Artist: Blake Potter
Title: Timelocked
Label: Institution Breaks
By: Andy Dixon | 13 July 2006
Tracklist:

• A: Original Mix
• B: Voyager Mix

Blake Potter "Timelocked"

Blake Potter might be an unfamiliar name but it won’t be for long. With productions and remixes already featured on CDs by James Zabiela and Jonathan Lisle, his remix of Momu's 'Aduro' and a collaboration with Habersham on Trafik's Surrender respectively, his tracks have proven themselves to be favorites of tomorrow's generation of DJs. His next release, 'Timelocked', is something special as well. The sixth release from Institution Breaks, it continues to build the new label's untarnished reputation. Side A is Blake's original mix while the remix on Side B is left in the more than capable hands of Voyager.

Blake's original product is a clean, well-constructed breaks track with a warm driving melody and padded bassline. Equipped with a full percussive arsenal, it seamlessly adds variations and nuances to steady groundwork of crisp snare and booming bass drum. Melodic layers drift in and casually fuel it with a little emotion. The end of the track, last minute and a half, hints at any potential upcoming mix with a few chopped samples not used elsewhere- preparing the listener for more of the same or a darker direction.

The B Side is a phenomenal interpretation from one of the legends of progressive music. Voyager, aka Justin Scott Dixon continually pushes the cutting edge of electronic despite his tenure of impressive contributions. This mix is no exception as it combines his signature breaks with full melodic movements and floating atmospheric layering. With the way Voyager crafts a remix, the essence of the original is captured despite all the additional production and complete restructuring. The main lead is now part of the build, the beat draws you in within the first three syncopated kicks, and the full beat drops out for two and a half minutes in the center for a tranced-out breakout and rebuild.

Both remix and original stand alone as outstanding tracks that work because of their synergy between intricate breakbeats and expressive melodies. It's a combination that has worked from Hybrid to Lostep, Digital Witchcraft and Way Out West, and this record serves as a great reason to keep a close ear out for Blake Potter and the Institution Breaks label.