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12"
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MOOD 064EP
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"A fresh addition to the Moodmusic roster but a longtime veteran in the house-scene, Alexander Maier aka DJ All*star from Stuttgart is well known from his earlier releases on Buzzin Fly, Exun and Criminal Records. He began his career playing underground techno in the south of Germany, but over the years became more and more influenced by Detroit and Chicago house. You can hear these influences on 'Sahara' in both the 'Rain' and 'River' version. Deep and reduced grooves with enough soul and atmosphere, yet fully functional for the floor, 'Sahara Rain' kicks in with a heavy bass sequence building a perfect platform to be followed by the synth theme which hits the peak hour perfectly. I see some hands going up here already. 'Sahara River' starts more housey, building a classy, low-slung huge groove with percolating synths and an almost tribal feel to the drums. The modulating synths lift the track to new heights with a break of superbly layered twisted pads before the drums kick back in full effect. As this would not be enough we asked our trusted Chicago connection and Alex's buddy, Mazi aka Audio Soul Project to remix 'Sahara Rain.' If you consider people who have been in the biz for some time Mazi is one of the warriors of 'the Sound,' never choosing the easy way but following his true way of house music. And house it is, classic but cleverly updated to 2008 with a twist of So-Cal thrown in for good measure. Bouncey and jacking are the words that come to mind when hearing this, excellent work and a another bomb for the hot months to come."
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