Gem Records Summer Sampler 1.0

Written by Youri Jozee

EP Review -

Tunes that seem to be tailored for these summer months are being released by the dozen, so that means we have to be very picky in order to see our money well spent. One thing’s for sure though: this Gem summer sampler is a must-have.

 

Gem is seasoned Dutch techno totem Secret Cinema’s recently established label and has been releasing a handful of cracking techno tunes over the past few months. This sampler presents material by, hold on tight, Secret Cinema himself, Egbert, Peter Horrevoets, Dosem, Roger Martinez and Arjuna Schiks, plus two extra tunes included in the digital package. The proverbial heavy artillery, indeed.

First up is Secret Cinema & Egbert’s Bier, a fierce and dirty techno banger that opens rather minimal and then turns into a rocking synth-blaster. Great bass work in this one. Peter Horrevoets and Dosem have teamed up to present Truetone, a powerful, stripped down house tune with great vocal snippets and several layers of catchy melodies and chopped-up fx. The biggest strengths comes near the end, in the form of a very effective and highly melodic climax. Roger Martinez’ Jack This merges stomping German-ish house vibe to rhythmic, tribal percussion work and warm baselines, generating an incredibly tasty floorfiller, while Arjuna Schiks aims for the heart with a truly beautiful house gem filled with balanced melodies and magnificent, emotive rhythm structures.

The digital version includes a few more slammer.s First up is the vocal acapella of Kaap De Goede Hoop’s All Night Long, which makes a great tool in the hands of creative DJs. The original version is a minimal, somewhat monotone jacker with nice bass injections here and there. Lemontrip’s Lazy Tree closes the EP with another minimalish tune decorated with warm keys, perc rattles and a handful of very chunky melodies in the second hald.

This Gem sampler is an impressive collection of tunes by some of today’s finest acts in the international melodic techno scene. A genuine all killer no filler slice of vinyl for proper wallshakin’.

Tracklist

1. Secret Cinema & Egbert – Bier
2. Peter Horrevoets & Dosem – Truetone
3. Roger Martinez – Jack This
4. Arjuna Schiks – Mahesvari
5. Digital Only: Kaap De Goede Hoop – All Night Long (Acapella – DJ Tool)
6. Digital Only: Kaap De Goede Hoop – All Night Long
7. Lemontrip – Lazy Tree

Rating: 7.5/10
Artist: Various
Title: Gem Records Summer Sampler 1.0
Label: Gem Records
Release date: July 12th, 2010