Artist: Stephan Hinz
Title: Secret Door
Label: Feed Me Records
By: Devon Shaw | 13 October 2006
Tracklist:

• A: Freestyle Man 'Thirsty Monk' Dub
• B: Stephen Hinz 'In Ya Face' Mix

Stephan Hinz "Secret Door"

Following up the recent 'Meet You On The Other Side', Stephan Hinz drops more new material for the taking: A pair of remixes of 'Secret Door', one by Freestyle Man and another by Hinz on the flip. The venerable DJ has been creating quite a buzz lately between his Proton show 'Global Scum' and the identically titled label, which has already generated two successful singles plus additional releases through it's online shop. With 'Secret Door', Hinz throws a bone to Feed Me Records, unfortunately as a preoccupation and not a treat.

Freestyle Man's 'Thirsty Monk' dub assembles a lighthearted, minimal combination of electro bass, run-of-the-mill 4/4 and crisp hats. A pair of synths swim about, tracing through the track, which remains largely unchanged from start to finish in all aspects - arrangement, composition and sound design. It's largely forgettable, and deserving of not much more than a yawn and a simple flip to the next track for analysis.

The counterpart isn't much better. Stephan Hinz's 'In Ya Face' mix is anything but - a repetitive snore of modulated bass, unspectacular drum work and effects presets. The punctuating arp is mildly interesting, but could have been done much truer justice had it been saved for another song entirely. Halfway through a bass change and synth melody attempt to reinvigorate things, modestly succeeding as blowing about ashes would bring a fire back to life. This might work as mid-set filler, but will also join the other version on the flip in the forgotten bin in six months.

This isn't a knock on the composers, both of whom are undoubtedly talented and musically inclined. But in an era of oversaturation and repetitive, mindless drivel offered up by a multitude of digital download sites, this is precisely the kind of work that should be avoided. The people with talent should be using it to rise above the fold of half-baked refuse, and we should expect it.