This is the first release from Esjayes, but the man behind the project is a well seasoned veteran. It is in fact the newest incarnation of Simon Smerdon, who’s work as Mothboy on the great Ad Noiseam label was pretty seminal.
Ardiente is a deep house journey. It is subtle and intelligent, full of interesting elements creeping in and out of the tunes, weaving amongst themselves to create luscious swathes of atmosphere pinned down by rolling basslines and mid tempo four-to-the-floor grooves.
This is the first release from Esjayes, but the man behind the project is a well seasoned veteran. It is in fact the newest incarnation of Simon Smerdon, who’s work as Mothboy on the great Ad Noiseam label was pretty seminal. I guess that as a producer he has moved on from that project (the transition can be clearly sensed in his final release as Mothboy Yield), but it bears referencing the influence that he had as Mothboy, especially with his Deviance album. But that’s all in the past—alas Mothboy is no more, but missed as he is the emergence of this new form is most welcome.
The first track, “Burning,” features the gorgeous vocals of Louise Coady, who you may or may not be familiar with from her role as singer in Kloudbreak (I strongly recommend you familiarise yourself with their work if you haven’t already). Needless to say the combination of Louise’s vocals and the production skills of Esjayes is one which yields glorious results. Beautiful and deceptively simple, the track rolls out with a thumping kick drum and vocal edits that build into an intriguing groove which serves to launch the flowing bassline and main vocals perfectly. Once the track gets going, it is a rolling mover that just feels really nice. “Savannah” is another deep roller with chopped up vocals and lovely bassline. It follows a fairly similar tack to the preceding track actually, which is in no way a bad thing. The Deephope remix of “Savannah” delivers some really pleasant housey synth work. A stabbing rhodes echos its way through the track, which is probably why it’s called the “Dub Rhodes Remix.” Nothing get’s past me! The final track, however, is bit different to say the least. Beatless synth work swelling and receding with a low end that makes itself felt rather then heard. Imagine Bladerunner in a particularly reflective moment, tears in the rain sort of thing. If you know what I’m talking about, then, well, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, you really should. Go and rent the DVD immediately.
A really great EP from Esjayes on Deep Site recordings. But then, I would frankly expect nothing less. Where will the Esjayes journey go from here? We’ll have to wait to find out, but I rather suspect it might be an enjoyable ride.
Ardiente is available on Deep Site.
