- Dance music has the tendency to reach for something. Whether it be a higher state of ecstasy, fathoms deep introspection, unknown realities, or emotional catharsis, those targets give tracks contrast or an endpoint to move towards. Young Melbourne producer Joseph Cookson is an exception. The wide-eyed house music he makes as Amateur Dance starts at those endpoints, floating in the stratosphere without a worry of subtlety or comedown crashes. His It's Really Something EP uses euphoric synth tones, heavenly chords, simple drum kits and touching monologues to lift you above the dance floor and keep you there—think DJ Koze's "XTC" if it was made by someone half his age.
The title track opens with a lush, angelic synth twinkle and a voice talking about "flying somewhere"; it's ten minutes long and not once does it let go of that starry tenderness. You almost have to admire a producer willing to lean into such grandiose sentimentality. As if to drive his point home, Cookson follows "It's Really Something" with a beatless ambient piece that evokes M83's Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts.
"Hot Since Just Before," the most level-headed of the bunch, takes the opportunity to try out big basslines and watery textures, landing on a dreamy deep house. For all the record's bright emotions, Cookson's earthbound groove is a smart change of pace. "If Reality Calls, Hang Up" closes the collection with traces of piano house and clips from Rich Hill, a documentary about the troubled adolescents of a poor town in rural Missouri. The teen's quiet phrases give the bubbly beat context that the ambient whorl behind it can't: Cookson wants to convey a sense of hope and acceptance as much as lift your spirits.
Tracklist01. It's Really Something
02. Sometimes You Are Trying To Find Yourself, And You Run Away Always
03. Hot Since Just Before
04. If Reality Calls, Hang Up