- It's tempting to imagine that after making "Deep Burnt," a certifiable deep house classic, that Pépé Bradock simply decided that he had nothing left to say on the matter. I wouldn't blame him: It's a record that sounded timeless when it was released—and sounds just as good nearly a decade later. After its release, his production slowed, the music got a bit stranger and Bradock eventually became Sven Väth's go-to weirdo when he released "Rhapsody in Pain," a record that famously sampled—as the title suggests—people in pain.
"Hints of Delusion," the B-side to this new 12-inch from the producer, is equally as disquieting—but in a different way. Sounding like a corroded outtake from Dimitri from Paris's Sacrebleu, its yearning strings and bells reflect a cheery outlook, but the distorted and overdriven French man who barrels in and the equally-as-creepy man who sounds as if he's failing to accurately impersonate a woman throughout reveal an underbelly better left unexamined. Aptly titled, this track hints at delusion, but never thrusts you fully into madness—which makes it all the more unsettling.
The only thing that connects "Hints of Delusion" to its "normal" counterpart on the other side is that same water-damaged quality at certain moments throughout its otherwise striking groove. Auger is rarely capable of stomaching a solid beat—"Deep Burnt" excepted—and it's why many swear by his current work. The synth sounds vaguely similar to what was used in "Deep Burnt"—and "Intriguing Feathered Creature"—oddly enough, but it's used in a choppier fashion: For anyone who finds that deep house revival a bit too smooth, you may find this to be the perfect antidote.
Tracklist A Mandragore
B Hints of Delusion