For their latest release, Particles revisits Ukrainian producer Following Lightโs โCalmโ EP from last year, repackaging the title track with new remixes from Masahiko Inui and Exoplanet.
Following Lightโs original version of โCalmโ is floaty and melodic, driven by a great bass progression and cool percussion. The main hook is layered on with a extremely delicate touch, adding to the dream-like quality of the track. I could perhaps have done with a little bit more variety during the two-minute sequence following the main breakdown โ itโs very pleasant indeed, but it gets just a tad repetitive after a minute or so. Still, this is gorgeous stuff.
Masahiko Inuiโs previous outings on Axon have been impressive, and he doesnโt disappoint here on his debut on Particles. Kicking off with slightly wavering pads an skipping kickdrums, a brief breakdown introduces the main hook from the original, wrapped in a fog of soft melodies. The high point of the remix, though, is the long breakdown, which introduces beautiful metallic chimes over the other melodies. Given the length of the breakdown, thereโs a slightly disappointing lack of power to the drop that follows, though I guess on a track called โCalmโ that shouldnโt come as a total surprise. That aside, this is a simple but really beautiful melodic techno moment that makes great use of the best ideas from Following Lightโs original.
Exoplanet is responsible for many of Particlesโs best moments over the past few years, without question. His version of โCalmโ transforms it into a slow-burning afterhours number, dropping the tempo down to 112bpm and adding a trip-hoppish beat, a groovy bassline, chanting vocal samples, and layers and layers of trippy melodies and driving 303-like sounds. Halfway through an abstract, glassy rendering of the originalโs main hook appears โ the only real nod to Following Lightโs original track that I could detect โ though itโs soon replaced with one of those deep-space melodies that Exoplanet has really made his own. Itโs nice enough, but the remix didnโt really grab my attention at any point, and it felt a little shapeless at times. Not bad, but definitely not Exoplanetโs best work.
This is a lovely package from Particles, with Masahiko Inuiโs version stealing the day for me. 7.5/10
