Sometimes we feel compelled to comment on every track of an album. And this is the case. Choosing the best was not easy at all. But reworking something you consider high class quality was probably a much bigger challenge. Blue Hour by LSB & DRS has received the long-awaited release of Blue Hour Reworked. The album is done by the best names of the scene like Caliber, Workforce, Break or Technimatic.
The album has two tracks less than the previous version and that doesn’t matter at all. Every track was treated with utmost originality. And the first one fell on Calibre. Frozen is already a very successful thing in the original, and it had almost no space for adding anything extra. Calibre, however, managed the work very well and added an unprecedented atmosphere to the track. Just like he can.
The fact that Lenzman also has his piece here does not surprise us at all. His remix Stop The World was the first tasting that was offered of the whole project and to do that was just pure perfection. But what surprised us a lot was the involvement of Jack Stevens. We’ve said it here and we’re saying it again. We don’t have to regret the end of the duo Spectrasoul. Workforce dominated the dark waters of intelligent D&B and contributed to the album with a perfect remake of Faded.
How his concept differs from the one that Calibre brought (he contributed to this remix for the second time – and made Faded the only track of the album that is remixed twice), you have to judge for yourself. We are moving onto something else. We have to say that it was the very best choice, to get the Technimatic duo into the selection of those who participated in the reworked album. Their remix left in the Jazz Arps track all the great things that were already in it and spiced it up with what only guys from Technimatic Music can do. Namely the unforced courage, drive and slightly orchestral narrative. And as if that wasn’t good enough, they also tuned the track Scarred nicely. It would be foolish to compare them – the words better and worse in this case offer only an inappropriate description.
Sam Reed‘s presence on the team is cause for great joy. We have been enjoying his velvety soft music for many years and we are glad he is still around. Last year he released a great EP Gossamer on Footnotes. So LSB wasn´t meeting with any newcomers. The production of Tokyo Prose is one of the most glittering things to be found in the world of contemporary soulful D&B, and it is the most positive thing that it has long gone beyond the borders of its native New Zealand. He was in charge of the track Rise & Fall.
There are basically only two types of artists. Those who are excellent craftsmen, control the entrusted tools and their artifacts will never disappoint you (and they deserve admiration). However, a separate category consists of those who, through their work, cross the boundaries of the unusual. When you examine their works, you know very well that you are touching something that transcends them and you. Pathetic? Then you don’t know Anile. His remix Could Be is one of the tracks that you can boldly add to the playlist “Waves of Eternity”.
You won’t be bored with other tracks either. Whether you choose the reworked version of Letting Go from FD, Frozen from BCee or High As She, which was forged by Don Break, you will always find out the same. Where one master ends, the other one begins.
And finally GLXY! We don’t leave these two out of our sight. And so shouldn´t you. They have a phenomenal album in their pocket (we wrote about it here), they are spewing one successful single after another and they are constantly moving D&B onwards. We just enjoy this young blood.
What to say at the finish line and not be too long? Just play the thing. Listen to the album that will take you out of everyday worries. An album that will remind you that music is here to elevate the human spirit. How high will you let it carry you away is only up to you.
Listen & Download https://ftnts.com/album/the-blue-hour-reworked
