INSIDERS, The/VARIOUS - Infinite In All Directions

INSIDERS, The/VARIOUS - Infinite In All Directions (Nu Directions) Comentários: In what is unfolding as the labels most productive year, Nu Directions prove once again that quality and quantity can go hand in hand. Following on from the deep and dance floor friendly sounds of TK, we push the boundaries of this drum & bass music once again, this time enlisting the world renowned production skills of an artist we can truly call an ambassador of brazilian electronic music, Michael de Oliveira Nicassio, aka XRS.XRS is an artist who by now needs little if no introduction. Hailing from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Michael..s first forays into electronic music production were in 1993, when he won a remix competition. The track "Power 2 the People" was a hardcore track from which Michael produced the remix from tiny analogue tape samples cut by hand and then spliced together.From this point there was no looking back. XRS, or XRS Land as he was then known, made his mark in his homeland, producing a debut album ..Sarau.. for well known electronica label Trauma, drawing attention of the big name brazilian dj..s such as Andy, Patife and Marky. The latter of which became Michael..s production and label partner, with Innerground, in brazilian jungle..s sweep across the globe, bringing to our shores classic compositions such as ..Rotation.., ..Moments Of Lust.. and the unmistakeable ..LK... The result of the duo..s rise to fame saw them remixing an array of artists from the familiar sound of Bebel Gilberto to UK dance act Everything But The Girl, as well as collaborations with Vikter Duplaix, Cleveland Watkiss and Calibre.XRS has enjoyed solo success on many levels under many different guises, Sys X and Kapitel 6 to name a few, gracing the catalogues of ear catching labels such as CIA, V Recordings, Bingo, Critical and Innerground with single and album projects alike...Retrato.. translates as ..portrait.. in Portugese. This experimental track kicks off with bleeps and distorted filtered breaks before a smooth bassline merges the sounds together. Lush rhodes glide over a complex weave of beat programming before an amen adds to the mix taking the track skipping over 4 minutes. Following no formula the track continues to strip down each individual layer until you are left with the original haunting bleeps at the end. A musical masterpiece...Evening Sun.. is something completely different. A more techno sounding track, its moody strings compliment a set of tightly programmed drums with a ghostly vocal sample adding suspense to the mix. Truly forward thinking dance music.Following on from this in 2006 we close the curtain with Electrosoul System..s debut on the label before we kick off 2007 in very special style. nota do editor [Para Ouvir]