This EP from uber-talent Crackazat features tracks taken from his forthcoming album on Freerange. “Evergreen” and “Beacon of Light” are both highly competent jazz-flavored house tracks, filled with quality playing and polished to perfection. “Evergreen,” with its jazzy swing, bouncy piano riff and rich instrumentation, is particularly strong. 

With their warm passing chords and smooth harmonies they’d work particularly well for the soulful house crowd, and are perhaps a little too saccharine-sweet and slick for the B2 crew who always head straight to the dub mixes. Luckily, Crackazat has also included a stripped back dub of “Beacon…” which works wonderfully, although ironically he’s such a talented player that his dub mix contains more musicality than many artists’ main mixes. 

So that’s that, a nice warm-up package for Crackazat’s forthcoming album. Oh wait, one other thing I almost forgot. The package also happens to include a 9+ minute epic Ron Trent deep house jazz remix of Crackazat’s “Simple Things” too and it’s a production that absolutely soars. Think Chicago tech-soul via West London broken beat with hints of Rotary Connection and just the right amount of orchestration and jazz noodling.

The originals are quality, sophisticated house jams while the Ron Trent re-rub is rich, involving, dance floor machine-jazz-soul. Looking forward to hearing the album.

Crackazat: Beacon of Light EP (Freerange / Digital / March 2022)
1. Crackazat: Beacon of Light (03:52)
2. Crackazat: Simple Things (Ron Trent Remix) (09:14)
3. Crackazat: Beacon of Light (Maritime Dub) (05:44)
4. Crackazat: Evergreen (05:25)

⚪️ Disclosure Statement: This record was submitted as a promo.

#ReDiscovery: This was originally published in 5 Mag Issue #197 featuring Billie Ray Martin, Eternal Student, Lady Blackbird and more. Support 5 Mag by becoming a member for as little as $1 per issue and get every issue in your inbox right away!