[Altered Moods Recordings]

Rezenio Kariem may not be a name that rolls of the tongue but the reclusive South African producer is slowly building a name for himself under the RezKar moniker. Until last year his output had mainly arrived by way of little known net labels such as Jon7.net Microlabel and Mixomat Recordings, and he may have languished under the radar if not for a stunning contribution to the Meakusma Rüts 2/3 compilation and a couple releases for Altered Moods Recordings. 2010 will very likely see RezKar’s profile heightened with an upcoming release on Running Back and this Cosmos 12″ (also released as 7-track digital release) already out at of the tail end of last year.

What sets RezKar apart from many other techno/house producers may be his relative isolation, which works both in and out of his favor. His early works, while conceptual, suffered from what could be seen as overly simplistic rhythm structuring and not enough inventive sound design. But what has helped identify RezKar has been his strong focus on melodic development that, while not always sticking to conventional tonalities, shows a side reaching for creative exploration. This is evident on “Interface” as he fuses a dark, electro leaning bass line with fluttering oscillations and organic percussion. But this in no way resembles electro-house as resonating synth chords rest comfortably next to grand, sweeping strings, forming epic melody crests that sound nearly symphonic. “Nebula” starts off with a tribal styled rhythm before heading down a similar yet more mercurial path with the introduction of deeper styled chords and a humming bass line. The title track is where RezKar’s talent for mixing and matching really shines. Its flanged, syncopated percussion display more stylistic genre bending when placed against the whistling synth pads and celestial organ motifs. But what draws all its disparate components together is a warm and thoughtfully phrased bass line that plays extremely well with the layers of synth melodies developing around it. It’s unlikely to be an immediate hit for most DJs now, but with any luck in a year or two this 12″ will be a highly sought after addition to crates.