London label and club night Tessellate return with their fifth issue, offering two original cuts from T. Jacques, as well as three remixes from Samo, Tape Fear, and Ed Herbst. 

Up first on the EP is Jacques’ ‘Les Bois’, a playful club based number drawing from classic house and techno. ‘Les Bois’ occupies reassuringly familiar sonic territory, with cracking 808 snares, solid Chicago bass, and scattered acid licks. There’s been a great wash of electro inspired music put out over the last few years, but ‘Les Bois’ manages to stand up in the midst of an oversaturated market. 

Jacques’ keeps the arrangement fresh with various rhythmic change-ups, progressing the song nicely over its run time. The track is built with the dance floor in mind, and given the deftness with which this intention is executed, its success there can hardly be doubted. 

Track number two, ’Katsu’, is influenced by classic house sounds but with added flourishes of breakbeats. A more relaxed offering than ‘Les Bois’, Katsu’s low-end thump is sure to prove equally popular with dancers. You’re more likely to hear this tune in a warm-up set than its predecessor. But with its neat drum edits, pleasantly squelchy bass and well-placed samples there’s a lot in the track for DJs of all stripes to love. 

On both songs Jacques’ squeezes a lot out of a few elements, keeping the mixes focused, clean and direct. 

The first of the remixes of ‘Les Bois’ comes from Samo. As with the original, the sounds are bright, punchy, and to the point. The atmospheric synth work dancing around in the background of the tune is excellent, and left me wanting more. 

Overall, Samo keeps things close to the original. It would have been nice to see a little more divergence in the arrangement and style than is offered here. But overall he offers a solidly remixed track. 

Having previously impressed with a release on the respected Holding Hands label, Tape Fear takes a similarly bass focused approach to their remix of ‘Les Bois’. 

The duo warps and bends the original into a track that’s unrecognisable. It has a much darker tone but that’s a credit to the remix. This change in tone is a welcome gear shift from the original. Tape Fear gets the balance right between something that feels new and creating a track that sits well in the EP as a whole.   

Purchasers of a vinyl copy of this release might be disappointed to find the Ed Herbst remix of ‘Les Bois’ absent from their record.  It offers a refreshing variation on Jacques’ original. Retaining a powerful and satisfying low-end thump, Herbst pushes the overall sonic palette towards a New York house sound with some snappy garage-esque snares and rhythmic shuffle. 

Some tasteful synth lines and atmospheric sounds complete the picture. The track would sit comfortably in a set alongside any number of house classics from the golden age which the remix draws heavily on.

You can purchase the release now over on Juno Records.