Artist: Mike Miller
Title: What You Feel
Label: Nascent Recordings
By: Darren Rhys | 11 July 2006
Tracklist:

• A: Jim Rivers Mix
• B: Original Mix

Mike Miller "What You Feel"

Mike Miller is best known for being 'the man with the records', spending four years as label manager for 3Beat Label Management in Liverpool. Out of his involvement with the company came his personal venture 3Beat Breaks, resulting in the cutting of Mike's teeth as a production artist under the guise 'Dislodged' with Adam Helliwell. Since then, Mike has impressed and established his name at some of the finer underground parties in a DJing capacity, and returns to Nascent Recordings with his first solo production effort.

'What You Feel' doesn't hang around in signalling it's intentions, with a low-slung dirty electro synth kicking off proceedings before being complimented perfectly with some chunky beats and fantastic vocal samples of the track's title. Some simple yet effective double kick taps keeps things grooving along nicely before the introduction of a floating synth which filters and rises above the established elements before crashing down and bearing emphasis again on the ultra-groovy distorting bass-synth from before. Subtle key variations in the bass add musicality to the piece when coupled with the vocal, which in themselves are nothing short of infectious. The main break collapses these established foundations, before cleverly piecing the track together again with heavily delayed vocal stabs, before a desperately climatic build up finally let's rip for the final stages of the track. Backgrounded synth lines add an almost epic finale to what is an impressive dancefloor track. What is also commendable here is that Mike has refused to get caught up in being over-clever with the finer details of the production, and has let what is essentially a very strong house record speak for itself.

The remix comes courtesy of Bristol-based DJ/producer Jim Rivers. Having received many a mix CD for broadcast on my local radio show from Jim in the early stages of his DJ career, he's gone on to establish himself as one of the brightest young talents in the industry today. Releases on SAW have seen his work thrust into the spotlight, and inevitably gain support from the likes of Satoshi Tomie and Osamu M. Upon hearing the Mike Miller original and a vast majority of Jim's previous productions, I felt a cocktail of the two was potentially jaw-dropping. From the outset, the remix sustains Jim's usual stamp of production quality, with a clean, tight and punchy kick drum carrying things along, before introducing the striking 'What You Feel' vocal parts of the original, and a sleezy arpeggiated synth line. The track is relentless in its approach before a mid-track crescendo strips things down, isolating a distinctive analog synth which will drive even the most difficult dancefloor into spasms when the track finally springs back to life. Some of the stronger elements of Mike's excellent original have been brought to the fore to create a piece of music which only strengthens Jim River's growing reputation further still.

Overall, this is an excellent release, with the Jim River's mix edging it for me slightly. Fans of his work will not be disappointed with this, and the package also serves to suggest that Mike Miller's long-term involvement with the dance music industry looks set to prosper further.