01. Burnski & MANIK – YJG (Original Mix)
02. Burnski & MANIK – YJG (Laura Jones Remix)
03. Burnski & MANIK – YJG (Maxxi Soundsystem Remix)
MANIK and Burnski, two names that (should) ring bells with deephouse enthusiasts all over the world. These two producers are pioneers of the new deep house sound. With an unmistakeable feel for groove they have delivered another masterpiece with ”Yellow Jacket Girl”, shortened to ”YJG”. It is MANIK’s fourth release already on Culprit LA, making him a true resident producer for the prestigious LA-based label. And even though Burnski never released anything of his own on Culprit, his appraised remix of Subb-An’s ”What I Do” lifted moods to higher levels all summer and his previous collaborations with MANIK pretty much made him a part of the Culprit gang already.
Subb-an – What I Do (Burnski ‘Tulum’ Mix)
Summer seems to be a dominating influence on MANIK & Burnski their previous releases. Think of Burnski’s remix of SBTRKT and MANIK’s ”Breakfast Club”. And frankly, whenever I think of one of these guys the legendary LA roofparties hosted by Culprit immediately come to mind. Makes me want to fly right over there and jump into the vibe. Anyway: taken in perspective their previous productions I was pleasantly surprised to see that for ”YJG”, the two have taken a turn into the deep. It all makes sense though, as their previous collaborations had a bit of the same result:
Burnski & MANIK – Next To Me
Burnski & MANIK – You Know What Its Like
If that means their back-to-back performance at STRAF_WERK this saturday will provide the same amount of energy, I can say those attending are in for a real treat! There are some tickets left I’ve heard, so get them while they’re hot.
Back to ”YJG”. Frankly, there is only one description for the original: deep house. Whilst there is a lot of contemporary music labeled under this genre, in my eyes only a few tracks really are. Most of the tracks released nowadays in my opinion either contain way too little house contain or too little deep elements, but “YJG” hits the spot perfectly. At 123 beats per minute, the original keeps energy levels tight whilst mysterious synthesizers and a typical low-pitched vocal in D-flat minor take things to a deeper level. Based on what we’ve seen from the two, it’s Burnski’s energy and MANIK’s feel for sound design that are combined into this well-written track. I wouldn’t call the original mix an epic party crasher, but thanks to the groove it ‘s a great track to get and/or keep your feet moving!
The remixes, provided by UK producers Laura Jones and Maxxi Soundsystem, each take their own approach on the original. Both being slightly darker, Laura chooses to retain a lot of the original’s energy whilst Maxxi Soundsystem turns it down quite a notch creating a slow, warm atmosphere. The latter is great for really slow party starters, when the room still needs some space in between beats in order to get the groove going. After that it’s the original track that picks up energy and retains it the best, followed up closely by the Laura Jones that seems more fit as an inbetween-track later on in the evening. A nice distribution of features if you ask me and by picking a seperate setting for each track they’ve ensured that all tracks are very useable instead of one track overshadowing the other.
It is after much deliberation that I pick the original as favorite for this release, but only whilst stressing that the remixes are very sweet as well. In all, these two did a job well done with this release!
PS: Not completely related to the text above, but I simply couldn’t resist sharing: did you already check out this remix MANIK uploaded two weeks ago? Great track which to me shows MANIK’s great potential to rock genres other than just deephouse!
James Blake – I Am Sold (MANIK The End Rework) – Free Download
