UK jazz pianist and composer Greg Foat’s Psychosynthesis Part 1 & 2 dropped at the start of August and managed to wring high levels of emotion out of little more than three repeating synth chords and lots of low frequency oscillation, recalling Detroit techno’s more wistful moments. Both tracks perform the same trick, with Part 2 eschewing beats entirely and the drums of Part 1 consisting of a single kick drum. Ross Allen duly enlisted Foremost Poets and Crooked Man to take the layers of swirling synths and cook them up for the dance floor and both do a sterling job.
The Foremost Poets mix (there are two but they sound very similar to my ears) is cool; it establishes a murky, chunky groove, adds a female vocal sample, some crispy-fresh techno percussion and some extra heft to the low end before slowly unleashing the chords over eight and a half minutes. The inclusion of a pair of breakdowns completes the arrangement, but they’re not festival-tech, epic week-long, end-of-the-world breakdowns, they’re neat and tidy, functional rather than indulgent, giving your dance floor a quick break rather than a spare ten minutes to film for Instagram.
Crooked Man delivers a pair of lengthy dubbed out versions. In Part 2 he’s not quite committed to turning it into the pounding anthem it’s crying out to be and instead keeps the percussion restrained, choosing a light, ticking, clinical break beat to hold the rhythm. If you’re a bold DJ and want to hold your dance floor right on the precipice for a few minutes, then you start with this mix. Head over to Part 1 however and he delivers the banger you wanted all along. He doesn’t often do intros, so Part 1 drops straight into a window-rattling, almost dubstep-esque b-line, the kind that at high volume is completely overwhelming, that you just can’t avoid and have to give into. He then runs Foat’s chords over the top, the warm, creamy, bubbling synth layers contrasting with the stank-face low end. If you’re lucky enough to be playing this to a crowd who are locked into it, you’re all going to get a pretty big dose of euphoria as the synths open up in the second half. Big.
Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis Part 1 & 2 (Foundation Music / Digital)
1. Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis Part 1 (05:13)
2. Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis Part 2 (05:38)
Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis (Foremost Poets Remix) (Foundation Music / Digital)
1. Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis (Foremost Poets Adventure Remix) (08:25)
Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis (Crooked Man Remix) (Foundation Music / Digital)
1. Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis (Crooked Man’s Psycrooked Part 1 Extended Mix) (07:21)
2. Greg Foat: Psychosynthesis (Crooked Man’s Psycrooked Part 2 Extended Mix) (06:49)
⚪️ Disclosure Statement: This record was submitted as a promo.
