Good God is it a grim date in the halls of hell sifting through the thousands of faceless, tuneless tracks that do such damage to the Tech House genre that few self-respecting producers really want the association anymore.
James Johnston’s Consumer EP is filed under Deep House, and that’s the first clue at what separates it: these are songs, albeit without lyrics, vocalists or even a human voice. Compare/contrast this with the vapid loops flattened over sample-pack beats and pushed through the Beatport Fuck Machine.
“Give Him The Prozac” has an electronic whine that brought to mind something like Speedy J’s “De-Orbit”. “Columbo Likes The Nightlife” and “And They Had Cocktails” are split across two sides of the vinyl release, but sound like cousins and companion pieces. There’s a dreamy tone throughout the four tracks – these are expressive pieces that happen to work for the dancefloor rather than being manufactured for them.
