Plus Plus is back! This time around we have James Reid who spent this past season playing at Ibiza, road testing his latest tracks the whole time. “Night’s End EP” is a back to house basics with crisp drums, warm baselines and catchy melodies. Along for the ride we have label fan favorite Below Bangkok along with his occasional partner in crime Spring Reason on remix duties with label head Jason Bay lending his skills as well.
The opening track “Night End” is mellow groover, with a heavy focus on 4 to the floor beat. An analog bassline comes into warm up the track, but never once does it intrude on the building atmosphere, preferring to stay in the background. A lighter synth plays over the top of the bassline while buttery pads tease in and out throughout the track.
“Sensus” is where James turns up the tension with a more focused and driven track that focuses on rhythmic bassline that keeps on pushing the track with horn stabs punctuating the track. Noisey keys make there way into the arrangement with a subtle break before the bass kick come back in just as easily as they left. Perfect mid set tune to keep the energy pushing with out losing it’s sense of purpose.
“Phoenix” is a more introspective inducing track, with James tapping into the late night nocturnal energy that envelops Ibiza. With a rolling kick underneath and deep strings moving the track onward, the track keeps building and layering unto itself with little riffs accenting the track overtop. A triangle rhythm arrives at the peak to drive the track home before the beat comes back in to conclude the track itself.
Quickly becoming a label mainstay and fan favourite, Below Bangkok opens up the remix round with his take on “Night End”. Below Bangkok doesn’t stray to far from the original, with softer highs and tighter snap while letting the kick blend more into the background with the bassline coming more forward. Below Bangkok does add a haunting vocal sample that brings the track together beautifully in that signature style he is quickly becoming known for.
Below Bangkok teams up with his on again/off again studio partner Spring Reason to tackle “Sensus”. Where the original was more upbeat, the lads take a more stripped down approach while still keeping it bouncy. With a sparse bassline and hanging strings underneath, Below Bangkok and Spring Reason’s remix stands out as it’s own track with subtle nods back to the original.
Jason Bay rounds up the EP with not one, but three different versions of “Phoenix”. They all start with the same dusty, fat drum groove. A phat kick lays underneath with tighter ones dancing around it, creating a hypnotic driving groove. A heavily distorted guitar fades in and out, accenting the track as needed. Jason Bay’s dub has a thick bassline that is a call back to the original while a slap bass punctuates the arrangement. A higher synth is layered over bassline while haunting vocals call back to the slap bass.
Jason Bay’s “Ode to Gustavo Dub” is an ode Gustavo Santaolalla, a composer known for his minimalist approach to writing emotive music. Maintaining the same beat from the Dub but stripping it down to it’s essential parts, this version has powerful harps that sit on top of the groove to push it to a euphoric high while hanging on to that gritty groove.
The final version we have is the DJ Tool. Simple enough, just the raw drum groove with the vocals and distorted guitars driving head long for almost 7 minutes. Perfect for layering in the mix or just creating the right opening atmosphere while still maintaining a phat groove.
The opening track “Night End” is mellow groover, with a heavy focus on 4 to the floor beat. An analog bassline comes into warm up the track, but never once does it intrude on the building atmosphere, preferring to stay in the background. A lighter synth plays over the top of the bassline while buttery pads tease in and out throughout the track.
“Sensus” is where James turns up the tension with a more focused and driven track that focuses on rhythmic bassline that keeps on pushing the track with horn stabs punctuating the track. Noisey keys make there way into the arrangement with a subtle break before the bass kick come back in just as easily as they left. Perfect mid set tune to keep the energy pushing with out losing it’s sense of purpose.
“Phoenix” is a more introspective inducing track, with James tapping into the late night nocturnal energy that envelops Ibiza. With a rolling kick underneath and deep strings moving the track onward, the track keeps building and layering unto itself with little riffs accenting the track overtop. A triangle rhythm arrives at the peak to drive the track home before the beat comes back in to conclude the track itself.
Quickly becoming a label mainstay and fan favourite, Below Bangkok opens up the remix round with his take on “Night End”. Below Bangkok doesn’t stray to far from the original, with softer highs and tighter snap while letting the kick blend more into the background with the bassline coming more forward. Below Bangkok does add a haunting vocal sample that brings the track together beautifully in that signature style he is quickly becoming known for.
Below Bangkok teams up with his on again/off again studio partner Spring Reason to tackle “Sensus”. Where the original was more upbeat, the lads take a more stripped down approach while still keeping it bouncy. With a sparse bassline and hanging strings underneath, Below Bangkok and Spring Reason’s remix stands out as it’s own track with subtle nods back to the original.
Jason Bay rounds up the EP with not one, but three different versions of “Phoenix”. They all start with the same dusty, fat drum groove. A phat kick lays underneath with tighter ones dancing around it, creating a hypnotic driving groove. A heavily distorted guitar fades in and out, accenting the track as needed. Jason Bay’s dub has a thick bassline that is a call back to the original while a slap bass punctuates the arrangement. A higher synth is layered over bassline while haunting vocals call back to the slap bass.
Jason Bay’s “Ode to Gustavo Dub” is an ode Gustavo Santaolalla, a composer known for his minimalist approach to writing emotive music. Maintaining the same beat from the Dub but stripping it down to it’s essential parts, this version has powerful harps that sit on top of the groove to push it to a euphoric high while hanging on to that gritty groove.
The final version we have is the DJ Tool. Simple enough, just the raw drum groove with the vocals and distorted guitars driving head long for almost 7 minutes. Perfect for layering in the mix or just creating the right opening atmosphere while still maintaining a phat groove.
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