristically subtle yet powerful version. Li-Polymer is one of those remixers that can simultaneously strip a track down to its essential elements while increasing its emotional punch, as he proved time and time again last year with a string of remixes on Balkan Connection, Stellar Fountain, Stigma, to name just a few. His remix here gradually builds a deep progressive groove, before Blusoulโs distinctive melodies are allowed to take centre stage to brilliant effect.
If thereโs a criticism to be made here, itโs that all four versions of โVoyagerโ explore much the same musical space. As this review should suggest, thatโs not at all to say that they donโt each have their own individual strengths. Itโs just that it would have been nice to hear a version that took the track in a really different direction. As it stands, Colorblockโs remix is likely to make the biggest waves when played out, while Li-Polymerโs is my pick for more introspective moments. But itโs hard to go wrong here – great stuff once again from both Lowbit and Blusoul. ย 8/10
