The pole position enjoyed by House for the past few years will undoubtedly break, and probably sooner rather than later. This won’t matter so long as labels like Sequencias, and artists like Willie Burns, continue to add value to the genre.
Following a dark journey into Jak, NY based Sequencias lands with a new 12” and a new addition to the roster. Up next is a man rightfully getting more and more recognition from musical circles. Fellow New Yorker Willie Burns, boss of W.T. Records and also known as DJ Speculator, has been turning heads (and ears) of late. With releases on Crème Organization, L.I.E.S. and recently Trilogy Tapes, Mr. Burns is developing his catalog of richly analogue Chicago inspired and Detroit dipped music. For Sequencias Willie serves up Another Place, Another Time.
The title piece builds with a crisp Roland beat, but the backdrop is a shimmering smokescreen of synthesizer sounds. Burns takes these cascading chords then twirls and loops them with counter melodies inside the walls of a steady snare. The track has a beautiful hypnotic quality, spiraling with a definite touch of UK Techno to it. M>O>S boss Aroy Dee is on remix duty. The Dutch man takes the beat and galvanizes it before stripping it back to allow a series of deep bars to dominate. He remains true to the original, utilizing elements and injecting hi-hats whilst keeping a twilight IDM quality.
To an extent, House music is suffering from a similar ailment that blighted Electronica some years back. That being too many artists releasing a similar sound into a quite saturated market. But there are people working, and flourishing, within the ever tightening constraints of the genre. Willie Burns is definitely part of this dwindling group. The New Yorker takes the parameters of Chicago and reshapes them with the sounds of Techno and Electronics. Another Place, Another Time builds on Burns past achievements and exemplifies his position as one of the most exciting artists working within “House.” Likewise, Aroy Dee dishes up an excellent interpretation.
The pole position enjoyed by House for the past few years will undoubtedly break, and probably sooner rather than later. This won’t matter so long as labels like Sequencias, and artists like Willie Burns, continue to add value to the genre.
Another Place, Another Time is available on Sequencias.
