Under Your Spell (Original Mix) (preview)
Under Your Spell (Kyodai Remix) (preview)
Joyride (w/ Schegg) (Original Mix) (preview)
Floating Figures (Original Mix) (preview)
When thinking about electronic music from Germany, one would not immediately point in the direction garage house. Yet it is this very UK sound that Rhode & Brown try to master in their productions. Powerful uptempo house with a clear flashback to the good old days in which garage was born. Old days I can’t tell you much about since I was still walking around in diapers, but when listening to Rhode & Brown’s ”Joyride” EP, you’ll probably understand what I mean – even if you’re aged under 25.
When you play on A1, all this background news just fades away and all you’re left with is a neat EP full of energy. ”Under Your Spell” has a warm, familiar sound and promises to be a very good party starter. All the elements are there: a catchy organ melody, sax backup in the bridge and a super-decent release that will definitely get some hands into the air. The remix by Kyodai retains it’s energy for a longer time and the amount of reverb makes it very clear that this is a track for big rooms and the outdoors. It’s a bit more messy than the original track and this creates a nice distribution of features between the two tracks.
”Joyride”, the track the EP was named after, might not be the most spectacular track in terms of surprises, but sometimes that’s not necessary to make a track work on dancefloors. Something that was clearly the aim with this EP. It has everything the UK-house fan wants: tempting drums and a classic house voice to go nuts on. Ending the EP with the much calmer ”Floating Figures” (what’s in a name?) I cannot conclude anything else than that Rhode & Brown – taken in perspective their age and therefore experience – did a wonderful job in recreating that classic house sound. In terms of originality, ”Joyride” might not be the most exciting record around, but it’s a safe bet if you’re looking for records to keep the party going.
