PROPE - Excite EP

Belgium’s OGASM label continues to carve out a niche for itself with its third EP. This one again comes from the label boss PROPE, with remixes from a smart selections of names including Dusty Kid, Matchy & Bott and Seb Legrand.

Thierry Botteman and Pierre Dozin are PROPE. Between them they are veterans of the 90s dance scene who have worked with major labels like Universal as well as being ghost producers for everyone from Royksopp to Groove Armada. They’ve made drum & bass and trip hop, played live shows all over the world with names such as Robert Glasper and Fela’s Egypt80 and so have vast reserves of musical understanding on which to draw on for this new project, which “merges subtle stellar ambiance and vibes, deep harmonies, and heavy effective drops.”

Their lead track here is ‘Excite’, an intense bit of drone-heavy techno that gets you in a trance. The hunched drums are metallic in texture, the long synths take you down the rabbit hole and the closely stacked claps power things along as you slowly lose your mind. A ‘deep mix’ version gives more height and life to the drums, switching it to more of a house vibe, with stellar synths darting about up top.

Italian artist, Isolade label boss and long time underground figure Dusty Kid is the first to remix. His innovative version is a melodic affair that reaches out into the cosmos and will get hands in the air as it slowly unfolds.

Next up are Match & Bott who are no strangers to big hits. The Mainz pair have crafted plenty of them before now on labels like Hive Audio, Moonbootique and Stil Vor Talent, and here they have done so again with a moody, deep version that zones you out with hi hats and gets you moving with forceful drums.

Last of all, 1605 and Yorube Grooves techno specialist Seb Legrand keeps up the intensity with a big version filled with long, meandering synths and little fx and details. It’s another groove driven roller to lock in the whole floor.

With this release, both PROPE and OGASM prove they are on the rise.

Tracklist:

1. PROPE – Excite (Original Mix)
2. PROPE – Excite (Dusty Kid Remix)
3. PROPE – Excite (Matchy & Bott Remix)
4. PROPE – Excite (Seb Legrand)
5. PROPE – Excite (Deep Mix)