Artist: Pryda
Title: Aftermath / The Gift
Label: Pryda Recordings
By: Nick Williams & Brandon Wade | 20 December 2005
Tracklist:

• A: Aftermath
• B: The Gift

Pryda "Aftermath / The Gift"

Pryda Recordings newest release from head honcho Eric Prydz is definitely a stormer. This Swede's previous releases have been huge club hits, including one of last year's club anthems - the Steve Winwood sampling 'Call On Me' was atop the UK charts for 5 weeks and managed to get stuck in the heads of 73% of the UK population (…yes you know this song…). Thankfully this release is not an anthem, but perhaps this one will get in your head as well. Eric manages to create two distinctly different songs here that will have appeal to a large large audience.

'Aftermath' is meant for the big room. Techy, driving, and electro inspired, with an extra helping of energy. Crisp and clean percussion, yet abrasive and gritty where it needs to be. A heavily delayed pan flute is the focus of the song and adds a shuffley feel that is matched by bouncy percussion. A huge electro-esque bassline adds funk and brings the track to be more suited for today’s dancefloor. An unrecognizable vocoded sample swirls in and out as a fill and adds to the ambiance. The pan flute sample is intensified and filtered during the breakdown and brings the breakdown up and into a frenzy by the end of it. Chords are brought after the breakdown. A very typical progression, but in this case it is done so smoothly with the feel of the track that its predictability and simplicity can be overlooked. This is one of those tracks that you save for the peak of the peaktime.

'The Gift' is one of those "end-of-the-night" type tracks that is definitely more on the deep tip. However, the beginning of the track would fool you. Very sharp filtered drums with electro stabs create a whip-like sound. Emotive keys and chords that are for lack of a better word… gorgeous. The vocoded sample (very similar to the A side in fact) adds to the emotion and ambiance of the track and match the feel of the keys perfectly. A brooding sweepy gritty bassline adds another layer as it pans and oscillates around. It is very resperative and breathy, allowing the floor to catch their breath and say hi to their neighbours.

This is definitely a release worthy of a listen, and you will probably end up buying it. A great record that sets the bar higher for Eric and his Pryda label. The full Digweed supported extended version of 'Aftermath' can also be found at Beatport as a digital only version and with a further remix from Paolo Mojo, not to mention Paolo's long awaited '1983' which Eric will be providing the remix for, Pryda will be a label to watch closely in 2006.