Jesus Gonsev - District 1

Jesus Gonsev  
District 1
VARIANCE

Spanish house producer Jesus Gonsev makes his debut here for London imprint Variance with District 1. A trademark Gonsev track full of that slick and emotive, big room sound. From someone who hates tags in this scene, I'd be reluctant to call this tech-house, but would definitely say that the title track has proggy overtones. Think Sasha and Diggers, late night Renaissance sessions (and it's certainly not unlikely that they’ll be picking this one up too).

The title track grows from a delicate little shuffle, with short loopy whispers and heady pads, up to a monster of a groove. The lack of memorable melody here is put aside for its in-the-moment main room intensity – of which it scores highly. On the remix Glimpse gives the track a lot more breathing space. It’s dubby and loopy, utilizing key elements of the original nicely. There are moments that feel they could/should last for longer, but Glimpse seems intent on keeping the track evolving, catching different grooves throughout rather than letting you settle in too much. That’s a minor quibble though and as a contrast to the original, this is a superb backroom groover.

Gonsev’s b-side, Leave Me Alone, is of a similar vein but a touch slower, with a warmer set of instruments. And he soon gives them a good bashing, as half way through we have the lot of them thrown at us – that is perhaps the “leave me alone” part to this. Aside from that mid-point act of aggression, this is one smooth mother. District 1 EP isn’t pushing any boundaries, but as a DJ tool it’s a solid addition to the Variance catalogue.

Macdonald Ali

Tracklisting: Jesus Gonsev - District 1
1. Original
2. Glimpse Remix
3. Leave Me Alone