Two Armadillos: Nostalgia
Buzzin' Fly

Two Armadillos: Patience
Four:Twenty

London-based DJ Giles Smith joins forces with Martin Dawson (aka King Roc) under the Two Armadillos guise for a slinky outing on Buzzin' Fly. In the fleet-footed deep house cut “Nostalgia,” dubby keys evaporate into the mist while a pumping pulse—all backbeat accents, funk bass lines, and swizzling hi-hats—swells beatifically. The duo boosts the tune's summery vibe with breezy flutes and sweetly singing strings, after which Tobias Freund cranks up the bass-o-matic to pilot the tune on a locomotive techno sprint through the countryside. It's a scenic trip for sure with the passengers treated to acrobatic displays of percussive clatter and assorted other pitter-patter.

The two also re-appear on Four:Twenty with the ten-minute “Patience” accompanied by a makeover of same courtesy of Will Saul and Tam Cooper. Summer again feels mere seconds away when the deep house original beautifully works itself into shape in a slow-building mix of warm house chords, tinkling percussion, and echo-laden claps. Following the addition of whistling synths and piano, the skipping groove deepens into a steaming swing that surges blissfully on and on. Saul and Cooper tackle the not inconsiderable challenge of following it up by sparking the tune's now-heavier and funkier bottom end with burbling bass synth patterns and double-time hi-hats. Take your pick: both versions succeed gloriously.

May 2008