In the span of seven releases, André Schmid and contributors Serafin and Roman Bruderer have charted a wide-ranging course for the Zurich-based Mountain People label. But whether the records paid homage to seminal house tunes (“Mountain001”) or helped spark the return of tribalized minimal house (“Mountain005”), their impeccable construction was conspicuously identifiable as a Mountain People production. Schmid (better known as Rozzo or Peter Dildo) imparts a certain snappiness, a sexy gait such that even the label’s lowest points (the threadbare “Mountain006″) are far more palatable than the majority of house singles I receive. While the eighth Mountain People 12” is equally surefooted, the record’s droning arrangements are more aligned with those of Schmid’s other guises than its predecessors. The results are less compelling than one might imagine.
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The Mountain People, Mountain007
Standing on the brink of vapid minimalism seems to have been enough to bring Mountain People back into the arms of tone and depth. Rozzo starved “Mountain006” of nearly all nourishing elements, leaving little for even some ardent supporters (myself included) to admire. Although the characteristic abundance of the first few Mountain People releases is returning only gradually, “Mountain007” is a fine return to form.
The Mountain People, Mountain 006
[Mountain People] Since launching the Mountain People label to house his homage to The Mole People’s incredible “Break Night,” André (Rozzo and Peter Dildo) Schmid’s tracks under the moniker have gradually dried out, as he’s become a near teetotaler for melody. Considering how lush the imprint started (and was continued by Serafin and Roman Bruderer), […]