There are few artists who manage to stay on top for as long as Matthias Tanzmann. The Leipzig based artist is the boss of his own label, Moon Harbour, and has been since the year 2000. As well as that he is a standout DJ in his own right, and one most famous for playing Circo Loco at DC10.
The sound he pushes there is the one he also pushes with his label and his own productions: sleek techno house that is endlessly groovy and subtle but also high impact and functional.
For his next truck, though, the German looks back to his roots and to the host resounds that first turned him on. It is not a wholesale abandonment of his tech house sound though – there are still plenty of cuts that will hit hard on the floor here – but certainly there is a deepness and moodiness that will make this album work just as well on headphones as it does on the floor.
Things kick off with ‘Tamarind’, a nice and atmospheric opener that has distant bird calls lending a jungle feel to the warm and humid beats that rumble on below. It is smooth and inviting and sets a nice scene to kick off with. ‘Coffee Clouds‘ then pops and gurgles in interesting ways, with smeared chords bringing soul and some light precision helping to keep things funky in a microcosmic way.
‘Mirage’ is a nicely creepy and slightly weird number thanks to a busy lead synth line that pans about the mix, and rolling drums come straight from DC10 as they suck you in over and over. ‘Ruby’ is fully tripped out and ‘Shake Shake’ is more in line with the tech that Tanzmann has made his own over the last many years. The second half of the album keeps your intrigue with some great deft sound design and nicely curious little sounds and samples on tracks like ‘Fireworks on the Roof’ and ‘Frenzy’.
‘Laika’ is an enticing effort that has real soul and tender emotions at its heart. Gentle tumbling toms and shuffling drums characterise it and really invite you to lose your self in the music. Rounding out on ‘Uptown Vitamins’, with its fat wobbly bass and nice soft stabs, and ‘Sfumato‘, a near seven minute deep house roller with cavernous chambers in which to get lost, this album really does sooth your mind, body and soul.
