[Boe Recordings]

It’s a testament to how quickly dance music tastes change that tracks dismissed as “too retro” only a few years ago are now highly sought after. Such has been the experience of Nigel Rogers, the UK-based producer who founded the label Future Flash after spending years having his tunes dismissed by shortsighted A&R departments. Now the cards are firmly in Rogers’ favor, as his heavily Chicago and Detroit influenced work as Perseus and Perseus Traxx have caught the ears of Dutch imprint Bunker Records and his compatriots at Boe Recordings. The latter have lovingly pressed Misspent Emotions, his latest release, to limited, hand-stamped 180 gram vinyl, giving fans of Chicago/Detroit revivalism a new collector’s item to sit alongside their wax-stamped Future Flash records.

While none of the EP’s five tracks venture far from the templates laid out by the architects of Midwestern dance music, the ways in which Rogers fills their frames are admirable and enjoyable. Most give off the perception of being thoroughly influenced by Virgo Four in particular, with inquisitive melodic arrangements that evolve continuously throughout the track. The title track captures in the interplay between its soothing pads and more restless, urgent synth leads, all held up by brittle drum machine patter which wells up and scrapes away at the upper registers. A similar strategy guides “Know Yourself,” although its reposed pace gives the tinny vamps and limpid pads more room to maneuver in the spacious low end. Traces of the Motor City creep into the gruff timbres of the more assertive “Nod Of Acknowledgement” and the introspective blend of melodies and of “2 B What U Want.” Only the closing track, “NR-707,” feels like a throwaway, although some DJs will find uses for the sound of the eponymous drum machine being put through its paces. The greatest strength of Misspent Emotions is that its contents feel of a piece, bound together by their general aesthetics but more importantly by melodic motifs. This continuity suggests the work of a producer whose talents go beyond the ability to recreate hallowed sounds.