Artist: Michael Burns
Title: Corrective Tones
Label: Everybody Recordings
By: Simon Jones | 9 December 2003
Tracklist:

• A: Panoptic Open Sky Mix
• B: Matthew Dekay Mix

Michael Burns "Corrective Tones"

In a year that has seen the rise of such names as Blue Haze and Panoptic, it's been hard not to have heard the name Michael Burns, but as the year comes to a close he has one final release in store, as his track 'Corrective Tones' is the launch release on Sander Kleinenberg's Little Mountain offshoot, Everybody Recordings. Having been a staple of his sets and one of the standout tracks on his Renaissance cd, it is now available for all to own.

First up, young Michael becomes Panoptic and delivers his 'Open Sky' interpretation. Opening up, lush melodies rain down upon the groove, a chunky bassline driving forward until Mick's own vocals enter into the mix as emotive synths rise up, oozing out between the beats and washing over his heartfelt words. Dubby bass and percussive loops grace the second half the track, ending in a bubbling mass of melodic sounds and dreamy effects that have Burns' trademark stamp all over them.

Remix duties fall to rising Dutch star 'Matthew Dekay', and he does not disappoint, turning in a funky remix that has a big party feel thrown in for good measure. The vocals are allowed to flow freely as a big analogue bassline rolls back and forth underneath tight beat percussion and melodic stabs that rise in and out of the groove. A subtle drop lets the vocal take control for a moment before some smooth key change action is brought in to change things up a little. Matthew Dekay production skills come into play here, and his remix whilst faithful to the original adds a fun and funky edge that I cannot get enough of.

Fans of Michael Burns' work will no doubt snap this up without hesitation, and this is yet another example of what he can achieve when he puts it mind to it, building up the template set by his Cardboard release on Cuba and improving on it in every way, with the added Matthew Dekay reworking making this an essential purchase, and a nice way to kick off the label for the newest addition to the Little Mountain family.