'Perpetual Motion' is the product of Andy "Clockwork Orange" Manston and Julian Napolitano. Originally released in the summer of 2003, Mondo Records have decided to re-release this tune on their label, including a brand new remix by an up and coming producer.. Click in!
Previous singles by the Perpetual Motion guise include 'Keep On Dancin', 'Rompa Stompa' and 'Spinnin'. In the past few years, they have also done numerous remixes for artists like Taiko, Brainbug and Camisra. Armin van Buuren already spun the 'Andy Manston Dub' during his famous ASOT 100 show last year, because the Andy Dub and Andy Mix have been released last year on the WAX label already. The single that's being reviewed here will be the final release from the collaboration between Andy and Julian, so let's see what it's all about...
A-side: Original Mix
Starting off with some standard percussion, the track slowly builds to the one-minute mark where a cool, funky bassline drops in between the other elements. The bassline gets accompanied by a synthline which builds itself up more and more, inducing all the other elements to return and flow on together with the notes of the line. After a while, everything starts to disappear, making place for the main break part. A darkish, repeating synthline comes up, being driven onwards by some robotic vocals, which I can't really understand. A new, energetic synth comes in, which reminded me a bit of the one used in Jurgen Vries' 'The Theme' for some reason. The synth that we heard during the build-up returns as well, but this time with a lot more energy in it. Tension is being built using a lot of snarerolls and energetic sounds, just until the main climax kicks off fiercely with the main melody and the 'Vries synth'. It is instantly hearable that this track is just made to be partied on, mainly because of the agile b-line, fast synths with high chords and a bunch of rather catchy melodies. A decent feel-good track which will definitely work on the floors!
B-side: John O'Callaghan Mix
John O'Callaghan most be one of the busiest 'new' producers at the moment. Upcoming releases include Exertion - 'Partizan' (a collab. with Neal Scarborough) on Afterglow, his own 'Foreign Delusions' will soon be released on Expanse Recordings, and.. well read it yourself here, one of John's diary entries. The mix commences in a nice way by using alot of percs and cool SFX right at the start of the track. Subtle melodies, synths and more percussion get added along the way, creating a very cool vibe throughout the build-up. The bassline isn't something I would still be talking about next month, but it's OK. Something that caught my attention is the use of a snare at every second beat. This has been done by Speedy J, Marcel Woods and a bunch of other artists as well before, and I think this suits a more techy track more than this melodic trancer. The Jurgen Vries synth from the Original Mix has been included here as well, this time being used to kick us right into the break. A part of the melody builds itself up, creating an energetic atmosphere during the last part of the break. The climax itself is nice and sounds alot more 'full' than the other mix, but it kind of missed the mark concerning the overall 'party-feeling'. A worthy remix!
Conclusion:
If I had to choose between the two mixes, I'd go for the Original Mix. The JOC remix is definitely very well-produced, but doesn't offer much in comparison with the other mix. The original mix works so well because of the bassline: a funky, catchy line of rolling sounds, being pumped up even more by the cool, kind of happy melody. All in all another nice release on Mondo Records, which will surely do some damage!
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