Artist: Steve May
Title: Open Day
Label: EQ Grey
By: Simon Jones | 4 May 2004
Tracklist:

• A: Original Mix
• B: Luke Chable Mix

Steve May "Open Day"

Melbourne is a bubbling hot pot of talent that has given us some superb music over the last few years, with many new faces appearing. Already we have seen young producers such as Jono Fernandez and Luke Chable emerge from the city, in addition to acts such as Infusion and Nubreed and also old hands like Phil K and Kasey Taylor. A varied selection of talent as I'm sure you'll agree, but now there's another name to add to the list. That name is Steve May, a 20 year producer who's been turning heads as of late, and this track called 'Open Day' is the reason why.

You would be forgiven for thinking than Steve is an old hand after hearing the 'Original Mix', but the fact that this is his debut release is a truly astounding revelation in itself, as this is such a quality and well produced piece of work. Although it starts off on a subtle footing with broken beats easing us into the groove, soon the main bassline introduces itself and by the time it's found it's niche, the floor is already starting to shake. Big melodic keys ripple over the top nicely, filling out the track's arrangement nicely as it builds towards a massive drop, and then into a melodic solo section which gradually trickles into the bass for an awesome finale, wrapping up an impressive debut from this youngster.

'Luke Chable' outdoes himself on the flip, turning in a remix that surpasses much of what he's done in the last few months. Heavily compressed drum arrangements and a driving tempo cause tremors early on, as a floaty melody rises through the cracks. This is merely the warning shock as when the drums thunder back into the groove, causing a shuffling effect that disperses the rest of the sounds. Everything is devoured by the twisted bassline that ricochets through the centre, quaking with enough intensity to send the Richter scale off the charts, still leaving aftershocks as the devastation subsides. A monster of a remix that will hit like an atom bomb each and every time.

EQ's finest release in a long time, and to put it plain and simple, this is one explosive monster of a 12" that you have no excuse for not snapping up as soon as possible.