Gvozdini returns to Stripped Digital after his recent remix of Ewan Rill, bring us a slice of melodic techno with ‘Symphony’. Ewan Rill repays the favour on remix duties, joined by Autim who makes his debut on the label here.
As the title promises, ‘Symphony’ is richly melodic from the very beginning, building with interlocking motifs before quickly dropping into the warm main theme. Just before the three minute mark a fantastic countermelody emerges, intensifying as it carries the track into the breakdown, where the melodies play off each other before building towards the drop. Intricate, melodic, trippy, and exciting, this is really terrific stuff from Gvozdini.
Stripped regular Ewan Rill is up first on remix duties, and it’s hard to see how anyone could have done a better job here. He adopts a subtler approach, scaling back Gvozdini’s melodies while keeping just enough to stay true to the original’s vision, and underpinning everything with a sparse, pulsing bassline. This is outstanding work from Ewan Rill.
Autim’s ‘Feeling Delicate’ interpretation of ‘Symphony’ lives up to its name, offering a gentler take on the track. Gentle chimes are soon joined by a buzzing bass and atmospheric sweeps, before a second, fatter bassline asserts itself. I didn’t dislike this, but it struck me as too low key for its own good, never really catching alight or grabbing the listener.
Gvozdini’s original is packed with great ideas, but it’s Ewan Rill’s excellent remix that really stands out on this great release from Stripped Digital. 8/10
