Ben Hoo

Marea

Kindisch

Download: Juno

Remixes can be a dime a dozen these days, so it takes true creative talent to be able carve out a new career solely through reinterpreting the work of others. London’s Ben Hoo has done just that, being commissioned to rework some of electronic music’s leading lights like Fever Ray, Moby, and Tiga, plus the M.A.N.D.Y vs Booka Shade anthem “Donut”. Ben’s raw talent broke though of its own accord, and marked him out as new remix talent to be reckoned with; now Kindisch are proud to present the next development in Ben Hoo’s career, with his first solo release in four years, Marea.

For the title track “Marea” a low end bass kick pummels as hovering, tremulous synth chords provide dubby textures. Multilayered pads are interwoven with icy cold tones, creating a coolly appealing patchwork melody of melancholic tech house.

Bass, or at least an obscured version of it, is at the centre of “Night Light”, and it holds the key to the track’s heavy and swollen swing. Rather than ward off the dark, this “Night Light” willingly welcomes it in, with a spacious midnight funk that envelops that distinctive bass line, fills the pockets of air around it, and thrusts its minimalistic percussion to the fore.

“Right Kind Of Rain” delves further into deepness, with thrumming electronic pulses preceding its bittersweet minor-key melodies, heady sound design and a slow, half-stepped electronica groove. An Osker Offerman remix of the same underpins the original with a jangling deep house beat that swells to fullness with lush, emotive strings.