Safe bet

The other night some guys made a really nice comment when I was DJing. They said that every single track I played was really classy stuff, no mediocre tracks or boring fillers. Being nice people, they didn’t say what they could have also said – that my technical abilities are basic (especially with really worn out 1210s…).

One thing I could have told them is that it’s always good to pack one or the other Idealist EP. Sort of as a benchmark. Most of what this Zurich based producer turns out is really classy, and this latest 12″ is further proof to this claim.

As usual, he places his work somewhere between Dub Techno and Minimal, adding a touch of House here and there, never doing too much, never striking big poses. Deeply percussive, always keeping it nice and straight – you put on an Idealist track and folks on the dancefloor will know you want them to get into it and stay with it.

Take “Airial” for example, the first track on this EP – every single element used is serving the groove, stabs and synths and all, purely rhythm based, and it’s one of those rare tracks that make any discussion whether this is House or Minimal completely obsolete.

Or “Midnight Moon” on the flip side. Much more deeply rooted in Dub Techno (on the punchier side of it), it’s another nicely reduced affair that doesn’t do more than necessary – the beat, the chords, the stabs and an almost dirty bass, that’s it. If the floor isn’t floating already, this will do the trick.

Both of the remaining selections are nice contrasts to the almost tool-like effectiveness of “Airial” and “Midnight Moon”. The title track “City Of Dreams” sounds like something that would accompany an early futurist’s documentary about city life in the 21st century with its layers of synth waves and simple three note chord theme.

As such it is almost more of an interlude than “Interlude Instrumental”, the fourth and final track. This friendly little piece feels like a throwback to the days when Minimal was still able to give you warmth and a smile, when it was okay to be charming or even sweet.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d had just been spinning an Idealist track when the guys complimented me on my track selection. Always a good choice.

Release for review:
IDEALIST – CITY OF DREAMS – MOJUBA – MOJUBA 030

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