Various Artists – Winter Particles (featuring tracks by Yura Popov, Masque, Cassino & Laben, Python, more)
“Winter Particles 2009″ is the first of four seasonal compilations this year from Proton Particles (a sublabel to Proton Music); to follow are the Spring, Summer, and Fall compilations. This trend is the foundation of the label, which started in the spring 2008, and this time it’s the largest compilation yet; it includes 14 tracks. Some of the artists featured on this release have had other releases on Proton, but there are also plenty of new faces. We’re talking about big progressive house artists that have had tracks released on Outside The Box, Panda, Silk Digital, Bellarine, and Toes In The Sand – just to name a few labels.
First up is Russian producer Yura Popov with the track Lime & Water. A very groovy and almost chill atmosphere is built up slowly, and all sounds are really comforting. The break is rather interesting as there are some floating percussion sounds that vary in both rhythm and structure – an exciting addition. The bassline and stab melodies in this track works well together, and I’m sure this would also work well as an intro track in a DJ set.
An incredibly deep bassline is one of the first things we hear in the track Azamra by Israeli artist Heatsteric. At around 2.5 minutes a subtle, but awesome melody is added on top of the other, and new melodies appear as the track progresses. An extremely cool pad is added before 4 minutes and really takes the atmosphere of this track to a higher level. Different layers continue to appear, and every time that happens I keep getting more and more excited about this track. All the melodies simply work amazingly well with each other, and the beat and the deep bassline just do the job!
Sandji from The Netherlands provides us with the third track of this release, called Metropoli. The start of the track is rather DJ friendly, around 2 minutes the first break appears, and there are some really good melodies and various instruments in there. The progressive beat continues with more melodies on top; one of these that really stands out is the soothing guitar melody before 6 minutes – great addition.
Jaksa Pavicevic & Tropical Highlight, from Croatia and Brazil respectively, give us the track Meantime that starts off rather chilling; some deep pads and sound effects definitely provide a good intro. Soon a strong beat enters and sets the pace of this track, and we also hear some vocal samples that have the typical sound of Tropical Highlight. Some really good layers are present in this track – for instance the pads – but one tends to experience that the most prominent element of this track is the beat. In this case it’s a good thing it’s really well built.
Some very obvious house grooves introduce us to the track Paraplanerist by Timo Camillo from the UK, and some rough pads dominate the first minute of the track. The housy beat and the various instruments here and there really create a very enjoyable and groovy soundscape, and it’s definitely the mark of this track. However, it could’ve been varied a bit more, for instance with more melodies, but it’s fine the way it is. Good track with great housy elements.
The track Feelin’ from Masque has a very deep touch to it, and it’s made clear from the very beginning. The pad stabs are great at creating a dark atmosphere that is maintained throughout this track. New melody layers make their entrance later on, helping to maintain an absorbing atmosphere that could very well be used in a warm-up DJ set.
Track 7 in this package is one of the highlights for me. It’s tONKPROJECT from Romania with a track called One Night Stand. An amazing deep atmosphere is built up around beautiful pad stabs with long reverb time, and bassline notes. The slow beat with tribal elements works fabulously well with the instruments, and it remains engaging when the small piano melody makes its entrance. It’s such a great addition to the already perfect atmosphere. tONKPROJECT has previously proved that he is a master of the deep tech-house genre, and this is no exception.
A group that is also capable of producing massive deep/prog house tunes is the duo Cassino & Labèn from Italy. Here they present the tune Dancing, and it’s filled with different sound effects and a lot of amazing various melody stabs that inevitably create an elegant atmosphere that you can only love. Some beautiful vocal samples spice this track up a bit, and they work really well with the other melodies in this track.
Next up is Pacco & Rudy B. from Croatia. Their track The Nucleus Of Sound begins with a deep, rolling bassline that sets the mood, and it can easily be placed as the characteristic of this track. The chord change at 3 minutes is actually unexpected, but it sounds really good and it’s a cool variation. All together I think it’s a good track with fine elements, perhaps a little more variation could have been added.
Freedom (Proton Edit) is a track from Russian producer Python. Interesting bell stabs are some of the first things we hear, to be accompanied by some great dominating pads later on. The break is placed before 5 minutes, and it contains a gorgeous, yet straightforward melody that plays extremely well with the other melody elements there. Most of the melodies continue for the rest of the track while the beat has changed to a break beat, a fine variation there, and a very solid track altogether.
The eleventh track is by UK producer Chris Gray, and a standard DJ friendly intro starts off his track Qubits. A bouncing bassline is introduced a minute after, and some good melodic stabs make their entrance also. Some strange sounds appear in the break, but it’s cool to hear something deviant. They continue with the beat on top, and the stabs from before appear again. Unfortunately, the rest of the track is a bit tedious; I think it could have been varied more.
Italian Claudio Supersonic delivers a track called Borgo Marinaro, which starts off with some rather progressive percussion elements. A pluck melody helps to establish the progressive sound of this track, and suddenly an unexpected trumpet makes its entrance with a rather melancholy melody. It’s a quite interesting addition to the track, but sadly it’s only playing one time in the track. It’s a fine progressive track and extremely DJ friendly.
We’re almost at the end, and Exoplanet gives us Floatopia with some cool stabs and vocal elements in the beginning. Before the 2-minute mark some awesome pads are playing along with a small pluck melody, and they work really well with the beat and bassline. New different melodies appear soon, and instantly, an amazing and enjoyable atmosphere is created. The theme is a tad trance-like, and it gives the track an extra amount of energy. Altogether a great track that has a cool, spacey feel to it.
Last but not least is the track Rising Circles by Polish producer Monojoke. The main melodies of this track are introduced early, and the strong break beat is really well structured. The listener’s attention to the track is maintained at all times as new melodies keep appearing, all working well with the beat. It’s the only breaks tune on the entire compilation, but it does the job well.
My general impression of this 14-track compilation is really good. It offers something for every taste, be it progressive, deep, housey or breaks. Proton Particles has yet again proved to be a label of immense quality – once you have heard this compilation, you’ll never stop looking out for new Proton Particles material!
Available from Beatport