Axel Boman - Holy Love [Pampa]

For the fourth release on DJ Koze & Marcus Fink's Pampa label, prolific and outstanding house producer Axel Boman steps up and delivers an amazing debut EP for the label. For many years, he has been a major force in the small but friendly Swedish club scene, and is one of the three thirds of the Studio Barnhus crew along with Kornél Kovács and Petter. Axel is a seasoned producer with fresh ideas. This tattooed Swede often talks about creating "worlds" rather than "songs", and on his "Holy Love" EP, he really takes us to three very different places.

The title track, a collaboration with vocalist J Jonason, invites you to join a cocktail party on a lazy afternoon aboard an old sailboat in the Gothenburg archipelago. Ten City are mixing White Russians and Giorgio Moroder's unknown Swedish grandson is peeling shrimp. You fall asleep on the foredeck and wake up in a sweaty basement later that night.

Through the worn-out speakers of one of those small but cozy Stockholm basement night clubs, you hear "Purple Drank," a sleazy and sexy number blending influences from Houston screw music, classic deep house, and hypnotic techno. The irresistible vocal hook, "I woke up with your name on my lips," has already resonated across dancefloors from Tokyo to Amsterdam. With an upbeat yet haunting groove, this track is probably the most obvious DJ favorite on the EP.

Morning comes again, and for the afterparty, we're off to Axel's private terrace in sunny Gröndal. Laptop speakers are looping the most lovesick piano loop you've ever heard. "Not So Much" is as simple and naïve as Axel Boman's haircut, a perfect ending to a perfect night and a perfect little record from this imperfect dance music genius.