This label, and these producers, are beyond the point where they need anyone hyping them up. There’s not or shouldn’t be a respectable soul in dance music or a DJ worth your time that doesn’t have Anaxander & Finale Sessions bookmarked with a flurry of alerts. I do, and every single one was tripped off with Rise Up, a split EP between Anaxander and Zucker released on the latter’s Finale Sessions. Each get one track on each side, with the effect of presenting a dynamic showcase for two of the best producers making Deep House tracks rooted in what’s worthwhile from history and primed for the modern dancefloor.
Anaxander’s “Stabs of Love” leads. It is what it says it is: stabs blaze like jewels augmenting percussion as brilliant as the sun. “Greater Is He” by Michael Zucker is a righteously sophisticated jazz jam, dense beats passing through a hazy ring of moody chords. “Lost Without You” is a high energy blaze through Ron Hardy to Lil Louis – it has that pitched gallop that builds so, so nicely. Anaxander’s “Heart 2 Heart” sounds like classic Stacey Pullen with its hair on fire – a righteously defiant stomp.
Anaxander/Michael Zucker: Rise Up (Finale Sessions)
A1. Anaxander: “Stabs Of Love”
A2. Michael Zucker: “Greater Is He”
B1. Michael Zucker: “Lost Without You”
B2. Anaxander: “Heart 2 Heart”
First published in 5 Magazine #151 featuring Karizma, Noncompliant, Quentin Harris & Ultra Nate & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $2 per month!
