Dutch producer and Rush Hour Recordings mainstay Tom Trago had a gaseous summer hit with "Use Me Again," a burbling ode to romantic independence filtered through dizzying Philly string swoops and a re-purposed shout from Millie Jackson's "We Got to Hit It Off." For Trago's new single release on Rush Hour, he goes in another direction and offers up two comparatively stark tracks content with functionality.
Booming thunderclouds introduce "Rise Up," a collaboration with local Dutch producer DJ Cinnaman, which trundles along pleasantly enough via hiccuping bass. It's tweaky but exhausts its ideas early, with too little breathing room between the desiccated claps and a kick drum tremor to progress. This is despite the best efforts of vanilla synth stabs and the silky vocal assurances. The two versions of "Sky High" featuring San Proper fare better, although in this case the pale and pained vocals are a distraction from a stomach-growling bassline in the vocal dub. Mutters heard in the background never assert themselves, and the PR description of the track as a "late night basement session" is almost a hedge against its own loose production. Eventually a malfunctioning car alarm morphs into planetary waveforms, but things still drag on. "Sky High" (Original Demo Mix) is the best on offer, refining the elements into a single undulating blob and excising the most distracting of San Proper's vocal contributions.
Buy Tom Trago - Rise Up at
Tracklist: Tom Trago - Rise Up
A Rise Up feat. Cinnaman
B1 Sky High feat. San Proper (Vocal Dub Mix)
B2 Sky High feat. San Proper (Original Demo Mix)
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