[Farside]

Being a part of Workshop 10 gave Ron Deacon’s career trajectory a big leg up, bringing him to the attention of everyone who follows the highly sought after low-key house label. So upon seeing his first solo EP on Farside Records it was almost a matter of buying the disc unheard, such is the esteem that Lowtec’s label carries with it. Although I did cast a rudimentary ear towards the record before purchase it proved unnecessary; the Secret Garden EP, Deacon’s debut solo outing, offers rich, atmospheric house music laced with a subtle, honeyed vocal that hits deep on first listening.

The title is alluded to in the opening bars of the original mix with a crop of nature sounds bubbling up over the tough, textured kick drums. Deacon references the San Francisco house sounds of the late 90’s with his jazzy guitar licks and silken Rhodesy keys; even the vocal by The Kat is reminiscent of some of the vital Naked Music tracks from that time. Though wearing his influences on his sleeve does Deacon no harm here; the vibe is genuine rather than a pastiche of weathered deep house standards and the vocal also proves to hit the mark. Perhaps in order to appeal to those more familiar with his “Untitled” cut on Workshop 10 or even in appreciation to Lowtec for putting him on, the A side is dedicated to Lowtec’s dub mix of “Secret Garden.” Taking only a syllable or two of the vocal, Lowtec builds up a beautifully minimal, deep house reconstruction that pushes the original into a more subliminal part of the night where words are ambiguous at best and classic song structures are easily replaced by throbbing, relentless vibes. Deacon revisits his original with his own “Refresh Mix,” which pares back the intensity of his compressed, forceful kicks and works on the more subtle elements of the track. Bringing the moodiness to the fore and unraveling the vocal to its full length allows The Kat’s smoky tones shine through, highlighting that her vocal in no small way contributes to the essence of this stunning EP.