Tantsui is an electronically-inclined Russian band who make the sort of deep house that’s most definitely suited to the live domain. Their music is predominantly crafted on a deep house tip, and features a bevy of male vocals that grant the tracks more than a tinge of almost tangible human emotion. Versatile dancefloor weapons, they’re sure to do the proverbial damage when deployed in the right way. Easing us in the spirited yet gentle and languid sounds of ‘No Mercy’, the original. Really warm and subdued, it glides stridently, engulfing the listener in a warm and fuzzy haze in the process. It’s lovely stuff, and it’s compounded soon after by the similarly charming and ethereal strands of ‘Rainyman’. Nothing like as downtrodden as its name suggests, this is instead a multilayered and harmonious effort that’s full of glorious ambient overtones and a vibe that harks straight back to the old school. The final track on show is ‘Someone to Play’. Full of really neat cymbals that lurk underneath, it’s bolstered by a floating bassline that works as a perfect foil to the repetitive male vocals. Stunning stuff from a label, NOPASSPORT, that’s not typically associated with such pastures, this is nonetheless a quite exceptional outing from the Tantsui crew.
Reviewed by Ian Fleming
