This 21st label release offers five wonderful and carefully-chosen selections of melodic electronic grooves, ranging from progressive house to techno to melodic techno, produced by a handful of the Windy City's finest. In yet another year of unprecedented change and challenges, music has been the fabric keeping us united in the face of uncertainty, and this cherry-picked collection of truly top-tier quality songs is being sent out to you all around the world to help close out 2021 – from Chicago with lots of love (and also with a bit of pent-up rowdiness)!

First up - Vested label mainstay Rez Dorsia brings you "Ghosts and Memories"– a deep and driving melodic tech gem that oozes swagger with vintage feel. A deep and bouncing bassline paired with warm synth tones and a throwback vocal element really hit the sweet spot here and start this release off right.

Second – label newcomer on last year's sampler – FJ9 – returns to this year's offering with "In The Absence of Time"– a sharp saw-toothed roller-coaster ride of a melodic techno track. Aggressive yet elegantly-styled analog synth lines meet deep pumping grooves and layered percussion to take the mind for a wild ride.

Back on the label after a brief hiatus is surgically-concise producer and Chicago artist Alex Castaneda in bringing you "Recon"– a big, spacious, booming and driving slice of techno. Boasting a full-on galloping rhythm section and a blissfully-wide low-end groove that feels simply amazing, this peak-hour burner will do nothing short of setting the night on fire.

"Wilderness" is a lush and textured progressive house composition born from a collaboration between two label newcomers: SinnerSaints and Alfred Clayton. Inspired on some level by nature's elements and featuring a unique melodic hook juxtaposed against a cinematic driving groove, this lovely, intricate, and moody piece of electronic music here will have you coming back time and again.

And rounding out this release is a sublime serving of progressive house titled "Clockwork" by Crystos – a promising newcomer to the label and the Chicago music scene alike. Fusing elements of progressive, melodic tech, and big synth melodies in this composition, he delivers a ticking timepiece-driven piece of music that truly finishes this compilation with an exclamation point. The Gear and Spring Mix makes the groove of the clockwork a focus and leaves a little room for something more involving this tune to come to you in 2022!