Renaissance Presents The Masters Series Part 9 – Mixed by Satoshi Tomiie, enjoy!

The last several installments of Renaissance’s “Master’s Series” have shown a remarkable trend in “progressive” styles; Dave Seaman’s electro-house production took long-time fans by surprise, and Sandy Rivera’s Renaissance debut resembled Sharam’s vocal-house that, when released by Renaissance, seems to come out of left field. Satoshi Tomiie continues forging the treacherous path towards dance music of the future with what is perhaps the most complex and engaging “Masters” release since Hernan Cattaneo’s Volume 2; from the very beginning, Satoshi is dropping hints that this is no ordinary progressive mix and is a far cry from a return to the darker tribal trance that made NuBreed 006 the biggest success of his recent career. Satoshi utilizes instead a smooth, sensual and cerebral progression of excellent tracks that is quite unlike anything I have heard before – both from Satoshi himself and the EDM community as an entity.

On the first disc, Satoshi displays the type of mechanical precision found in car assembly lines; the product, however, is far less stable; what this really means is that the style is less predictable and therefore more exciting. “Farra” begins very slowly with xylophonic chords – giving the introduction to this “Masters” installment an airy and spacious atmosphere. As a result I always find myself in a complacent headspace that is soon shattered as the music takes shape. The feather-light sounds which weave over and under the melody effortlessly capture and calm the ear – until, that is, a wickedly cool and funky bass-driven groove gives “Air Moves” and “Don’t Push It” the collective momentum needed to propel the first mix closer to its peak. The cool and delicate atmospheric consistency never gives way to anything too overpowering. The ambience is accompanied by a touch of down-tempo (reminiscent of Nick Warren) and maintains itself for the next several tracks; this preserves the smooth synth-inspired melody without interruption. The interruption (and it is hardly a rude one!) comes with “Darkroomboot” by Opus Ink, an alias representing the collaborative efforts of Satoshi himself with the rapidly-rising European duo Audiofly. Here, Satoshi gets the opportunity to make his aural statement clear; the tempo quickens, the melody gains definition, and the rest of the album explodes with a restrained energy that I found to be decadently suitable for cocktails and good conversation prior to entering thunderous dance floors. Arguably the sickest beat on the first mix appears in “So That’s What Happens”, which is surrounded by electro-robotic harmony. The beat is momentarily interrupted by silence, save the churning of electric turbines; it returns, seconds later, with the same latent ferocity as before. Then the ferocity simply stops; what follows is my favorite two-track pairing on perhaps the entire release – but let us stick with disc one for now. The timbre of DJ Yellow & King Britt’s “Alienation 3/Beyond the Forest” reflects the track title so well. Haunting synths cascade over a cooler and slower foundation and remind me of the feeling one would experience if one were to gaze upwards in the center of an unknown forest, touched simultaneously by fear and spiritual awe. And how fitting it is that Jim Rivers’ “I Go Deep” follows! Its deep and eclectic rhythm flows like water in a brook, slowly removing one’s head from the forest and places it, gently, back into the pre-club environment. “Praise” and “Aura” end the first disc with an upbeat, mid-tempo jazziness that is quite enjoyable; I would make the case that this discrete change of pace is required to move safely into the second disc.

Satoshi breaks disc two down immediately, hinting at the raw energy-to-come with the uniquely staccato “chopstick” percussion of Thugfucker’s “Ahh”, later dropping into a hard 4/4 bass drum. I should note that this track is remixed by D’Julz, and is one of two outstanding contributions he makes to the second disc (the second contribution being his own track, “Flick It”, later in the mix). I will admit that I’m not crazy about the admittedly creepy male spoken-word vocals in “I Need”, but they are quickly and quietly overlooked as the cowbell-driven pace of Matt O’Brien’s increasingly popular “Serotone” kick in neatly alongside the first identifiably “dark” grooves of any track mixed on either disc. It would be wise to heed the title “Lose Control”, because from that point onwards the aural journey becomes bumpier, wilder and more “Satoshi” than has been shown on the album thus far. I felt that the upbeat and bouncy atmosphere shoots like an arrow straight through the heart the second disc. For the sake of consistency, it is fortunate that only sparse and cheese-less vocals lace some of the next several tracks. Their function is not foreground. The next several tracks continue the cerebral-dance theme, and “Moods” drops a particularly body-moving rhythm that warrants mention. The peak of disc two is reached with another great pairing of tracks by Satoshi; in this case, D’Julz’s “Flick It” (Original Mix) and Guy Gerber & Patrik K’s “Sleeping in the Bass Box”. I think the combination works perfectly; the smooth and respectable build up of “Flick It”s electro-energy erupts with a mean bass line that drives the melody as much as acting as a segue between “Flick It” and “Sleeping in the Bass Box”. Take note of the latter title, because that’s precisely the impression this track left me feeling I’d experienced, and I’ve found that this section of the album with a nice pair of headphones mix naturally. “Cropduster” and “Driven” polish off this fine piece of work, and end disc two with a far better fade-out than was given on disc one, where “Aura” seems to arbitrarily disappear.

The complexity of Satoshi Tomiie’s latest (and, dare I say, greatest?) achievement is hard to swallow at first. Only after four sessions of listening to both discs straight through was I able to realize the insight Satoshi projects. I would have to say that this album is tied for my favorite amongst the “Masters” series with Cattaneo’s Part 5. Satoshi Tomiie manages to create the most outstanding aural chess match I have ever heard – and although it is Satoshi who moves the pieces, it is the listener who ultimately wins the match.

Words: LexA