Clé & Mike Vamp - Maisonette

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  • You mightn't recognise the names immediately, but if you've been keeping even a lazy eye on Poker Flat for the past few years, you'll most likely be familiar with this pair's alter-ego: Clé & Mike Vamp are the Martini Brothers. And as their first Dessous release is something of a departure from their norm – it's being released under their DJ names. Still with us? Anyway, 'Maisonette' begins brilliantly – melancholic deep house stabs build slowly, before a key change adds an unexpected old-school dimension and a growling bassline slides in… it's butterflies-in-stomach material. But after the drop, all changes. It loses clarity and gets too cluttered – the busy second 303 b-line, synth squeaks and percussion layers are just too much. It seems the in-form Samim may have thought something similar, as his remix is simpler and therefore more effective: he tweaks those glorious stabs into vaguely wild pitch territory, economises the key changes, adds the odd whoosh and some bumping percussion that gradually becomes thumping. The result is a perfect slice of haunting deep house that manages to feel both modern and classic. Cool, huh? On the flip, Steve Bug shifts up a gear: roaming synths and random hi-hat crashes set mark this one out as a micro-epic, until the stabs reappear – this time re-interpreted and contrasted by a choice organ riff. His surprisingly techy percussion and laser gun FX add steel to the original's warmth – it's a radical re-writing for sure, but one that could become your new favourite set-starter.
RA