Sure, we're all pleased as punch about techno's flirtation with house. The way that one-time minimal producers and DJs have been blushing, sweating and stammering when confronted with the warm, bosomy charms of traditional deep house is certainly charming, in its sometimes awkward way—especially for those of us who grew up within the house milieu in the first place. (We're guessing that there are plenty of techno purists who are less than enamored of the romance than we are.) But it's certainly not a new infatuation—the pioneers of Detroit and Chicago, for the most part, never made much of their music's supposed differences—so it's probably time to stop making such a big deal about it.
Still, when it's done right, a house-techno fusion can almost jump out of the speakers at you—and this two-track collaboration between Parisian producer Dyed Soundorom and Detroit's Aaron-Carl is as right as they come. In a blind taste test, "Naked," with its simple, lightly syncopated groove, subdued keyboard stabs and spoken male vocals coyly inquiring "what you feel like inside" could be mistaken for a lost masterwork off the Prescription or Cajual catalogs. (It should be noted that Carl, who supplied those vocals, adds a bit of authenticity to the affair—he's been pumping out these kinds of tracks for, like, ever, on labels like Metroplex, Kickin and Ovum.) "Beautiful Eva" is an old-schooler of another sort; with a choppy rhythm laced with touches of wood-block percussion and loping bassline, it references the type of house that Cutting Traxx or Loudhouse was releasing in the early '90s. So yeah, neither of these tracks is exactly breaking new ground—but they're both rock-solid, teched-up house tunes with a touch of classic flavor, and that's plenty good enough for us.
Tracklist: Dyed Soundorom & Aaron-Carl - Naked EP
01. Naked
02. Beautiful Eva
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