[Groovement]

Genre hopping can be an off-putting career move, but for an artist just starting out it can display an adventurous spirit and perhaps a confidence in their musical abilities. For Infestus, aka Luís Pinto — a Portuguese artist with previous involvement in blues bands and production work with MCs — this would certainly seem true. Until now his recorded work has been limited to remixes and guest appearances (most notably for melodica and keyboards on two of Ka§par’s tracks, “Son Of Man” and “Watchadoo,” respectively) while some limited tracks online have played at dub-hop styles. They’ve demonstrated a deft hand at funk synth soloing on par with Kyle Hall, Space Dimension Controller, and the like. For his debut 12″, Pinto capably brings that musicality to a pair of refreshing house tracks.

The title track waits until its latter third portion to really flex that soloing aspect, allowing Pinto to jam on his synth and give the track that extra something. The preceding 2/3rds do a solid job of setting the stage as well; soaked in emotive chords, a whispered female vocal sample, mercurial bass, and a short burst of acid usher in the flow of Pinto’s synth lines. My only complaint is a flaring synth siren effect introduced during transitions, a sound that listeners will either love or hate. Starting off with reverbed percussion, metallic 909 snare, and a bass growl “Afterglow” takes on the appearance of a gloomy jackin’ techno track before dropping in organ stabs, specters of vocal chants, and twirling arpeggios to bring it closer to deep-house territory. Pinto again waits until close to the end to introduce his wailing synth melodies, adding a layer of funk. The Chicago Damn remix of “Afterglow” forgoes their typical deep-house/disco vein for trip to paranoia ridden minimal techno. A skittering hi-hat, pounding kick drum (occasionally pitched up) and tension filled synth drive the track until a filtered bass vamp comes in channeling early rave’s darker side. Touches of the original’s synth melody are cleaved and the vocal is transformed into a shrieking scream that never fails to frighten even when you know it’s coming. It’s a bold move for a remix, but then again it’s a fitting complement for an artist whose trajectory could take him anywhere.