Artist: James Priestley & Dan Berkson
Title: The Source
Label: Simple Records
By: Nick Williams | 19 February 2008
Tracklist:

• A1: The Source (Original)
• B1: The Source (Martin Landsky Remix)
• B2: The Source (Version)

James Priestley & Dan Berkson "The Source"

Will Saul’s Simple Records has been a staple in the underground tech house scene for some time now, constantly pumping out solid release after solid release. You could understand my excitement when on bill for release is a collaboration with one of my favorite producers right now, Dan Berkson. He joins James Priestley for a deep slice into underground throbbing beats. Taking inspiration from an old Arthur Russell song, they create “The Source,” and Simple Records calls it a genuine end-of-the-night anthem. Greeting us on the B-Side is none other than Poker Flat frequent Martin Landsky. My expectations were high for this release and maybe too high as you can see from the rating. Nonetheless, this release showcases some of the best producers in dance music today.

The original of “The Source” brings minor key stabs to introduce us into what is pretty standard these days in deep tech house music. A great groove gets rolling early on, yet it all seems quite held back with the tension of the chord stabs leading us along. Airy, breathy pads seem to make their way in from nothingness and slowly gather energy with some percussive additions and fills, keeping everything interesting and dynamic. Guitar pluck layering give this track more of an analog feel and I believe this to add to the surreal nature the track gives us. Then bam! A squelchy lead comes out of nowhere to the forefront and squishes and squirms around, very akin to a jazz solo yet strangely fitting for warm-up on the dance floor. The builds are all very soft and restrained with some chord work coming midway through the tune to give it some more vibrancy, something that I love so much about Dan Berkson’s production work; never a dull moment, everything is constantly changing and morphing into new sounds and moving new directions. This would find a great home on the house-influenced dance floors, as the timbre of the sounds would fit so well with that music. A great track to get the group in the mood yet there is a fire that has gone unlit in this track, and overall it just seems a bit uninspired by the time it reaches the end. I would find that for an end-of-the-night anthem this would leave a sort of lack luster finish to my night.

Martin Landsky brings us his interpretation on the flip, opting for more analog sounding percussive delayed stabs to get us going. The chord work from the original is brought in, slightly more to the background. The snare is way in the background here as well with most of the energy lead from the shaker. Dub-influenced delays make the fills here and create a broader atmosphere compared to the original and the energy is brought up slowly and slowly, with more energy being brought in with layered shakers and filtering on the chords to make it much more digital. Once the breakdown hits, a plethora of synth hits fill the space, launching back into the groove quite effectively. But once we get there, the elements start to strip away, making this a great track to segue into something more energetic to build your set.

We are also provided with a “version” of the original track and I was intrigued to find out what the differences were between the two, and out of the gate, they are identical. Subtlety is the key here and this takes a much more dub-influenced approach with delays and vocal presence midway in the track. The energy is held more constant in the version, it just seems like there is more to start, so I would have to choose this one out of the two yet it is much deeper than the original. Some airy keys come in at the end, a bit of icing on the cake, as it sets up nicely for a mix.

From a name like James Priestley, you would expect something deep yet with Dan Berkson behind the mixing board as well, I was maybe holding a higher standard for this release. The music is superbly produced yet I felt like it was held back especially for what has been released as of late for the Simple label. I am looking forward to what these two can develop over time together in the studio because all the signs point to excellent music.