New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 'It's always an honour and a big responsibility to put together a 'Best Of' mix for Emerald & Doreen. How to do justice to the spirit of this unique eclec-tronic label? Luckily it has such a consistent output within a voluminous catalogue that compiling and mixing my favourite tracks off its busy release schedule usually delivers a lively, colourful mix reflecting this ace German imprint's artistic freedom and unbridled diversity, a kind of restless, captivating sonic journey pieced together from a collection of pretty faultless tunes - not that a hard task with so many killer compositions and remixes to choose from.
This latest edition is no different, and actually suggests an even more exciting outcome as - believe it or not - a pattern of sound, almost a style, is emerging in Emerald & Doreen's international stable of artists/contributors (and beyond, to be truthful). Here and there in the old continent, and pretty much all over the globe, a 'vintage' mood is building and coming to the fore in electronic music. More and more, DJs, producers, musicians are harping back to its very beginnings for inspiration, the late 70s, early 80s when expensive technological toys - effect units, synthesisers, drum machines, midi & sequencers, samplers. - started to take over in studios from the usual way of making records (musicians playing traditional instruments without a computer in sight). No wonder, this golden era of innocence and groundbreaking changes remains the ultimate reference, a precious time of discoveries, trials and errors (with little defined formulas to cash in), which unequivocally shaped the future without any complexes and opened the door to worlds of imaginative developments.
And indeed a lot of the tracks in this Emerald & Doreen mix - many of them carefully re-edited, tightened up to seamlessly blend into each other and sustain attention - are rooted in the euro-disco and primal dancefloor experiments of yore. Call it 'euro retro' or what you like, there is a strong desire to re-define the present with a timeless sound whilst escaping the uniformisation of most of today's productions by going back to basics, back to the original sounds and machines which paved the way for electronic disco and dance. Arpeggiated basslines, robotic grooves, huge gated claps & snares, evocative analog synths, cinematic landscapes... there's drama in the air and the thundering repetitive sequences that keep you grooving and swaying are unequivocal, the offsprings of the greatest producers of yesteryear are truly alive and kicking.
2019 is looking good - at least from a musical point of view. For decades American disco has been the dominating force - and for good reason - the landmark, the start of it all, however it feels timely for
Europe and its clubbing legacy to finally get the accolades it duly deserves. At long last it is acknowledged and appreciated that
Europe and its electronic blueprints contributed massively to laying the foundations of modern electronic dance music. Today it is feeding again a whole new generation of producers hungry for quality and authenticity, and that truly can only be a great thing.'
Mix, edits and production by Jerry Bouthier, June 2019.
