[Tartelet Records]

Wareika have chalked up some impressive releases since they first appeared in early 2008 “Men Village.” Their organic deep house and slightly more tech related fare has found its way in to many a discerning jock’s box, and they even managed to make a half respectable go of The Door’s “Riders On The Storm.” With all three members being rather accomplished musicians as well as being involved in other notable projects my own expectations were rather high for their new EP.

The title track lives up to its name with a rising and falling piano line set against a deep bass and organ combo that make up the basis of the 10 minute plus groove. The percussion has an afrobeat feel to it which livens things up, giving the track a great sense of movement. But saying that, I fail to connect with it as a whole. It’s not a bad track, but Wareika have shown much better examples of their deeper side in the past. “Barracuda” makes more effective use of the Fela style drumming, sounding a lot more present in the mix rather than the decidedly more programmed feel of “Ascending, Descending.” It works the relatively simple idea of a single synth being tweaked and filtered atop the aforementioned pile of percussion, creating a much wider scope of rhythm and groove than the first track, though still it feels like a middling effort from the trio. In the end it is the digital only track, “Fantasy,” that comes out on top. More akin to their “Belonging” slow groover from late last year, it’s a seductive downtempo affair with Florian Schirmacher’s vocals being wrung out through a number of reverb and echo units. It doesn’t have quite the same filthy sleaze of Moodyman’s “Freeki Muthafucka,” but it is a sexy little number and the only track of the three I can still see myself playing in months to come.