[Freak n’ Chic]

As soon as minimal descended from opera to operetta, from the clinical distillation of techno’s essence to its buffoonish, showboating bastard-child, it was inevitable that producers would one day revisit it with a dewy-eyed nostalgia. LoSoul has always worn his influences on his sleeve, and as a producer working throughout the decade of minimal’s far-reaching reign, it seems both fair and correct he should have something to say about its demise. Leaving behind the cushy environs of Playhouse for an outing on Dan Ghenacia’s Freak n’ Chic, he gets his opportunity and delivers a fitting eulogy.

“Time Passes” borrows freely from the minimal palette — think rushing samples and distorted inhalations — but adds (how dare he!) a libidinous vocal courtesy of Fadila. Of course, minimal never held much truck with vocals unless you count taking a samurai sword to them, and in this instant Fadila’s drug-addled drone represents an update to the paradigm, maximising the track’s minimal bent. Nonetheless, the ping pong beat, an endless back and forth, soon begins to grow old. Luckily, Dyed Soundorom steps in and rejigs the beat for all the disco house heads out there, which, as far as Fadila’s now soulful-sounding vocals are concerned, makes for a far more interesting juxtaposition. Sultry chords add to the funkier outlook, especially when the siren from hell pitter-patters into the brew, joining the dots between Losoul’s disparate experimentation and the eternal needs of the dance floor. Time passes, sure, but some things never change.