Massimiliano Pagliara – Focus For Infinity (The Remixes Part 2) review

After releasing his well-received long player last year, Massimiliano Pagliara is letting choice selections from the LP go under the knife with a series of remix EPs. Quite how many 12”s are set to be released it’s hard to say, but after the Tuff City Kids and B.H.F.V reworkings, this next instalment sees the usual spread of familiar names and underground talents that seem to emanate around the Live At Robert Johnson label.

Despite only getting seriously stuck into the release game in the past couple of years, Brazilian producer Rotciv has put out a staggering amount of material (largely on his own Mister Mistery imprint), and his perseverance has paid off with one of the biggest tracks from Pagliara’s album being passed to him to grapple with. “Fade The Light” (or “Faith A Light” as it was called on the album) was originally a slow-burning, psychedelic slice of disco romanticism realised through acid house sounds. Rotciv nudges the tempo up only a very small amount, and strips back some of the melodic elements, but in truth there’s not a huge amount to tell between the original and the remix, coming on more like a subtle dub than anything else.

Nicholas sounds markedly more confident in his own jaunt, taking the staggered slow pace of “I’ll Never Be” and honing it into an assured floor-worker. It’s still decidedly deep house, not least in the fulsome, hypnotic square wave bass line, but propelled by flurries of 303 and plenty of clap and snare combos the track elevates to a level of groove that the original struggled to find in its plodding pace.

Out of all the remixes though, DJ Sotofett’s lengthy run through “Harmonize” is the one that really pushes the music into new realms. Titled “Outta Tune and Inna Jungle”, the Sex Tags Mania chief’s remix launches on an instant bump of garage hats and titular clashes between keys and bassline, slowly feeding in pads with a slapdash but simultaneously dreamy approach that calls to mind “Pacific”-era 808 State. By the time you hit eight minutes and the freaky sound FX come in, followed by a dancehall shout out, there’s no doubt you’re hearing an artist have a lot of fun with the task he’s been given.

Oli Warwick

Tracklisting:

A1 Fade The Light (Rotciv Underground Mix)
A2 I’ll Never Be (Nicholas Remix)
B Harmonize (DJ Sotofett’s Outta Tune and Inna Jungle Mix)