Scotty.A revisits his ‘Expressions of the Soul’ EP which appeared on Proton last year, with Paul Hazendonk and Noraj Cue reworking ‘Soul Blossom’ and Lonya taking on ‘The Way She Smiles’.

Paul Hazendonk and Noraj Cue here return the favour on Scotty.A’s recent remix of Hazendonk’s ‘Urban Suitcase’.  They really work wonders on ‘Soul Blossom’, using the hook from Scotty.A’s original as the backbone of the remix, and building a melodic gem around it. A dynamic bassline provides the forward momentum, playing out a catchy chord sequence before picking up in the second half, while bleepy countermelodies pull the listener in, building towards a glorious string finale. This is characteristically strong stuff from the duo, and it really lifts Scotty.A’s track to new heights.

In contrast, Lonya’s take on ‘The Way She Smiles’ pushes his track in a much darker direction, with a menacing, elastic bassline that grinds away underneath atmospheric pads and discordant synth lines. It’s hard not to feel that Scotty.A’s original gets rather lost here, since the remix is so different in mood and sound, and overall I wasn’t keen on the new direction Lonya takes the track in.

This is a very welcome return for Scotty.A’s EP, and although Lonya’s remix didn’t really work for me, Paul Hazendonk and Noraj Cue continue to be on fire. 8/10