- Before the holidays, Dutch imprint Sleazy Beats Recordings delivered a near perfect pan-genre EP of reconstructions by shadowy Londoner The Dead Rose Music Company. Each track relies on a significant-sized sample, though I'd argue this is a more involved house reanimation versus straight edits. TDRMC has done a significant amount of percussive and bassline re-imagining as well as taking a totally different approach to arrangement on all four looks.
Dead Rose is no stranger to indulging and teasing out mid-tempo monsters ("Just a Bitter Love," "The World Is An Uproar"), and it seems that his productions are judged by how much soulful/sultry indulgence the listener prefers. "Come Closer," clocking in at 94 BPM, probably stays closest to home, as it doesn't get too ambitious in transforming the original of the same name. "Kissing in the Dark" feels the most like a DJ tool, in that it swirls around without really landing on any discernible moments that pay off.
For my money, "So Into You" is almost perfect, an AOR reconstruction that adds a level of suspense and sexuality that the original lacks. Registering just under 100 BPM, it's perfect for DJs who are comfortable working the middle, and it's as well arranged as they come. Closing out the disc, "Hankasheef" is the uptempo, post-disco response to the former, an echo chamber of filtered-out desire. All of it feels effortless, but to call this just a collection of edits is underestimating the possibilities of restraint and reconstruction. If waves of guys like this keep instigating the "edits are stupid" argument (moronic yet inevitable), I suppose these same people must hate house music too, because this is house music that isn't necessarily at 120 and isn't based on the same old, tired disco rips.
Tracklist A1 So Into You
A2 Hankasheef
B1 Kissing in the Dark
B2 Come Closer