Culprit is an LA-based label that needs little introduction. Their activity as an imprint started off in 2009 and so far, they managed to successfully establish themselves as reformers of the deep house sound. By the end of 2013 they fruitfully released their 40th EP. Time for #41, made by the capable hands of Adriatique.
The Swiss duo Adriatique first emerged into the scene alongside Thyladomid with their track “Deep In The Three”. It was released by Diynamic’s sister label 2DIY4, back in 2011. Since then, they haven’t stopped impressing the public. They possess an impressive repertoire on topnotch labels such as Diynamic, Cityfox, Hive Audio, Supernature and OFF Recordings. Culprit is showing a lot of affection toward these two boys considering this is their second drop on the label in less than 2 months. Furthermore, the duo will be touring the Americas in the coming month until they’ll be settling back home in Zurich.
This latest cut is Midnight Walking and it consists of three praiseworthy tracks. “Midnight Walking” is the title-track and it can be characterized as a deeply induced emotion. Expressive and enigmatic, the track ruthlessly plies itself into a mysterious nightly ‘walk in the park’, while the addition of Name One’s voice highlights the tracks emotional state, before entering into another induced search through space. In short, this track can also be considered a literary creation, as metaphors are present through words and sound. A dub version is featured on the EP as well.
“Rolling Stone” on the other hand, tells another story. It’s a beast of a track, which can very well take the roll of a big-room banger. The combination of rough percussions and a thumping baseline induces an earth-shattering state on the dance floor while strings snip the entire landscape, tossing the track into another dimension. Since the beginning of the track, you can’t stop recovering yourself from an ongoing roll as sampled voices fluctuate up and down. From warmth to despair and from kindness to toughness it makes you wonder: is it about rolling or is it about “The Rolling Stones”? Who cares, it sounds awesome.
Adriatique astonish the scene yet again by creating a superb understanding of sound, all on a two-track EP. So kudos to them, and to Culprit as well, for having a relentless eye (and ear) for quality. Even though 2014 has just begun, you can bet that this is one of the more significant releases of the year.
Midnight Walking
Rolling Stone
