[Ostgut Ton]

With vintage gear, a love for early house singles and immense songwriting chops, Prosumer and Murat Tepeli have produced some of the most emotionally involved music released by Ostgut Ton. By threading deeply personal lyrics through the floor-friendly patterns of their singles and album, Serenity, the duo has revived the personal narrative approach once at the core of the house music tradition. Yet soul searching is only half of the Prosumer & Murat Tepeli experience, as evidenced once again by their first single since 2008, the rousing “U & I/The Jam.” Setting aside emotional themes to reach for their dancing shoes, Prosumer and Tepeli have crafted an irresistible call to the floor.

Shelving their troubles for another day has freed Prosumer and Tepeli to take a more muscular, assertive turn. There’s an edge to their relatively spare instrumentation, a firmer hand on the controls than the last we heard from the pair. The outward simplicity of “U & I” leaves plenty of room for essential details: Its clap fits the hi-hats’ fleeting folds like a gloved fist, socking home a beat flanked by clockwork oscillations and ridged runs. Synth patterns stab their way through the din with authority, parrying the organ’s glare. Both obscure a sublime hum below ground which seeps to the surface in the latter half, carrying Elif Biçer’s vocals cooing the song’s title. But an equally stellar vocal performance from Prosumer, who grows ever more adroit at arranging his multi-tracked harmonies, is the tune’s most distinctive feature. “You’ve gotta move your feet, your mind, your soul, just keep on dancing, you’ve gotta move your feet,” he chants with varying degrees of intensity, overdubbed twins carrying the tune and dancers to new heights. To be sure, “U & I” is the best floor-filler from the duo since “Makes Me Wanna Dance.” Percussion rather than personality is the guiding force of “The Jam,” putting a driving techno twist on the flipside’s palette. While DJs with a utilitarian bent will appreciate its tracky structure, the wealth of additional rhythmic elements can feel too busy at points, especially in context with the more deliberate pace of “U & I.” Given the great appeal of the whole record, however, this seems a minor quibble. With their first single together since 2008, Prosumer and Murat Tepeli have reminded listeners of their capacity to capture hearts and move bodies in equal measures.