Detroit-born artist Lauren Flax gracefully aligns with the esteemed Chiwax label, heralding her inaugural offering steeped in homage to her native city, resonating profoundly with its essence. This momentous occasion marks yet another pinnacle in Flax’s illustrious career, punctuated by an impressive discography showcased across revered imprints like Balkan Vinyl, Dance Trax, The Bunker New York, and Super Rhythm Trax, among others. Enhanced by a masterful remix courtesy of the adept Lis Sarocca, this release epitomizes unparalleled excellence.
The EP is launched with “Jack The Haus“ which, as the title leaves you in no doubt, is a late 80s referencing jack track. Utilising a similar repetitive “House” vocal refrain to Housemasterboyz “House Nation”, this rattles along on a percussive bed, clicking rimshots and off-beat claps giving the drums that authentic old vibe, squelchy bass adding to the retro flavour and top notes of bleepy riffs and seering pads finalising the raw feeling. No messing about here, just aimed straight at your hips, which will start to move, as they are defenceless!
Second on the list is “The Cheeky Whistle Song“, which notches the BPM up a touch and again takes its cue from the sounds of the late 80s/early 90s house vibes. As with the opening track, the bassline is rough and ready, bouncing up next to the punchy drums, these are accompanied by some ravey bleeps and pianos as the track bumps along. Flowing through the track is a freaky whistle sound which comes in and out of the groove, adding a slightly off-kilter feeling which works really nicely.
The title track, “D-Troit“ is next up, with modulated riffs working alongside neat acid lines, these give way to some stripped-back stabs and synth hits, all very tidy indeed. A mid-track square bassline adds to the flow, giving the track an alternate feel from its start, which is a very cool touch and allows the original sounds to then return later. This is, as with the previous tracks, unadulterated and raw club material for the floors, no doubt about that!
Lastly, Barcelona-based Lis Sarocca, no stranger to the Chiwax imprint, adds a warmer hazy flow on her remix of “D-Troit“, adding to the original’s vibe with some very tasty breaks and lush filtered synths. These sit just right with the hints of acid and clipped vox from the original, retaining the overall feeling from Lauren’s version but adding her own definite touches, and wrapping up this EP in fine style. Anybody wanting new vibes but with a definite nod to the late 80s and early 90s House sound, you’ll not go wrong here.
Torture the Artist 