Guy Jโs Lost and Found hits its tenth release, and the young label has already made quite a splash. The labelโs last release featured its strongest track so far, Guy Jโs own mesmerizing โSevenโ, and for number ten they have recruited veteran Dutch producer Eelke Kleijn, who offers up โRampestamperโ. Guy J himself steps up on remix duties.
Eelke Kleijnโs original is a punchy tech-houser with tinges of classic filtered house. The track progresses through a series of peaks and troughs, with the main ingredients being a simple two-tone hook worked over a burbling bassline and tight percussion. Itโs very well constructed, as youโd expect from a producer of Eelke Kleijnโs caliber, but itโs definitely a party track. Itโs not hard to imagine it sounding really exciting when played to a huge audience under blue skies; and indeed you donโt even have to use your imagination, since Guy J has been posting videos of it kicking off under just these circumstances. On the other hand, if youโre tuned in on headphones, watching the wind whip the rain sideways and wondering if a double-ended Darth-Maul-style umbrella might possibly save you, the track doesnโt have a whole lot to offer.
Thatโs where Guy Jโs remix steps in. Initially presenting just a kickdrum and a hypnotic bassline, the remix lets the bassline do the heavy lifting while building with subtle percussion and synth parts. Things start to really get interesting around the three minute mark, when a lovely little motif emerges. The sound here is quite reminiscient of another of the labelโs highlights, Guyโs remix of BPโs โInspirado por Ustedโ, but with the bassline working harder and the melody kept much more tightly restrained. Despite the slow and gentle buildup, the track packs a surprising amount of punch coming out of the breakdown, replacing the melody with sheets of white-noise and clever, teasing little fragments of Eelke Kleijnโs original. Itโs a simple and understated remix, but it works really well and it gets the balance between fidelity to the original and giving the track a genuinely new flavour just right.
I suspect it will be Eelke Kleijnโs original that gets most of the attention here, but in my view itโs Guy Jโs remix that lends the package depth and longevity. In any case, whatever your mood, youโll find something fitting here on this nice release from Lost and Found. 8/10
