Max D / Hashman Deejay - Shoegaze / Samba

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  • A new effort closely affiliated with the London-based Berceuse Heroique, Falstaff trades that label's grittier demeanour for forays into skygazing house music. In doing so it looks to two masters of the form, DC's Max D and Vancouver’s Hashman Deejay. The pair aren't strangers to one another, Hashman having appeared on Max D's Future Times label in the past. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that, in spite of their surface differences, these two tracks work excellently as a pair. Max D has long specialised in the zone-out, concerning himself with New Age drift as much as house-wise propulsion. Unusually, then, the most appealing thing about "Shoegaze" is its sheer velocity. Not in terms of tempo (it sticks to a fairly respectable 133 BPM) but in the tight flex of its groove, and the way snippets of chords and vocals are diced up and spat out like machinegun fire. Hashman, by contrast, lets himself stretch out. The producer is no stranger to lengthy productions, of course—think of the sprawl of his Future Times debut "Tangerine"—but this 16-minute epic reaches new heights of blissy repetition. The track contains little more than a lilting, conga-led groove and a single chord-loop, with a calming aquamarine wash bathing the mix every couple of bars. Hashman doesn't do much with them either, simply coaxing each element in and out of focus to create gentle waves of tension and release. After the more incisive A-side, the sense of lazy repose is wonderful.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Max D - Shoegaze B1 Hashman Deejay - Samba
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