Big tunes form the big hitters…
Hideo Kobayashi (APT International)
01. September Black (Original Mix) Daniele Papini
Love the synth stab and simple construction.
02. She (Patrick Siech Remix) Rex Hansson
The dark atmosphere and stab sounds very valanced.
03. So Sheik (Samuel L Session Remix) DJ 3000
The filtered brass hit and funky bass is the key.
04. Big Bang (Spiros Kaloumenos Remix) Mika
Like the sub bass and hook with FM synth.
05. Planet Green (Original Mix) Mark Reeve
Depth and darkness. Pretty simple but works on floors.
06. Was it a Dream?(Original Mix) Hideo Kobayashi
A track on my album. Gotta get this one!
07. My Pamphlet (Original Mix) Alex Dolby
Groovy one. The layers of loops are great.
08. ZX1200-A1 (Original Mix)
Also a track on my album. 200mph !
09. Remote Kontrol (Original Mix) Bodyscrub
Dark and hard. The attack of kick and reverb on hi hat is my fav.
10. Underground Revolution (Original Mix) MGMX
The title’s very important. Synth on this track is just dope.
Hideo Kobayashi
Was It A Dream? EP out now
(Apt. International)
Apt International regular Hideo Kobayashi returns to the Japanese imprint with ‘Was It A Dream?’, a two track EP of pulsating techno. As such an influential DJ and producer in Japan, Kobayashi’s output under his own name, Yellow Diamond and Nagano Kitchen with Jerome Sydenham have played a fundamental part in putting the Japanese electronic music scene on the map. While Hideo’s productions meander through vocal, deep house and techno his versatility and production know-how shines through on all accounts and have resulted in works for highly lauded labels such as Ibadan, Apotek and OM. Opener ‘Was It A Dream?’ pounds straight into action with a weighty kick drum, jangling percussion and several layers of rides and hi-hats. The composition is engulfed in intensity with slowly building synth pads that flutter away in the background adding further depth to the already powerful cut. Kobayashi then works in to the middle section a low-pitched vocal sample of the title uttering ‘Was It A Dream?’ during a brief interjecting break, before reverting back to the original groove with an additional gritty electronic bass to carry out the rest of the track. To close the release Hideo offers up, ‘ZX1200-A1’, the focal point this time being mechanical synthesizer elements, making it the perfect counterpart to the drum and percussion driven a-side. Utilising a tremolo to vacillate the pads, energy levels rise and tension builds for the duration in a forceful fashion, resulting in a fantastic in-between ardent workout to deeper tracks.
Also available – Hideo Kobayashi’s new album ‘Underground Business’.
