Kosmas Epsilon "Titans"

The first release for the colossal progressive house star, Kosmas Epsilon, on his own label Epsilon Trax, brings in influences from across the spectrum of dance music for this debut. By combining current dance music production forces with Stel and himself with up and comers, Elias Tzikas and Distant Fragment, he creates a package that is sure to ignite a fire within anyone taking a listen to this release. “Titans” is as close to epic as progressive house can get without being labeled as epic, with Kosmas’ signature sound to tie it all together.

If you have heard anything from Kosmas before, expect a similar timbre of sound in his original of “Titans.” Beautiful watery atmospherics greet us with building percussive elements, showing that this is definitely a peak-time track to take your audience to the top. A rolling bassline, with sharp percussion will definitely keep the floor rocking. This reminds me of the music that Sasha would play back in 2002, ethereal and uplifting, yet the cheese is kept in the refrigerator. I almost love how the builds take you in familiar directions, but switch on you in the last moment, keeping the song fresh for the dance floor. New drops and percussive fills end anything that would approach monotony, and the break is fantastic. Never over the top, “Titans” showcases what progressive house used to be and where it needs to go. Forget hands in the air… you won’t have time to stop dancing to this one!

Elias Tzikas brings a deeper approach to the original, utilizing many of the percussive samples from the original. Chunky and bass-lead, this one will get the floors shaking in preparation for that head-lining DJ. Off beat bass stabs give the groove some momentum, yet still manages to stay floaty and unassuming. This is excellent early material, low-slung while still keeping your audience in some anticipation what is to come. The percussive work is interesting for the heads, and the bassline will keep the girls nodding and dancing to the beat.

Stel brings the gem of the bunch for the real underground dance music lovers. The quirky percussive samples will keep your audience on their toes, and the groove is so thick you could pour it over your mashed potatoes. The atmosphere is strange, yet takes notes from dub, almost like you are in a spaced out crazy cave. Although not all that dynamic, this is one for my crate, and timeless in the atmosphere it creates.

The final mix to make the cut for Kosmas’ first release comes to us from Distant Fragment, and what a pounding it is. From the moment you put this on, your fist makes this pumping motion, and you have no control over it. Within only a couple minutes however, arppegiated melodies take over the mix, turning this one into something well-suited for bringing the intensity down in your set. We float along with squirmy edits to a sub-melody that carries us on and on. The breakdown brings reversals galore, floppy on top with brutal bass from below. The completed arped melody greets us once more and slowly effects its way out to the finish. While this one started strong, I would have to say this is the weakest of the bunch.

All in all, looking at the feedback from big name DJs across the globe, Kosmas has accomplished bringing us a release in which every mix has excellent appeal to his listeners, and I expect for the label to continue to forge ahead, bringing something for everyone with each release. While not only being a great platform to showcase his own productions, he has shown that he is also capable of displaying the future of the sound with underground, upcoming artists of today.