Artist: Shlomi Aber
Title: Walking In My Sleep / Portico
Label: Be As One Recordings
By: Andrew Bilen | 5 March 2007
Tracklist:

• A: Walking In My Sleep
• B: Portico

Shlomi Aber "Walking In My Sleep / Portico"

Shlomi Aber is one of the biggest producers to come out of Israel, and has quickly made a name for himself with releases on respected labels Audiotherapy and Alternative Route. Shlomi has recently had a huge success with his track 'Crop Duster' being released by Renaissance, and here we see him taking another big step by launching his own label Be As One Recordings with this great release.

The first track on this release is 'Walking In My Sleep', which is a bouncy tech house track with a dark feel. Things get rolling with a bouncy kick drum pattern accented by a few synth stabs, but the track really gets moving as the bass line comes in, which has a very manipulated feel to it that’s very groovy. Next we are introduced to the central synth line that seems to float along on the high-end providing a fantastic melody on the high-end of things. The track also incorporates quite a bit of percussion, most noticeable of which is metallic sounding clash that is present at the end of every 8 measures. The breakdown here is very subtle, as the bass drops out to focus on some of the atmospherics before coming back in to finish things off. Overall the track is pretty minimal with very few changes throughout. The strength of this track is in the bass and synth lines that carry the very catchy melodies, and the great interplay between the two. It has a really great groove to it accompanied by it’s dark atmosphere.

Second up is 'Portico', which when compared with the relatively lighthearted Walking In My Sleep, is a monstrously dark and far techier track. Every aspect of this track has a very crunchy sound to it that gives it a very dark, creeping feel. There is also a lot of echoing and reverb going on all over the track, which makes it sound like each note is bouncing off walls; I would imagine it to be an interesting sound in a club environment. The synth line that carries the melody is equally dark and is the central element creating the groove. The breakdown is very well constructed, as synths begin to swirl into motion before the crunch of the drums re-enters to take things away. There is a lot more movement in this track than in Walking In My Sleep, as the track slowly evolves throughout. Portico is an incredibly textured track that creates the dancefloor equivalent of a horror film.

This is a great release for Shlomi Aber to kick off his new label. Those that really enjoy dark tech house will eat this one right up, and I also recommend it to those such as myself who are not normally inclined towards the techier side of things. These tracks are a perfect pairing, as they are both dark, groovy tracks that are certainly different enough to be released together.