Gel Abril has had a bit of a meteoric rise. After starting his Be As One imprint primarily to release his own productions early last year, he's found himself lending his talent to Josh Wink's Ovum Recordings and now, with this 12-inch, to Get Physical Music—the Defected of underground electronic music. He's had a host of help, however: In fact, every single memorable track of his, excepting his recent "Spells of Yoruba," has been co-produced and -written by Shlomi Aber.
Whether they came as a package deal on Get Physical is anybody's guess, but the results are rather undeniable: "Miranda" is a patient dance floor bomb that never truly ignites, but invites any DJ to do their best with it. The track builds and builds over the course of three minutes, adding in just enough to keep listeners locked in before dropping a Radio Slave-esque hoover synth to the crowd as their reward. Radio Slave seems an obvious reference point, as things here move rather slowly—faster than Slave, but what isn't?—ignoring the natural inclination to clutter the tune with unnecessary bridges. It's laser-focused and all the better for it.
"Dusty" wiggles around a bit more and doesn't quite work as a result. It seems that the bassline is meant to give "Dusty" the movement that its drum programming can't, but instead of providing counterpoint, it simply sounds a tad staid. Whereas "Miranda" tolerantly waited for you to come to it, "Dusty" seems eager to impress: Never a good look for tech house.
Buy Gel Abril - Miranda at
Tracklist: Gel Abril - Miranda
 A Miranda
B Dusty
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