Artist: Powerplant
Title: With Or Without You
Label: Teknology Records
By: Simon Jones | 10 March 2002
Tracklist:

• A: Original Mix
• B: Blackwatch Mix

Powerplant "With Or Without You"

Vancouver, Canada boys John Morgan and Kiki Stewardson team up once more with vocalist Serena Whitters to deliver the follow up to their previous single 'Angel'. They now return with 'With Or Without You'.

The Original starts off with a growling synth effect that leads into a dubby percussion beat as soft synths bounce over the bassline and the heavenly vocal is teased between each snare roll to great effect, then the track drops into a tight house groove that rolls along slowly as the full extent of the vocal is realized, sitting atop the bassline perfectly, and as the track progresses, the vocal draws you in closer and closer, as a deeper beat lays undeneath the chorus, with a major tech influence present as the break ends and the soundscape shifts once more into the final chorus.

Blackwatch takes control on the flip, sprinkling lashings of his unique bass-heavy nyc beats onto the track, giving the percussion a tougher feel, adding reverb to the atmospherics and the vocal, and introducing a growling dark b-line, momentarily easing things up with some soft synths then firing right back in with the tough bassline, running a deep and eerie chant underneath as the track fades into a single beat and as the vocal sounds once more, the bassline is shifted to the foreground and the vocal weaves in and out of each rising beat. A stunning remix that compliments the original perfectly.

Hamel's Teknology label, now on its 10th release is continuing to stake its claim as one of the premier labels in North America and beyond and with the help of guys like Blackwatch, this success is only likely to continue.