Guy Mantzur’s label Plattenbank is back with a serious bang.
You ever heard a progressive song where it just felt like everything got it right? I’m talking about all the elements? All the sonic goodness that rings through your eardrums! All just kind of synchronizing to form a brilliant combination of auditory pleasure? Highway of Regrets by Guy Mantzur and Khen is one of those songs!
Progressive house has always been about getting it right with everything working together, but it’s not often that you find a track where the subtlety of all the elements combined achieves true power and emotion. Think of some of the modern hallmark tracks of the genre, like Gridlock from John Digweed, Guy J’s Easy As Can Be, or Jamie Steven’s The Wonder of You. Then add this to the list.
The bass flows through the track like melted butter and carries you along through a stereo journey of gentle percussive riffs, psychedelic effects, and a rich ambience that, like a team of athletes who each know the roles they need to play to win the game, combining to create an unstoppable force (yes, I’m comparing the German football team to progressive house). Beautiful work from Guy Mantzur and Khen.
Stelios Vassiloudis takes his remix in a much different direction, stripping things down to a minimal beat and throws in some of the foundational elements from the original. It’s nothing like what you’d expect but it sounds huge! The groove is addictive, and I can see this making a big impact in a club. Show no fear, and ye shall reap the rewards! Well done to Stelios for this perfectly crafted piece of work!
I loved this EP. Let’s hope we can continue to see more collaborations like this from Guy Mantzur and Khen, plus more outstanding releases like this on Plattenbank. 9/10
