Timo Maas & James Teej - Cuba EP

Rocket & Ponies next installment shows label boss Timo Maas and longstanding collaborator James Teej alongside Pampa Records artist Soulphiction on remix duties, do the business on ROCKD024.

Since igniting their collaborative spark through Shadows Of Your Suns which was released on Damian Lazarus' Rebellion imprint, Timo Maas and James Teej have created quite a storm with their productions, most notably their Grammy-nominated rework of Paul McCartney & Wings ‘Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five’. The remix received an enormous response from fans, collectors and artists alike, selling over 10,000 copies on vinyl, with promo copies selling for £300+ on Ebay. Since then, the pair have added their unique flair to remixes for Kidnap Kid, Teleman and Moby and now they return with their first original production in 18 months with the ‘Cube EP’.

Title track ‘Cuba’ is ten experimental and intriguing minutes of freeform jazzy piano chords and gurgling synths, all married to a deep and supple drum line. It’s a spacious and sparse track that is late night and woozy, and more like a symphony of organic and synthetic sound than a functional club track. Next is the equally special ‘Mary Wanna’, which has spinning snares and loose hi hats, live sounding synth modulations and sprinkles of loose jazz perc. It is intoxicating and curious and masterfully arranged to really keep you on your toes.

After the originals are two remixes of ‘Mary Wanna’ from veteran SoulPhiction, German label boss at Philpot and a man who crafts warm and human house and disco on labels like MCDE and Perlon as well as being the first artist to release on DJ Koze’s Hart & Tief imprint. First is his excellent ‘Dskodub’, a deep and steamy rework with big slow string sweeps, gurgling bass and the sounds of spacecraft landing. It’s has a cinematic feel whilst the alternative ‘Bones mix’ is less organic and more synthetic, wired up as it is with wonderful synth blurtsand whirring machines.

All in all, this is a fascinating and experimental yet accessible EP that really proves all the artists involved are at the top of their game.

Tracklist:

1. Cuba
2. Mary Wanna
3. Mary Wanna (SoulPhiction Dskodub)
4. Mary Wanna (SoulPhiction Bones mix)