Phonique - Kissing Strangers

Written by Youri Jozee

Phonique has established himself as one of the leading names in contemporary deep house, as proven by his many quality releases on the quintessential label in the genre: Steve Bug’s Dessous Recordings. Monday June 7th sees the release of his third studio album Kissing Strangers. Now, is it worth your hard earned cash?

Honestly, our expectations for this album were quite high as we’ve been blown time after time by the amazing output the man has surprised us with over the past few years. But the thing with us music journalists is that we ALWAYS have to be objective. So that’s what we’re gonna be today as well. Luckily, both objectively as subjectively speaking, we are not disappointed.

The album has been produced by Phonique plus some of his best musical friends, including Gui Boratto, Tigerskin and H.O.S.H. Well, that makes it all the more exciting now doesn’t it? Kissing Strangers starts off with the oldschool, looped and slightly ‘acidized’ The Passion 2010, made in co-operation with Kiloo. And what a start it is. Although packed with acid stabs and electro bass, this tune is at the same time a very warm, very emotive and very well produced deep house tune that crawls right beneath the skin from the very first second. The same goes for the minimal-esque, semi-pop Our time Our Chance with some nice vox by vocals by Ian Whitelaw. Electronic music at the pinnacle of emotion. Thousand Finger Man sounds very much like Legowelt’s production, as it uses the same song structure (static bassline, punchy kicks, a bit vintage with playful melodies,… kinda abstract description but compare this to any of Legowelt’s tunes and you’ll get the picture). Great track, very very vivid and an absolute joy for the ears.  

The album as a whole is surrounded by warmth, put together using emotive structures, fuzzy synths, thumping kicks and thick layers of atmosphere. This is deep house as it should be. It’s hard to be objective when listening to an album that oozes craftsmanship, years and years of experience and love for the sound of deep house. Even the classic Feel What You Want tune by Kristine W (released sometime in the early nineties) has been redesigned using Rebecca’s vocals. Although such classics are usually better left untouched, Phonique has managed to create a next level-version in which the subtle synths stand out above anything else in this track. One of the hottest tunes on this album is Perfect Stranger, a freaked out tune full with bleeped synths, sampled vocals and mean rocking bass put over a chunky rhythm. I think I’ve been pretty clear so far, so let’s get to the final conclusion.

We didn’t expect to get disappointed, but what Phonique presents on Kissing strangers even exceeds our wildest dreams. Kissing Strangers has become a spectacular tour de force, one of the hottest deep house albums available at this moment, and a must-have if you’re into the sound of Phonique, Dessous or just deep grooves in general. Get it, steal it if you must.

Rating: 8.0/10
Label: Dessous Recordings
Release date: June 7th, 2010

Tracklist

1. The Passion 2010
2. Our Time Our Chance feat. Ian Whitelaw (Album Version)
3. Amy's Heart feat. Ruben
4. Endless Love feat. Louie Austen
5. Thousand Finger Man
6. One Step 2010
7. Plastic Lighthouse feat. Georg Levin & Kikiorix
8. A Change Receives The Blessing feat. Nadeshda
9. Feel What You Want feat. Rebecca
10. Summer
11. Amy House Reprise
12. Perfect Stranger
13. Afrique feat. H.O.S.H.
14. Blindfolded feat. Gui Boratto
15. Ofrin - How Come (Phonique & Tigerskin Remix - Radio Edit) [Bonus Track]


 

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