According to the press release for Brudis, Hotel Lauer is a collaboration between Phillip Lauer and his brother, Jacob. This is interesting because Jacob doesn’t seem to have any prior production credits. The press release also says the EP contains “home made dance music.” This may be true, but that term implies a certain level of intimacy, and all three of these tracks seem pristinely composed for specifically bigger dance floors. They are fairly rough and bumpy, though, which should endear them to a variety of listeners.
The energetic “QD” does a palatable sort of progressive, melodious, arpeggiated house, reminding of their sometime labelmate Roman Flügel (maybe as a member of Alter Ego) in these respects: clearly designed for exuberant, maybe mindless crowds, it’s also complex enough to keep the heads happy. “Calcit” also revolves around arpeggiated patterns, but they’re more playfully deployed, as the producers tweak and modulate them throughout while an ultra-low bass line lurches underneath. “Smend” finds the pair working in a kind of electro/freestyle mode, with spiky acid lines intertwining with Miami Vice synth brass as drums in the 808 genre step underneath. It’s as infectious as its counterparts. This all may read like a lukewarm description, and there really isn’t a ton of detail to describe. But for the same reason — big, fun hooks — Brudis has a lot of potential mass appeal.
