&ME - In Your Eyes (2023 Repress) [Pampa]

Do you know what time it is? It's debut time. Emitting his first material for Pampa, it’s &ME, artisan of all things deep and solid, at the same time knowing of the emotional and virtuosic touch of safe instincts, one of the central characters of the scene for quite some time now and one of the main figures of the Berlin-based Keinemusik collective. The man has hit the nail of public perception multiple times in the past, gathering all the necessities to get the crowd going with an eye for detail when it comes to his arrangements and sound. These two fresh cuts seem to be nothing less than the essence of his skills.

There's “In Your Eyes,” the name-giving A-side of this EP, showing a rather pensive mood. It's just a few bars for the combination of kick drum, tuned hi-hat, tambourine and shiny background noise until the first chords of an improvisational piano piece are placed tenderly over the beat. Add a back-and-forth synth motive and you got the main ingredients of this track that moves the dance floor in every sense of the word. The arrangement will consequently not aim for too obvious sensationalism and will rather opt for a flowing and intertwined call and response of its elements, which ultimately results in a surprising impact anyway.

In comparison, “As Above So Below” on the flip side adds a good dose of emphasis. It unfolds on a dry and dense rhythm architecture that is chock-full with shaker sounds and subtextual field recordings. It’s definitely anti-slip ground for this tune’s centerpiece, a rising and falling synth bass, triggering an almost epic trigger for dance floor ecstasy. While details like subtle reverberant pattering and shiny ambient textures sound like recorded deep in a stalactite cave, the overall energetic disposition pushes relentlessly towards the heights of greatness in the moment's heat. There you have it: “As Above So Below” – this tune works on all levels.