Jan Van Damm / ‘Everyday Feeling’
Digital
Shifted House Records / Released February 24th 2011
People seem to set up labels pretty quickly these days. And it doesn’t take a genius to work out the wave of micro imprints that continues to sweep the electronica world is a direct result of the shift from vinyl to download as the medium of choice.
After just a few years in the game then, Munich based Jan Van Damm takes the brave step to set up his own outlet with three tracks of straight up techiness. And he manages to pull it off, providing material that’s not worthy of a letter home, but is precisely the kind of stock good DJs want. Understated, tough and perfect for maintaining a groove, the real problem is it’s unavailable on black plastic.
Spooky lives up to its name, with twinkling keys that are closer to eerie than euphoric, while stopping well short of being big. There’s clear intent behind the percussion that makes it obvious things aren’t going to shift from fourth gear, which seems to be the optimum setting for these beefy beats. In Control is a wholly more tribal, not to mention dubby affair that’s solid, repetitive and heads down, all muted organ stabs and white noise, while the EP’s lead track rightly steals the show with a warm, rolling builder that would nearly lose the house preceding its tech label if it weren’t for the pace, and those occasional vocals.
