Artist: Agent 001
Title: Stinger / Faakson
Label: Opek Music
By: Chloe Harris | 21 February 2003
Tracklist:

• A: Stinger
• B: Faakson

Agent 001 "Stinger / Faakson"

Steve Porter and Eli Wilkie are Agent 001 and we can expect big things from this duo. Incorporating housier elements, along with great melodies, and groovy basslines, they drop their first 12” on Opek. An amazing set of music made for moving.

'Stinger' is a beautiful song, which has an uplifting feel, while still remaining deep and groovy. It starts out with a quick intro that sounds as if it’s about to wind down. We pop into the beats, a straight 4/4 with nice chunky claps, and some clean high hats. A deep stab comes in, as a light pad rushes over. As we stop up for a moment, we fall into lovely background strings, which move and take over the song. The strings are lush and pretty, and very floaty. We go back into the drums, and we fade off.

'Faakson' is a smoothed out funky flavored tune. Starting out with light drums, a big kick comes in, and an arpeggiated bit hides in the background. It’s very percussive, and changes often. Spaced out sounds fill up the foreground, as we fall into a crazy thick bassline. Being the focus of the tune, the bass is big, and bouncy, but so groovy. Small electro sounds flutter above and rotate and shift in a fun swirly motion. This tune is great. Lots of texture, and loads of quirky sounds, really make it stand out.

This is Opek’s second release, and a doozy if I have ever heard one. Quality sounds, nice basslines, and tons of melody really make this something to search out. Steve Porter has a lot of experience creating tunes, and teaming up with Eli was a great idea, allowing them to incorporate new sounds, and challenge both of their ears.