Fellow Brightonian, Maxxi Soundsystem, turns in something pretty special for his debut release on Hypercolour. Billed as a double A side, it comes backed (or rather, additionally fronted) with a remix from Matthew Herbert.
‘Regrets We Have No Use For’ strikes a magical balance between raw dance-floor groove and ear-pleasing melody. Its opening minute and a half is a euphoric, balearic melange of synth washes, tinkling chimes and vocal passes. These elements crescendo into a totally unexpected behemoth of a bass-line, all gnarled and growling. It winds its way menacingly around Name One’s soulful vocals counterpointing the lyric’s gentle melancholy with a muscular, bruising throb. The simplicity of the bass and vocal combination give the track an appealing originality. Being released on a label as respected as Hypercolour isn’t going to hurt the track’s popularity either and with plays from Pete Tong on radio 1 as well you can safely expect to be hearing this a lot over the next few months.
Matthew Herbert’s remix will almost certainly be playing second fiddle to the original. He transforms Maxxi Soundsystem’s restrained power into a kaleidoscopic show of fragmented beats and sliding synths. It wafts through six minutes with a lazy but determined propulsion, no destination in its sight’s but a firm intention of getting there. Elements wash in and out without being heralded by drum fills or white noise while Name One’s vocal loops contentedly over the top. It’s a smooth listen but lacks the required pump to move a dance-floor.
Hypercolour are in fine form at the moment and when you throw Maxxi Soundsystem and Matthew Herbert into the mix it’s no surprise that you’re going to get something special. In many ways ‘Regrets We Have No Use For’ is merely living up to our expectations but when they’re set so high it’s an impressive feat.
Maxxi Soundsystem – Regrets We Have No Use For (Out Oct 8th 2012)
Rating 8/10