Ewan Pearson – We Are Proud Of Our Choices review

Artist: Ewan Pearson/Various
Title: We Are Proud Of Our Choices
Label: Kompakt
Genre: Minimal/Tech House
Format: CD
Buy From: Juno Records

Still buzzing from his much acclaimed fabric mix from a few years back, Ewan Pearson returns with a new compilation for Kompakt entitled “We Are Proud Of Our Choices”. Pearson has been DJing and producing music for over a decade and with his new mix he shows us his fondness for warm and melodic tech-house. Following in the tradition of earlier Kompakt mixes like “Smallville” from Tobias Thomas and DJ Koze’s “All People Is My Friends”, Pearson starts off with a lush pop sensibility – building slowly but deliberately with tracks by Gold Panda, A Ldric, and RMNVN, before he really starts to hit his stride with “Cirrus” by Lusine, and then he begins to up the tempo exponentially as the mix goes on.

After “Cirrus” has limbered everyone up for the dance floor, two great dark house tracks from obscure producers Wah Chu Ku and Yukihiro Fukotomi will no doubt fill the floor with shaking bodies. Other artists of note that’ll keep your booty shaking are Neville Watson, Gregor Tresher, Chris Fortier, and B.D.I. who all offer solid tracks, before Pearson begins to pull the 4/4 beat out of the equation for a cool down period at the end. The last two tracks are sexy, warm, and poppy, featuring female vocals, that suggest the party doesn’t have to end yet. An edit by Pearson of “Fortune” by emerging stars Little Dragon is the mix’s penultimate track, before closing with the Lali Punaesque “Blue Steel” by Bot’Ox.

Pearson seems uninterested in the trends of the moment and sticks proudly to his tech-house roots with “We Are Proud Of Our Choices” – and it proves a solid mix of dance friendly and warm beats, featuring unsung artists you’ll want to know more about after you’ve had a listen. Check it.

Review: Matt Leslie