VD19 by ELIAS MAZIAN

With his Voyage Direct label, Tom Trago has always championed Dutch talent � DJs and producers from the tight-�‐knit local scene whose music moves and inspires him in equal measure. He�s at it again on this 19th release, handing a debut 12� to fast-�‐ rising, Amsterdam-�‐based DJ/producer Elias Mazian.The 25 year-�‐old is a much-�‐loved figure on the Amsterdam scene, and has gained a reputation as one of the city�s true underground heroes. His DJ sets are rooted in contemporary deep house and techno, but also take inspiration from �80s electro, Stevie Wonder, P-�‐funk, disco, and the surging, snare-�‐heavy pulse of early Chicago ghetto-�‐house. Given this dedication to mixing things up, it�s unsurprising that Trago has long been a supporter of Mazian�s talents. �Tom has been like a brother to me,� Mazian says. �I�ve been focusing on my DJ career, but Tom always pushed me to make more tracks. After I�d made �Future Times� I played it to him at his house. He loved it from the start.� �Future Times� was made in a single productive afternoon, with Mazian quickly jamming out a track that pits attractive, far-�‐sighted synthesizer melodies and spacey chords against cut-�‐up hip-�‐hop vocal samples and a righteous, snare-�‐heavy groove. Like Mazian�s DJ sets, it draws on a myriad of influences, from beatbox electro and Kraftwerk, to 21st century European deep house and Detroit techno. It�s thrillingly hard to pigeonhole, and offers a perfect introduction to Mazian�s musical world. There�s more far-�‐sighted retro-�‐futurism to be found on flipside �They Don�t Know�. Featuring heavy machine drum rhythms inspired by Mazian�s love for old Dance Mania releases, and peppered with classic hip-�‐house breaks, it sounds like a delicious fusion of B-�‐more, DJ Rush and early British �intelligent techno�. It inspired a wild response from dancefloors during Tom Trago�s sets at ADE, much to Mazian�s delight. �When Tom dropped it at a jam-�‐packed Trouw that was a �goose-�‐bump moment�,� he says. �To hear this track you�ve made on a loud sound system, with people going wild� it�s simply awesome!� Something tells us Mazian might have to get used to this kind of reaction in the weeks, months and years ahead. As debut 12� singles go, this one is pretty darn special.