Plattenbank’s latest sees Greece’s Ziger join the label’s roster with two fabulous new tracks, while Khen returns on remix duties.

I’ve been following Ziger’s career ever since his ‘Still Here’ on 99percent became a big favourite of mine back in late 2012. This EP shows off his strongest work so far, in my opinion. ‘Systematic’ is a first-class progger with two wicked basslines and deeply atmospheric pads meeting electrifying effects and excellent percussion. A dreamy breakdown offers a little respite, before a strong, memorable hook emerges and we’re snare-rolled right back into the fray. This is proper hands-in-the-air material from Ziger.

As you might expect, Khen takes a tougher but more restrained approach for his remix of ‘Systematic’, with heavy percussion and a muscular, chugging bassline topped off with beautifully light, drifting synths. Khen works in snippets of Ziger’s melody and some punchier bass sounds as the remix picks up steam, before crisp arpeggios take centre stage. Khen’s version doesn’t grab me quite as much as Ziger’s original, but I still like it a lot and it does a fantastic job of taking the track in a different direction.

But the winner here, for me, is the flipside ‘Out There’, with its motoring basslines and percussion, its fantastically dreamy melodies, ethereal vocals, and the gorgeous ripples that make the breakdown so special. Wonderful.

I really love both tracks here from Ziger – they’re strongly rooted in the golden age of progressive house, but without sounding passé – while Khen’s rock-solid remix nicely rounds out a truly superb package from Plattenbank.