In the annals of electronic music history, the late 1990s marked a pivotal epoch, a time when sonic explorers traversed the landscape of sound with audacious fervor. Among these intrepid adventurers were German virtuosos Jörge Henze and Jerome Isma-Ae, whose collaborative endeavor as ACME birthed a series of 12-inch singles that have since ascended to the realm of coveted relics. Among these treasures lies “Soul of Life“, a veritable gem from the year 1998, now resurrected in digital form to satiate the clamoring desires of aficionados.
What distinguishes this trifecta of tracks is its ingenious fusion of speed garage, a genre then in its nascent stages, with the pulsating cadences of contemporaneous House and Tech-House manifestations. The inaugural opus, “Soul of Life I“, stands as a testament to this symbiotic amalgamation, its rhythm skipping and dubby, its aura glazed with a mesmerizing trance.
Yet, it is the mellifluous strains of “Soul of Life II“ that ensnare the listener’s senses, with its Deep House sensibilities weaving a tapestry of euphoria through saucer-eyed pads, tactile organ riffs, and seamless grooves that caress the soul.
The denouement arrives with “Soul of Life III“, an audio narrative that echoes the late ’90s UK garage ethos championed by the likes of Grant Nelson. Here, the familiar 4/4 cadence reigns supreme, inviting the listener into a realm where rhythm becomes an incantation, a spell cast by the pulsating heartbeats of the dancefloor.
As the curtain descends on this opus, one is left to marvel at the sheer audacity of Henze and Isma-Ae’s aural expedition. In “Soul of Life“, they have not merely crafted music; they have sculpted a temporal portal, a gateway to an era where genres collided and innovation reigned supreme. In its digital reincarnation, this EP stands as a testament to the enduring power of music to transcend time and captivate the human spirit.
Words by Holger Breuer
Torture the Artist 