The second release on Colour and Pitch comes courtesy of Finest Wear, the new alias of veteran London producer Mr Cenzo. Previously one half of MidiDropMusic alongside Matt Masters (Freerange), Cenzo has seen top ten chart positions on both Beatport and Juno Download for his previous releases on labels such as Guess, Dig Deeper, and Glideslope. The Finest Wear moniker marks a fresh chapter in Cenzo’s deep house story, while the title of the Distant Memories EP reflects his coming of age: “I see my Mididrop and Mr Cenzo productions as a learning curve, eventually arriving at a more mature, stylish, Finest Wear sound.”
The three tracks contained in this EP certainly back up Finest Wear’s statement of intent; warm, deep, classic house without sounding self-consciously throwback. First up, “The Storm” is a slow burning, atmospheric track with sublime spoken word poetry throughout, lending a distinctly spiritual vibe to proceedings. “For The Love” slides onto the dance floor with an infectious groove and an insistent vocal, summoning up memories of the good old days. Speaking of reminiscing, the third track, “The Tribute,” is actually the result of a conversation between Finest Wear and label boss Sumsuch regarding a certain Chez Damier and Stacy Pullen tune from the mid ’90s. It lovingly traces the imprint of classic house music and is a dedication to the spirit of those trailblazing producers. To complete the package, Sumsuch goes to work on “The Storm,” resulting in a typically cinematic and musical rework, brimming with dizzying key changes and off-kilter percussion.
Enough words from us, why not slip out of those boring old clothes and put on some Finest Wear?
Lars Behrenroth (Deeper Shades of House) - “‘The Storm’ is my pick.”
Leigh Morgan (Urban Torque) - “I love this release and have been hammering ‘The Storm’ on the radio show. I really dig the Sumsuch remix, also. Top work all round.”
Tom Lown (Savoir Faire / Lost My Dog) - “Quality deepness here. I’m liking ‘The Storm’ a lot. Sumsuch adds some nice jazzy flavours to it.”
Roope Karhunen (Mirage Men) - “Really original stuff. Mellow melodic content opposite to the sharp rolling beats make a great contrast.”
Sebastian Davidson - “Yes … a classic EP!”
Jevne (OneThirty Recordings) - “This is one hell of a deep release … thumbs up!”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Beautifully produced house music … ‘The Storm’ is exactly the kind of vibe I love playing when doing middle sets; just layering the groove, warming the dance floor, and setting down that perfect house vibe.”
Mr Mr (audio tonic / 360º) - “Brilliant stuff here. ‘The Storm’ and ‘For The Love’ are the bombs!”
Andres Aguirre (Urban Torque / Cromarti) - “‘The Storm’ and ‘For The Love’ are just classy gems … I love the vibe on both of these. The Sumsuch remix definitely takes it up a notch with the fatness … a really full sound. Excellent second release!”
The Zars (Till2012 Records / Smooth Agent) - “‘For The Love’ and ‘The Tribute’ both sound great, Chicago classics from the early ’90s but with fresh beats.”
Paul Cassidy (UM Records) - “Nice EP here. The female spoken word on ‘The Storm’ is a real grabber. ‘The Tribute’ has an excellent strong sound to it, also.”
CheckPoint Charlie (MyCuppaT) - “I haven’t heard deep house like this for some time. Four beautiful tracks.”
Michael Fossati (Spirit of House) - “Dreamy melodies combined with lascivious deep rhythms are guaranteed to set the floor on fire.”
Juno Download and Beatport.