- Yet another deep house aficionado crawls out of the woodwork to make hay during the current vogue for all things atmospheric and meaningful? Maybe. That said, Ernie is a Spanish DJ from Madrid and the head of Minuendo Recordings. And if Deeptical Tracks is anything to go by, he's not from the school of contrived beats. Some people try too hard, but I don't get that impression with Ernie. Deeptical Tracks seems very natural and without pretense.
"Sandstorm" starts off with deep, swirling synths over which an effortless drum beat and, more interestingly, a nicely off-key piano play. There's a "Pacific State" feel about the track, but one that's bogged down in narcotics. Dubbyman and Above Smoke's remix is almost catatonic by comparison, slowing things down further still to an emotional crawl. "Hotrod," meanwhile, must be one of the most inappropriately named tracks I've come across recently. My pet tortoise could get to the beach quicker than this misfit. It's a sinister wade through waist-high mud towards a tantilisingly close safe haven. Closing things out, "Skywarp" layers things nicely. A thick bassline with some finger-clicking and a mournful horn slowed down to walking pace may not sound like much, but with the addition of some strings it all adds up to perhaps the most dance floor-friendly track on the EP. Again, I feel the hand of "Super Discount" on this one.
It's no surprise that artists like Patrice Scott and Jus-Ed are releasing some sterling music on Spanish labels, if this is an example of what homegrown Spanish deep house can sound like. Dubbyman, who contributes the remix here, is probably the Iberian Peninsula's current star of the genre, but Ernie's going to be another one to watch on the strength of this release.
Tracklist A1 Sandstorm
A2 Sandstorm (Dubbyman & Above Smoke remix)
B1 Hotrod
B2 Skywarp