Dozens of producers have tried to pay a sensual homage to the Old School House sound from defining cities like Chicago or Detroit, many of them failed to impress. A Brit with almost ten years of productions under his belt, Royal-T seems to be an exception to the rule as he proves impressive versatility on his debut for leading House label Defected. ‘Clouds EP’ maintains influences of the garage and bassline sounds for which he’s best known, both as a solo artist and alongside DJ Q and Flava D as TQD. But this EP has house sensibilities; a direct 4/4 foundation, keyboard hooks and vocal loops that are well placed to represent Defected’s sound in 2018. ‘Feelings’ has a deconstructed garage vibe while as the name suggests, the title track is blissed out with a smart grooving kick drum and the kind of vocal sample that certifies Ibiza plays by all important jocks for sure. All in all this is the kind of Old School powered sound, that is ready to work the worldwide floors again. Nice!
4 out of 5
Reviewed by MANNIX
