Latin America’s musical heritage and electronic music’s universal appeal has seen Argentina possibly rise up onto the world stage as an ever-evolving hotbed of talent. Enter Juan Hansen. The past couple of years have seen this trained composer/musician/vocalist, develop his live sets where he mixes genres without prejudice. Now, Bedrock has just released Juan’s first ever EP in a collaborative meeting with Jimmy Van M.
‘Kobalt’ exhibits a futuristic feel, as its ever-mutating, hypnotic groove is overlaid with analog synth work, topped with Juan’s vocal contributions. Riding a breaking wave and diving deeper into electronic soundscape territory comes ‘Madin (Gala Dub)’ – a more experimental, linear audio excursion.
Meanwhile, the sparse, stripped-back, percussive ‘Kobalt (Anormal Rework)’ presents a juxtaposition to the original in terms of feel and vibe. Anormal is a highly creative Buenos Aires-based audio-visual designer and producer focused on the development of minimalist scenes, sharp forms, and unconventional textures, and thus his rework here is a reflection of his constant search of synthesis and bold concepts.
As a mark of this collaboration’s ideology, Jimmy & Juan also decamped to Ernesto Romeo’s studio in Argentina to completely re-record an alternative version of ‘Kobalt’. Ernesto is a modular synth master as a member of Klauss (since 1988); Carl Craig collaborator on Planet E; and an educator as a professor of synthesis.
For this project, the trio set about experimenting and recording layers of live synths to give ‘Kobalt’ a new vibe, taking out original parts, inserting new ideas, editing and tweaking, to end up with an entirely new ‘Kobalt (Synthwork)’ version.
Every collaborative project needs a guiding light, and from his first club experience at 14 years of age at The Bocaccio in Gent, Belgium to his first DJ residency in NYC at the legendary Twilo; through creating the Delta Heavy Tour 2002 with Sasha & John Digweed (31 cities, over 100.000 people, across 60 days), to releasing a multitude of singles, remixes, albums and compilations; Jimmy Van M has possibly remained at the vanguard of the underground dance industry for more than 20 years.
Currently residing in Buenos Aires, he is managing the new music generation through the recently launched Insound Academy, as a mentor.
It’s out now, check it out below.
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