- Where some dance music conjures images of dark rooms and sweaty dance floors, SIT tunes call to mind palm trees and sunshine. The Romanian duo of Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia bring a melodic touch to minimal house, a corner of dance music generally more interested in bleeps and clicks than jazzy synths and cheery basslines. Along with artists like Barac, Melodie and Sublee, SIT spearheaded a small renaissance in Romanian minimal, injecting much-needed colour into an otherwise abstract and moody sound. Invisibility, the second instalment in a trilogy of albums, nails the rolling aesthetic they have made their own, blending house's emotional potential with the intricacy of modern minimal. In SIT's hands, it's a timeless balance.
Cons and Caia spend countless hours perfecting their tunes, which you can hear in the way they modulate and evolve. Take "Waiting" and its whirlpool of delicate percussion and melodic effects. At one point the kick gives way to emphasise a detuned chord, while the humming bassline plots a path through a micro-galaxy of panning clicks and snippets of synth. This is detailed music that feels effortless, a combination few artists execute with such finesse. "Exhibit" is another great example. There's a hint of classic house in its faint chords, which glide over another upbeat bassline and zapping percussion. The melodies—a bleep here, an acid line there—are abstract but clear, never dominating the other elements. Yet "Exhibit" is still a positive track, the kind of tune that gives the dance floor a boost in the final hours of a long session.
Invisibility's deepest moments are in its second half. Of these, "Diatonic" is the most energetic, pairing a bubbling low-end with soft synth tones and crisp open hi-hats, while "Dimming" is the closest the album gets to dub techno. With steady 4/4 rhythms, long durations and DJ-friendly intros and outros, most of Invisibility is tailored for club play. Yet there's something especially satisfying about listening from start to finish, locked into its groove and soaking in its sunny swagger. Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia are classically trained musicians who, judging by their easygoing sound, could also be stoners. Until they came along, minimal never sounded so smooth.
Tracklist01. Elevation
02. Layers
03. Exhibit
04. Block
05. Waiting
06. Diatonic
07. Concealed
08. Drytime
09. Dimming
10. Webspace