Cosmin TRG – Simulat review

Romanian producer Cosmin Nicolae has been on an epic journey over the past few years, but as Simulat so ably demonstrates, it has not yet reached its conclusion. Cosmin’s path, from drum and bass and dubstep into techno has been well documented on Juno Plus. But the love affair that officially began with “Liebe Suende” on Rush Hour has been afforded the opportunity to blossom on Simulat. Apart from his ability to mix and match from a broad range of influences, Cosmin’s other main strength lies in his ability to bring that most secretive and elusive of elixirs, funk, to his productions.

Simulat has this quality in spades and is audible on “Less of Me, More of You”, where minor keys reverebed to infinity and beyond ride a brooding bass and a typical Cosmin shuffle. The end result has a swing that few producers can emulate, and a similar approach is audible on the jazz-tinged, mournful rhythms of “Amor Y Otros’ and the woozy chords of “Ritmat”. However, Cosmin’s conversion to techno only is only part of this story. The eerie abstractions of “Infinite Helsinki” and the deep space ambience of the grandly titled “Interstellar Inflight Entertainment” show a producer trying and succeeding to take his work beyond the confines of the dancefloor. The dubby groove of “Want You To Be” also sees him flirting with a more subtle form of techno and “Lillasyster” sounds like his own interpretation of early 90s bleep’n’bass. Let’s hope Cosmin’s journey never ends.

Richard Brophy