2DeepSoul - Mood Sync - Yore Records

Hard to believe that Yore Records has already reached the 30 release milestone. Because despite a discography bursting with quality in depth and a roster to die for, the Cologne-based label fronted by Andy Vaz seems to go about its business with the minimum of fuss.

And we are talking an imprint that has become a second home to Rick Wade, gave Kez YM a break early doors, picked up on Patrice Scott when he was still making a name for himself here in Europe as well as featuring choice cuts from the likes of Dubbyman, Marcello Napoletano and Vaz himself.

So it is especially pleasing that for the big three-oh that Yore should welcome into the family a firm favourite here at bringdownthewalls HQ, the Edinburgh-based outfit 2DeepSoul with their three-track treat Mood Sync.

Opening tune Intrinsic could almost be the duo’s theme and is arguably their best offering to date. It sums up perfectly what 2DeepSoul are all about and in turn all that is good about them. Deep, driving beats, perky perc, melodic rather more than moody despite the EP’s title yet with an ambient overtone and ethereal quality, almost to the point of dreamy, draped delicately across the track. It has the fingerprints in particular of Rai Scott, one half of the partnership alongside Brad Peterson, marked indelibly all over it.

Flow Theory delivers more of the same top-draw cosmic deepness albeit with a little more broodiness and punch and is complete with a nifty little Hammond action in the vein of Scott Grooves collaborator Chris Codish.

Closing track Power is even more robust though less sparky than the other two cuts yet every bit as superb and is the one that most puts the ‘mood’ into Mood Sync.

Brad P - Inner Visions - Inner Shift Music

Brad Peterson is one of those producers who can do no wrong in my eyes. Or should that be ears? Either way, his solo and collaborative track record over more than a decade with Minuendo, Moods & Grooves, Yore et al speaks for itself and his output on his own label Inner Shift Music is just as tidy.

Indeed, the Inner Visions EP, his first solo venture for the imprint he runs with partner Rai Scott, is not only a fine record but also a snapshot of what Peterson is all about.

The opening track is perhaps everything you might expect from a cut called Light Years. It’s ethereal and spaced-out deep house, the kind of thing Peterson does exceptionally well at the best of times anyway but here he is at his most excellent. In the hands of lesser artists the ‘otherworldly’ vibe can sound hackneyed but not so with the quietly-spoken American, who works at a higher level than most in this field and who always imbues his music with a hefty dose of soul. It’s what separates the wheat from the chaff in this game.

Whereas Light Years is bright, brash and jazzy, Slow Walker is much more introspective. A brooding, slow-burning ‘heads down’ of a track fashioned beautifully by Peterson for those darker moments. Take U There is Brad P on something of a jazz-funk tip, albeit within the parameters still of his take on the cosmic deep house oeuvre. Whale Cry, meanwhile, brings the journey to a suitably calming conclusion and augurs well for the man’s forthcoming album.