[Green]

Being an artist who is an early adopter, whether of technology or techniques, has its advantages: It’s easier to get noticed in an uncrowded field and harder to explain something that’s still so new. But what happens when the rest of the pack catches up and makes that once special trait seem commonplace? That seems to be the dilemma faced by Geurt Kersjes, the Dutch producer known in dance circles as Pitto. In 2008 his breakout track, “Sexvibe,” whirled across dance floors like an erotic tornado choked with endlessly looped vocals and menacing funk samples. Reminiscent of early house arrangements, it wasn’t groundbreaking so much as novel for its time. He repeated the tactic, albeit less successfully, on 2009’s “Feelin’.” 12 months later his signature method seemed to be everywhere, and even the sample source for “Feelin’,” Phil Collins’ “I’m Not Moving,” was recycled in a similar if slower fashion by Trickski for “Pill Collins.” Pitto responded to these developments with his first single in two years, “Where My Soul Is Now” for the Green imprint.

It appears his reaction to unwitting imitators was to run headlong in the opposite direction. Kersjes embraced jazzy instrumentation, hushed electro rhythms, and talented vocalist Leonie Muller, who narrates a depressing tale across the track’s nine and a half minutes. At points its slow-burning development feels luxurious, especially when pizzicato strings dart across the swaying Rhodes melodies; other times it’s not quite enough to justify its own length. Kersjes is a noted fan of making long tracks, but under the weight of its vocal narrative “Where” seems long for length’s sake. Minilogue’s “Guqin Mix,” which could have aimed to make the tune more DJ friendly, is closer to a traditional dub that stretches and dunks the original in pools of reverb and pits of delay. It’s not unlike walking through a hippie’s house, littered with odd stringed instruments and inexplicable noises, leaving you reeking of patchouli and too disoriented to get back to the club. As an indication of Pitto’s current state, “Where My Soul Is Now” suggests he’s still finding his footing on this new, more adventurous path that’s surely explored on his forthcoming debut LP. But every early adopter has to seize something new to maintain that status.