Andy Vaz: Zwei im Tee
Chiwax
Though Andy Vaz's latest EP appears on Chiwax rather than Yore, the twenty-two-minute release doesn't dramatically differ from the material he's issued on his own label. But if the release's soulful house style is familiar, it's no less satisfying for being so: Vaz's output sits comfortably alongside the work of other contemporary producers, yet at the same time individuates itself when his personal signature emerges from the material so strongly.
Interestingly, the opening cut's overshadowed somewhat by the pair on the B-side. Not that there's anything objectionable about “Aggression”: it's a slinky house cut with loads of bounce and swagger, and it certainly swings funkily enough when Vaz couples wiry synthesizer and electric piano patterns with an insistent hi-hat-and-kick drum combination. Still, the EP gets better as it advances from one track to the next. Flip the disc over and the title track dazzles the ear with an acidy swirl of creamy synth chords and an infectious funk-house groove that's certainly capable of getting bodies moving, after which “Infinite Regress” bests all comers with a hard-grooving, synth-drenched ride whose jacking pulse struts with radiant abandon for a resplendent six minutes.August 2017