Like a true Trojan horse, having come out over Christmas we thought this one might have slipped under the radar, so we decided to run a review.
‘Arm Bar’ is Dustin Nantais’ second release on Trojan House after seeing ‘American Greed’ snatching up set time from the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Richie Hawtin, Luciano and Amine Edge. The Arm Bar EP gives the impression however that Dustin has rolled up his sleeves to create a more serious sound for this latest offering.
The five track EP has a bit of everything, with tracks sitting on the dark side of deep and tech house. The Canadian producer contributes three of his own works either side of remixes by Kostas Georgoudis (remember his collaboration with Lex – ‘Dirty Urban?’) and Pow! Pow! (best known to us for their remix of Pirupa’s ‘Party Non Stop’).
The ‘Arm Bar’ original mix is a lively, confident track with plenty of cool but the xylophone melody turns the track on a more light-hearted trajectory which to an extent negates the aforementioned strengths of the piece. Despite this minor qualm there’s still plenty of meat on this one.
Track 2 definitely comes out fighting. This remix by Kostas Georgoudis is a fully ‘G’d-up’ mix, bang on trend with its pitched down MC chops and plenty of mood in the lower Hz’s – a menacing bassline off-set perfectly by the crisp work done in the high end. Kostas’ remix is probably the pick of the bunch for us. The final rendition of the title track is Pow! Pow!’s remix. A subtle growler, the dark and techy feel of this one allows it to drop the xylophone in and out without breaking stride.
Dustin’s ‘Throwing Under’ original mix has a sense of urgency about it that aligns it more with the remixes of Arm Bar. A troublesome, rising stepper with percussive taps and a rich build. Accommodating dark, organic strings into tech house is usually a difficult trick to pull off but this one is executed with style as it rolls out to a marauding bass and perc drop.
The ‘Sunshine Across Troy Mix’ is something completely different to finish the EP off with. A downtempo cruiser, it has plenty of groove and playability but feels like it never quite hits fifth gear. Nevertheless it’s a well-phased track with good composition.
Both remixes of Arm Bar alone make this EP a worthy weapon in any war chest and the other three tracks are by no means out of place among their deep, techy cohorts. With a little help from his friends, Dustin Nantais has come up with the goods for his second EP on Trojan and has shed a different light on his style and ability which has built a healthy anticipation of his next release here at The Noise Gate.
