Phonogenic - Woah! - Fresh Meat Records (FMR16)
Out now on Beatport. Available all other shops 13 February.
TRACK SAMPLES:
Woah! (Original Mix)
Woah! (Nathan Drew Larsen Remix)
Woah! (Alt Mix)
WHAT THEIR SAYING:
Timo Maas - Nathan Drew Larsen remix is great. Cool release all around.
Ken Ishi - Nice release. Cool groove on the original mix.
King Roc - There is an urgency in the original that is infectious. The groove works very nicely.
Phil Weeks - Sounds good. Will work for me in some late night action.
Alexkid - The Alt mix has a really bizarre vibe that I love.
Funk D'Void - Brilliant dark and twisted bass line; afterhours heaven.
Darko Esser - Both original mixes are working great. Wicked stuff indeed!
Pete Dafeet - Great release; Nathan's remix is fantastic.
Also loved and supported by Luke Solomon, Shur-I-Kan, Marco Resmann, Deetron, Joris Voorn, Dirt Crew, James Talk, Laurent Garnier, Style Of Eye and Estroe.
THE STORY BEHIND THE MUSIC:
Fresh Meat's first single of 2009 comes courtesy of Tuomas Salmela under his Phonogenic alias. Tuomas has been working the European dance music underground for years. You should be familiar with his releases on 20:20 Vision, Mood Music, Poker Flat or even the late Chicago giant Guidance Recordings. More recently he released "The Last Beer on Earth" on Sven Vath's Cocoon Recordings, gaining massive support – including frequent plays on BBC Radio One's Essential Mix by John Digweed. His recent collaboration with Jori Hulkkonen as Discemi lead to standout releases in 2008 on two of dance music's most influential labels, Get Physical Music and Rekids.
With his brilliant versions of "Woah!" Tuomas pushes the futuristic Phonogenic concept into new creative territory for Fresh Meat. The original version is a hybrid of big room dynamics and deep moody house modulations. A heavy kick drum and subsonic bass provide anchor to tight dramatic pads, a host of bubbling beats and a non-stop barrage of cosmic sound effects. The Original Mix is science fiction deep house with a big foot. The Alt Mix raises the energy with growling siren like keys and a more in-your-face build up of all the elements. The counter point to these sonic pyrotechnics is a vocal sample screaming the track's name sake in a unison of male voices. The deftly placed vox sample shakes up the otherwise hypnotic rhythms, heating up both tracks and maximizing the dance floor mayhem!
We commissioned Chicago post house producer, Nathan Drew Larsen, to create a wholly different interpretation of "Woah!". Nathan's mix starts with the heavy analog ring modulation of a sawtooth wave, followed by the start of the song in earnest, where a clean 4/4 cadence and siren-like pads from the original are eventually overtaken by cascading analog keys. What before was a sub rumble now becomes an undulating Moog Voyager chest thump. The sirens of the original serve as ambient backdrop with new synths transforming the emotion hinted at originally into full-on melancholic bliss, complete with violin swells, bouncing electric piano, hand percussion and gigantic tom-toms. For those who like a little music with their music, Nathan’s mix is a perfect compliment to Tuomas' dark originals.
