Artist: Charlie May Vs Sasha
Title: Seal Clubbing
Label: Renaissance Recordings
By: Colin C. | 1 November 2006
Tracklist:

• A: Original Mix
• B: James Zabiela 'Seal Squeal' Mix

Charlie May Vs Sasha "Seal Clubbing"

The duo of Sasha and Charlie May have brought the progressive world to its feet over the past few years as their work on the 'Xpander EP' has become a staple in the collections of dance music fans around the globe. With Sasha's notoriety as a DJ, and May's exquisite ability to craft some high quality productions, the duo seemed to reach it's peak with the release of Sasha's first artist album 'Airdrawndagger'. Now for the first time since 'Wavy Gravy' we get to experience yet another Sasha and May collaboration thanks to Dave Seaman who first featured this abandoned track on his Masters Series and proved to many that this track deserved to see the light. Another purveyor of the progressive mentality, James Zabiela steps in to help out on remix duties rounding out this latest release on Renaissance Recordings.

The original mix picks up right where we left the duo in 2002; a tinkering pattern of drum hits files into place as a simple effective break beat begins to unfold over it. Bright, yet affectionately warm synth arps pull into place slowly building a melody that embodies the signature style of both players. The track manages to balance the lush atmospherics with clean straightforward arrangements nicely and ends up with a solid, mellowed out vibe. Over the course of the track, not much is deviated from the main floor plan yet there's enough fine adjustments to keep one occupied. This could easily fit on a chill out compilation as well as making for a nice set opener a la the Masters Series Volume 7 compilation.

With James Zabiela's mix, he (as usual) has uploaded the original parts to his mainframe to cause some tweaked up damage to the original. Opting for a four-on-the-floor interpretation, he crushes and down grades the samples into a techy groove. A quick bass line finds its way into the mess of hits and one-shot sounds taking everything into a dirty robotic level rather than catering to the original's melodic nature. There is little resemblance to the original's melodic motifs, only for a moment where he edits the riff into his cut n' paste groove. Quirky is the understatement here, as this seems to fall a bit short of the mark for me, as it isn't as demanding of your attention as his previous work.

Where I don't feel this release is as notable as previous work by all parties involved, it does serve a purpose for certain types of DJs, but doesn't retain much that embodies a universal appeal. The missing piece for me would be a 3rd mix from a production outfit that could craft something a little more up tempo to counter the effects of the two mixes presented and round out the package, although there is a Tolfrey & Sylvester mix available exclusively via digital download. This however, is a small complaint, as overall this release is still embodying the quality you'd expect from Renaissance and the names involved on this release.