Artist: Dominic Plaza
Title: Korny
Label: Open Up Recordings
By: Colin C. | 25 January 2007
Tracklist:

• A: Original Mix
• B: D-Nox & Beckers Mix

Dominic Plaza "Korny"

In a relative short period of time Portugal's Open Up label has managed to become synonymous with the forward direction our scene is taking. Their seventh release finds them continuing as they bring us the latest from up-and-coming producer Dominic Plaza. The past two years have been good to Plaza, his work has gathered the attention of Kasey Taylor (who has placed his work on his own Vapour as well as his newest imprint VapouRise) and even landing his epic 'Sounds Rushing' on Tiesto's own 'In Search Of Sunrise' series.

Knowing Plaza's background, and seeing how he chose to name his latest 'Korny', I was mildly expecting his original to be just that. With a cautious ear I entered into the original mix, expecting a faster BPM and cheese ball antics only to breathe a sigh of relief at this effort. As always a strong percussion pattern launches his track off, quickly revealing some squelchy hits and clean, crisp hi-hats. The bass line makes its way in quite uneventfully as the tune pulses onwards picking up melodic elements here and there. Not before long we are struck with the main hook of the track, which comes in the form of a strung out, acid pad that builds and twists into a aggressive boiling point before landing back down on the simple structure of the groove. From this point on Plaza continues in typical fashion, building back into the twisted lead pad, which in retrospect could have been executed a little better with a less generic progression. To call this un-imaginative might be a little harsh, but I unfortunately can’t seem to find another word to describe this tune. I feel bad saying this as I have been a fan of his other work on Kasey's label, but alas, something here isn't setting off any fireworks for me and I can't help but feel unsatisfied.

The duo of D-Nox and Beckers should need no introduction to anyone following the popular sounds of today. Here on their mix they lay a foundation down in their typical fashion, while highlighting on the style of the original. Building a strong arrangement of sharp, focused percussions they unveil a rolling groove complete with bright stabs while filtering in the original's lead pad. The bass line in this interpretation goes right for the gut and turns this one into a churning ball of energy. At the same time that this mix is energetic, its also quite a builder as the duo are able to craft a remix that seems to pick up little nuances as it rolls along. I definitely enjoyed the skill set that was brought in by these two, but over all I was still left with a feeling of disposability with this one.

As the D-Nox and Beckers mix winds to a close, I can't really look back and pin point anything that really blew me away arrangement wise or musically over both these versions. For those of you who are relatively new to this scene, you might find much more to love but for me this track reads like the blue print to any standard dance floor aimed release, and with that I can't help but feel bored.