Artist: AFK & Dustin H
Title: Cascadia
Label: Emote Music
By: Jason Calvert | 21 August 2006
Tracklist:

• 1. Original Mix
• 2. Jacob Todd Mix
• 3. Daniel Lindeberg Mix

AFK & Dustin H "Cascadia"

Canadian talent AFK and Dustin H team up here on Jacob Todd's Emote Music imprint for 'Cascadia'. This is the third release for the label which burst onto the scene with a solid outing from Steve McMahon, and then continued to impress with 'Ariadne's Thread'. And whilst 'Cascadia' is a nice tune, I somehow felt that it couldn't quite compare to the previous two releases.

The original mix is built upon a massive pumping bassline which at times became a little overpowering. As the melodies are introduced, whilst they do show some great progression, they were very trancy sounding, and this was a little off-putting. The composition became quite crowded and busy towards the end, and for me it just didn't quite work out. Interesting, as both Davin and Dustin have done some truly amazing work in the past...

Label head Jacob Todd steps in to provide the first remix, which I am happy to say really does polish it up a lot. The bassline is dropped to a much more reasonable level, whilst still having power and energy to it. The same melodies are evident, but the way that Jake works them into his own composition makes them sound much better and less trancy than they did in the original. This was easily the standout track of the release.

Swedish producer Daniel Lindeberg (aka Dumb Dan) has made a fast rise to fame this year, with his work being well known across the board. His remix here uses a big bassline and some swirling synth patterns to work up a truly insane sound, which might not go down easily at first, but given some time really does showcase something unique. He gets quite twisted with the parts and the result is a very original piece of music.

The two remixes on this release, whilst being vastly different to each other, are both of a good standard as with the rest of the work featured on Emote Music. I felt let down by the original mix however, as two names familiar for their quality on a label with a good history led me to expect a lot more from them. However if you like a really big and busy sound, and don't mind trancey elements leaking through, then give it a shot, you may just like it!