Orlando B:
Nostalgia Train EP
Yore
Andy Vaz's Yore label reaffirms its love for classic deep house with this four-track twelve-inch from Orlando B (real name Orlando Britain), the UK-based music producer and DJ's follow-up to two earlier EP releases on the label, Beneath the Surface (2010) and Future Resist (2011). His output has hardly been exclusive to one label: besides Yore, Britain's issued Orlando B material on Undertones, Translucent, Seven Music, Finest Blend, Elektrax, Undertones, and Night Drive Music as well as on his own Eastbound Recordings and Contemplate Recordings imprints.
Drawing for inspiration from the deep melodic house and techno sounds associated with classic Detroit and Chicago styles, Nostalgia Train exudes delicious old-school flavour. The clubby title cut establishes an uplifting vibe immediately with a rising melodic sequence, a syncopated keyboard riff, and handclaps, all of which appear in sequence. Hi-hats and a radiant synth phrase follow, after which a booming kick drum grounds the flow with a throbbing low-end. With a driving hi-hat pattern folded in, the arrangement's complete, one rich enough to be multi-dimensional but not cluttered. Up next, “My Way” throbs as determinedly, with a bass line and swishing hi-hats laying a dancefloor-filling foundation for an accenting vocal effect and high-pitched synth flourishes.
Rivaling “Nostalgia Train” in radiance is the B-side's opener “First Light,” which allows a bit of a rock feel to seep into its drum pattern. Regardless, it's a propulsive head-rush of a cut, all shimmering synth sunshowers and relentlessly insistent groove. “Distant Star” then caps the EP exuberantly with an infectious house pulse, intricate melodic patterning, and more uplifting vibes, the cut nothing less than a single-track distillation of the Yore ethos. Throughout the release, Britain locates that sweet spot between minimal and maximal, the producer largely eschewing digital trickery for a clean, analog presentation.January 2020