Blossoming on the minds and hearts of dancers and music lovers everywhere, Blossom Kollektiv returns yet again, after the debut release of Austria's deep maestro Pjuné and the now mostly sold out 12" of magic by Mastercris's 'You're the one'.
The italian stallion Cristian Manolo has his second release with Blossom, and this time Cristian goes deeper into his brand of introspective body music, now for the 'Phantom EP'. He delivers a pair of seriously mind bending tracks that are sure to be hits on summer dance floors everywhere. To top things off, respected 'wunder kind' Ka§par gives 'Phantom' an incredible turn around. 'Phantom EP' is a set of three irresistible tracks, that you'll want to play out for a long time.
On 'A Second Life', Cristian explores a positive, feel good universe in which the energy levels start high and remain steadily elevated through the progression of the track. It starts with a set of deep, mantric chords repeating itself into an apparent eternity of pleasure. Layers and layers of 909 hats and 808 snares pile up, atop a demanding kick drum and an almost Kalimba like bass line... the defining moment of the track comes when a latin style rhythmic vocal scat brings a much appreciated human dimension to the piece. The final moment culminates onto a 'hands in the air' stretch, as all the tension is completed with a glassy pad sound that takes the whole thing into mystic terrain... one for the peak time!
The track that names the EP is 'Phantom' and it borrows from the tension driven arrangement processes of legendary composers and producers Kenny Larkin or Carl Craig. A female vocal is cut up and glitched into oblivion, while an arpy synth line tears through, modulating as the track evolves and more sounds and phaser FX complete the first lead. A shredding kick drum resonates wildly under it all, and a breakdown reveals tom drums and beat bleeps that give way to an ethereal pad that completes the track's profoundly dance-floor orientation with a hint of
hypnotic seduction. Perfect after-hours joint to play to a crowd that wants to visits the more far out landscapes inside themselves.
On the remix tip, one of the forces behind the label, whizz kid Ka§par, gives 'Phantom' a proper rub down... the perfect return to Blossom after a very successful 2013. The prolific creator totally reshapes the original, bringing in a new drum set and breathing some soul into the mechanical realms that inhabit the original, infusing it with a pleasureful minor chord stab groove, atop a hypnotic conga loop, throbbing sub bass, clattering handclaps and fluttering tambourines. Midway, a languid analog arpeggio and string set get introduced, bringing a melodic motto that had been absent before, culminating into a beautiful reprise at the end. Perfect track to put the quality stamp on any dance floor dj set, with impeccable production that recalls the top notch approach from likes of Delano Smith, Mike Huckaby, Fred P, Nick Holder, and many others. Can't miss this one.
We hope you enjoy this release as much as us, and that it keeps you entertained while we ready out up and coming 12"s. Have fun playing it out, and stay Blossom!