French producer Oniris was responsible for my very favourite record of 2013, his astonishing remix of MUUI’s ‘Back to Yours’, and he’s delivered a couple of recent favourites on SSKMusic and Herzblut too. His ‘Endless Story’ EP marks his debut on Stripped Recordings, and it serves up two originals from Oniris, together with a remix of the title track by Tokyo’s Satoshi Fumi.

Oniris’s original version of ‘Endless Story’ showcases his tougher side, with a propulsive, stab-heavy number arranged around a bold chord progression, but boasting retro synths and drum-fills. The high-pitched sounds during the breakdown grated on me a little, but overall this has fantastic warmth and forward momentum, and in those respects I couldn’t help but be reminded of Guy J’s great ‘Under Pressure’ (which I was shocked to discover is already 6 years old!).

Satoshi Fumi keeps the central theme of Oniris’s track largely intact, but pushes it in a classic techno direction, with a funkier bassline and percussion, lashings of strings, licks of acid, and some bold build-ups. Lush.

Sadly, the B-side ‘Good Times’ didn’t appeal to me at all. It starts out fine, with a chugging, disco-tinged bassline and a simple spinning hook, but it loses what appeal it had after a couple of minutes when the chord progression begins, and from there Oniris throws on strings and a jarring tuned-percussion riff that just seem to clash with the rest of the track. Definitely a miss for me.

If you’re anything like me, this EP will leave you choosing between Oniris’s hard-hitting original and Satoshi Fumi’s deeper remix – nice stuff from Stripped once again. 8/10