MUUI’s ‘Back to Yours’ EP on Crossfrontier Audio was one of my personal favourites of 2013, with Oniris’s remix of the title track being the tune of the year for me, and so it’s very exciting to see MUUI back on the label with a new EP. ‘Another Day’ EP boasts two new originals plus remixes from MUUI himself, label-boss Marc Poppcke, and likeably-named rising star Aidan Lavelle, who makes his debut on Crossfrontier Audio here.
‘Past is Practice’ pitches urgent blips and stabs over funky percussion, building gradually before unleashing a nasty rolling bassline that propels the track forwards. A busy, buzzing synth motif pulls the track into the breakdown, where MUUI’s fantastic bass-work sets up one of the coolest drops I’ve heard in a while. Unique and awesome, this has MUUI written all over it.
Aidan Lavelle pursues a different line on the track, with a groovy, burbling acid bassline and snappy percussion forming the core. The builds into and out of the breakdown are immense, with waves of sound intensifying, before the track produces a sleek melody that drops back into the background as the bassline re-establishes itself.
MUUI’s ‘Paranoid’ remix of ‘Past is Practise’ lives up to its name, running the original’s central hook over a pulsing, utterly menacing techno workout. This is an uncompromising, electrifying stomper, packed full of growls, bleeps, and half-heard chants, and it complements the other two versions of the track really well.
The title track drops rhythmic bass pulses and subtle, twangy melodies over a low-slung bassline and rising pads. It didn’t grab me as much as ‘Past is Practice’, but it’s still a quality piece of work, displaying MUUI’s usual attention to detail, impeccable production values, and dancefloor-oriented dynamics.
Marc Poppcke steps up on remix duties for ‘Another Day’ with crisp percussion, a hypnotic bassline, sparkling flourishes, and shuffling snares. The breakdown introduces the main theme from the original, letting it play out over a cool electro bass part, before the track kicks back in with a twisted flourish. This is wicked stuff from Marc Poppcke.
MUUI’s original of ‘Past is Practice’ and Marc Poppcke’s remix of ‘Another Day’ are the standouts here for me, but the quality levels here are sky-high throughout – this is another really excellent release from MUUI and Crossfrontier Audio. 8.5/10
