Kon Faber

Surefire purveyors of feelgood moments on the dance floor, Berlin-based outfit Kon Faber punch in on Kotori Music with their very first transmission, ‘Vortex’. Indeed a vortical maelstrom of rousing grooves and changing atmospheres, this two-tracker serves up the same montage of deadeye buildup construction and vibrational tune-making that’s made the duo a favourite of ours. Tried and tested on the road for the past couple of years – while triggering off massive response along the way, both cuts bear the inimitable trademark of Kon Faber and showcase their taste for live-played music, with the final studio arrangement of ‘Vortex’ being actually taken from a live recording. A twofold palette of “energetic peaktime tracks, with a clear leading synth, punchy drums, while still adding plenty of organic details”, ‘Vortex’ finds Kon Faber at their most convincingly precise yet soothingly soulful. Built around a melody created using their beloved Hydrasynth, the title-track unfolds as a steadfast big-room roller, “pulling you deeper and deeper into the vibe, until there’s no escape”. Engineering a solid mix of cascading arpeggios, stinging synth shards and intricate drum programming to boot, it throbs and morphs with every bar, making it a trusty companion anytime you need to crank the energy levels one or two notches up. A further syncopation-heavy piece of electroid boogie, ‘Elevate’ “keeps on raising the mood with its housy drums and clear chord pattern”, channeling the whole of its punch towards a slaying, hair-raising drop. Flush with vibrant deep house-y tropes mounted onto an all-road EBM chassis, this one is a testimony to Kon Faber’s ever potent and dazzling floor vocab.