This came as a pleasant surprise to me today when I was cruising Beatport and saw a brand new EP release by one of my favorite producers and DJs in Wolfgang Gartner. In my opinion, his set stole the day at Identity Festival in Mansfield, MA (write-up coming soon) and of the handful of times I’ve seen him live it may have been the best set I’ve ever seen him put together. With his monster track “Flexx” getting a ton of play all around the world (myself included), this latest release came relatively quietly. But maybe it was my subconscious self letting me know something was coming when I put on Wolfgang’s BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix (download it from Chemical Jump here if you haven’t heard it. It’s pretty unreal and you get 62 tracks in two hours of music) yesterday on my long drive home from Maine.
Casual Encounters, as an EP, reminds me of the Wolfgang of older days when he released two-song EP after two-song EP: Bounce/Get It, Candy EP, Killer/Flam Mode, Hook Shot, etc. The song titles from this EP, “Girl on Boy” and “Girl on Girl” are also reminiscent of older Gartner in “Latin Fever” and “For the Love of Girls”. While these two tracks don’t quite go as hard as tracks like “Flexx” or “Space Junk”, they’re certainly up to Wolfgang standards from both a production value standpoint and also from a songs-that-make-you-dance stand point (complete with typical Wolfgang sounds that no one else seems to be able to create). Neither track has a crazy Electro-House drop, but they are certainly smooth like butter and almost give me a Disco House feel…as close to Disco House as Wolfgang Gartner can get, with some funky bass lines and fun synths. The tracks are pretty similar if you only listen to each once, but after a few listens “Girl on Girl” stands out as my favorite of the two – both in the sound and in the name.
*Editor’s Update*: after further review, “Girl on Boy” is much closer to Electro-House than “Girl on Girl”, which still has a Disco feel to it in my opinion. They have a similar overall feel, but they incorporate different sounds to achieve that feel. And what’s even cooler, “Girl on Girl” has some drum fills that remind me of a certain 90s hip hop song that I can’t think of (listen just before the 1:00 mark).
Right-click to download (click “Save As”) and remember, if you like what you hear please support one of my favorite producers and purchase at Beatport (link is above).
Wolfgang Gartner – Girl On Boy (Original Mix)
Wolfgang Gartner – Girl On Girl (Original Mix)