PRICE:
$27.50
LOW STOCK LEVEL
1-2 Weeks
ARTIST
TITLE
Bergen
FORMAT
2LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
DKMNTL 056LP DKMNTL 056LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
6/1/2018

Bergen is the next, and natural step in the expanding career of Dutch producer Tom Trago. The acclaimed producer behind Voyage Direct (RH 025CD, 2010) will release his fourth LP, with the label and crew he's built a close relationship with over the past ten years, Dekmantel. Bergen is an LP that connects his legacy, family, and commitment to dance music in one resplendent package. Having relocated from Amsterdam, Tom Trago set up his new studio in the coastal town of Bergen, located in the northern Netherlands. Recorded in his family house, with the sea at one side, and the countryside to the other, the resultant record is a crafted piece of art, full of space, and the classic machine-driven, house music aesthetic that has come to represent Trago's sound. The spacey-passively-paced LP intro "Bergen" was the first to be picked up by Dekmantel's Casper Tielrooij. Yet it was the electro-orientated "Zeeweg" that became the template for the rest of the record. The b-boy electro vibe, with its melodramatic synth melody was influenced by the road that leads to his scenic retreat -- with slow, steady curves, and a gentle, upward trajectory, "Zeeweg" and its album namesake, twist and turn in fluid synchronicity. "The Creation Of Lalibela" plays on this world music vibe, with ethereal and fun key patterns, influenced by the work of Mulatu Astatke. "Always Be With You" is one of the LP's standout tracks, epitomizing the new album's country settings, and featuring his girlfriend on vocals; it swings at a steady, up-beat pace, rich with harmony, color, and melody. Elsewhere on the album, Trago sticks to his dancefloor roots, "Faith Belongs To Us' is molded in a Chicago-to- Amsterdam house style, while album closer "Working Machines" plays with resonance and atmospherics, creating a moody, pulsing yet stylish rhythm. Having been raised in a musically-driven, and open-spirited household in which the producer grew up learning the piano, it didn't take long for Tom Trago to be indoctrinated into the new school of Amsterdam producers. Bergen's analog tools lend to its organic sound, one honed and crafted by its natural surroundings, and matured approach by one of the Netherland's most accomplished producers.