French collective Kumquat and their history stretches back well into the last decade and their knack for a good party is well known and respected. Treading a fine line between minimal, house and electro their events past and future always collect an enviable cast of artists and continue to innovate out with the confines of the average nightclub format. So, it is both fitting and timely that they announce their new vinyl imprint with German artist Atree minting its debut release with his “Happy Bout That” EP about to drop shortly.
We head straight to the flip and premiere track on B2 “Righteous Funk” and as with all Atree productions the energy is dialed in from the first beat. Smart snare rolls keep the vibes ticking upwards and the crisp, laser cut grooves are the perfect partners for the deep probing bassline and the shimmering pads that soon join in on the action. The uniquely affected synth stabs are also a very welcome interlude before the injection of some subtle 303 action in the main action of the track. B1 “Handshake” is similarly upbeat and utilities the bassline sparingly to great effect as it leaves plenty of room for the flanged vocal / synth combo to take center stage. Seriously hinting at the electro and French Touch roots that are flecked through much of Atree’s work and of course the label itself.
Flipping back over to side A and this belongs to “Happy Bout That”, first of all the original lays out the plan of attack with the punchy percussion and elevated synth stabs. The stripped back and upfront nature of the original version means that when Huerta steps in there is ample room for him to smooth out the track with the range filling bass that he manages to squeeze out of his productions. The rolling percussion he adds in here just fills the track even more until his version is a warm, undulating hitter, even more so if that is possible.
Their next events demand attention with an open-air with DPR, Alexia Glensy, and Merlino on 01.06.24.
Then, on 08.06.24 they have a huge return event at Babcock with Raresh, Junki Inoue, and One Tough Cookie.
You will be able to grab KQT001 from Subwax shortly.
More info on Atree
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More on Kumquat
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