Following the fine work on his own Onysia imprint, New Yorker J Gabriel returns on Detroit label Moteur Ville Musique, this time bringing his alter ego Chuffing Buffy along for the ride. J Gabriel once again displays wicked form on this 2 tracker, and with each original track getting a re-rub from Detroit royalty, this is one hell of a proper EP that artists such as Andrey Pushakarev and Dorian Paic are only too happy to support in both their sets and charts.
Lead track ‘Pretty Girls Don’t Dance’ is given a Delano Smith Reconstruction while ‘Ritual’ gets the Rick Wade deep soul treatment. Focusing first on the original version of lead track ‘Pretty Girls Don’t Dance’ J Gabriel again proves why he is such an emerging talent, as he effortlessly builds the energy over the course of the 6-minute run time. Things evolve from a nicely atmospheric groover into a twisted acid flecked weapon that has the potential to blow up most dance floors. As dirty as the basslines and acid wiggles are at times, Gabriel still manages to reign things in with sections of sunshine using uplifting piano rolls and of course the inclusion of one of his pretty girls waxing lyrical.
The reworking courtesy of Delano Smith is a trademark slice of upbeat dub techno. Signature synth stabs move in and out of focus majestically over the course of the track, as if they were reeling you in and out of a spell. And sporadic use of the sultry female vocal works especially well here. There is little doubt that this will be featuring in some huge sets in the coming weeks and months.
Next up is the second original from J Gabriel ‘Ritual’ and this time he opts for a percussive stripped back offering. In a much more garage / house mode, the skipping snares and bounding basslines offer a great contrast to ‘Pretty Girls’ while at the same offering a deeper approach to the dancefloor. Rick Wade injects a whole lot of soul into his version of ‘Rituals’ with uplifting piano chords and great use of the original vocal, shifting things into deep soulful house territory, as is his forte. And the results here are simply stunning, Rick Wade delivering a masterful beauty of a track that begs for repeated listens.
The fact that this EP is getting plaudits from some of house and techno’s most in-demand artists such as Marcel Dettmann, Traumer, Shaun Reeves, Martin Landsky, Sebo K, Per Hammar, Varhat and Tripmastaz as well as the associated work on the EP by 2 of Detroit’s most celebrated artists this tells you all you need to know about where this uniquely talented New Yorker is heading and that is straight to the top.
You can grab the EP on pre-sale at Beatport.
More info on Moteur Ville Musique
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More info on J Gabriel
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More info on Chuffing Buffy
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