Random Circuits

 Anton Zap - “Anton Zap” EP [Underground Quality] (buy)

Anton Zap is a relatively new name to the scene who first came to my attention by a split EP which he collaborated on with DJ Jus Ed. This was released on Ed’s home grown [Underground Quality] label back in January. A few months on and we get to have a full, solid four tracker just from Zap himself. Anton Zap is a Producer/ DJ coming out of Russia, Moscow to be precise & his sound is a mixture of deep house and Detroit influenced techno. The track that did it for me and made me want to hear more from Anton was “Captain Rush” which was taken from the ”Real House Music”  EP back at the beginning of the year. Since then we’ve had to wait a good five months to hear Zap’s new EP & let me tell you now it’s been wholeheartedly worth the wait.

Mr Zap gets things moving on “Captain Storm” with a deep atmospheric feel. This is a very solid start where he moulds atmospherics and “Detroit sounds” perfectly. It has a real raw feel to it, eerie synths and atmospherics start to melt into your mind this is where he brings the bass and some minimal percussion in the background, everything comes together very well indeed. Before you know it this piece of music is coming to a close and your going back for another listen.

If Storm was a gentle introduction with a lovely calming feel to it “Tk4″ is the total opposite. More Berghain influenced than Detroit, this is very raw and quite awkward with an almost 2 step dubstep feel. Tk4 would sound at much at home at DMZ on a Friday night as it would coming from the likes of Dettmann & Klock on a murky Sunday morning back in Berlin. Again heavy on the atmospherics, much more darker mind you it’s those awkward 2 step vibes that work so well every now and then he will bring in a peppered piano melody. This builds up to what can only be described as an awe inspiring climax everything working simultaneously, you can hear every nut and bolt ticking over perfectly. This is one very strong track & one that’s highly recommended. 

The third track on this excellent EP is “Cold” this is where that deep house element comes into to play. With definite references to the Detroit sound this is one very solid house cut. A rolling house groove sets the tone this gets to play with some luscious deep, edgy keys and some raw sounding synths which stay prominent in the background. In comes the vocal from Vadim K who remains to keep the vibe strictly underground with his superbly timed & quite exquisite ”singing”.This is where the track opens up and really takes off. This is easily my favourite piece on the EP and one of my personal faves of the year.

Rounding this excellent EP off just nice is “PM Please”. This like “Tk4″ has a real raw feel to it, not as raw and dark as Tk4 but certainly not far off. With more of a melody and some skippy beats this is warm yet quite dark and mysterious at the same time. Sounds interesting ? well it certainly is. Like a lot of Anton’s music deep atmospherics play a big part and this is part of the reason why his music has that standout from the rest feel. It’s not often that you come across a EP where all the tracks are playable, but even less often where all the tracks are standout and make you step back and appreciate them much more than you normally would.

Quite a release from Anton Zap and without a shadow of a doubt this is one producer who you need to keep close tabs on.

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