Quenum - Another Day

Quenum
Another Day
Serialism Records

Quenum is a name synonymous is quality melodic music, and his latest release on Serialism, Another Day is no exception. The title track is almost like two tunes for the price of one. The first half of this nine minute epic is reminiscent of the early jackin’ Chicago sounds. First up punchy kicks, rough tom-toms, up-tempo hat rides, cheeky claps and wood block hits combine to form the groove. Combine this with a very simple single bass stab at the beginning of each bar and a Green Velvet-esque vocal to conjure up images of a sweaty Chi-town warehouse and will surely ignite a dancefloor. Then, as if by magic, the most beautiful pads and chords are dropped into the mix, and slowly evolve over the final four minutes of the track until Another Day is an epic mainroom stormer. 

Everyday People is a little more subtle, but it’s still got plenty of balls compared to the majority of melodic techno coming out these days. The forlorn vocal sits nicely alongside the simple, unobtrusive percussion, warm sub bass, and jumpy synths, keeping the track just restrained enough to make it the perfect platform from which to start slamming out bombs for the reminder of your set.

Finally, one for fans of big, uplifting house who need to pick up this EP for My Furious Thing alone. Jacking Chicago rhythms and punchy bass generate a driving groove, laying the foundation for the huge, relentless synth stabs and soulful vocal to shoot the track into the stratosphere.  The digital only Electric Prayer is a clear homage to early Detroit vibes, with a splash of Laurent Garnier’s The Man With The Red Face thrown in for good measure. The loose, organic percussion, funky clap sequencing, and constant, slowly morphing pads will remind many of the early works of Infiniti, Derrick May et al., but the digital saxophone sample is the real winner, coming almost out of nowhere and adding a certain tongue-in-cheek element to the track. Cheeky, Quenum, very cheeky. 

Quenum - Everyday People - Serialism 016 (official video) from False Manners Productions on Vimeo.

Listen to Quenum on Pulse Radio