With a loop almost as catchy as the theme to Tetris, playing the latest from Shinichi Osawa is like starring in your own platformer.
One of Southern Fried Records’ most active entities, this Tokyo-based producer two years ago gave his own gutsy take on Chemical Brothers’ “Star Guitar”, which is where you probably know him from.
Earlier this year he released his album SO2, and its latest track, “Zingaro”, is a bright, bouncy dose of technicolored electro that lives up to its sprightly name, skipping along happily like the wee prancing pony in the charmingly cut-and-paste-out-of-construction-paper video.
The loop, sounding a bit like something left over from rave (the first time round), is propped up by Osawa’s trademark punchy percussion, and every so often an interlude with more than a passing resemblance to the sugar-coated “Heartbeat” by Annie (which is no bad thing) steadies the pace. But despite these references back there’s something quite fresh about “Zingato”, and of late it’s always nice to hear something that isn’t either a slave to dubstep or yet another 90s pop-trance rehash.
The EP generously features three remixes, with The Kids are Radioactive mix toughening up the cut to make it more club-friendly, while LightsOverLA allows the shimmering synths of those Annie-esque interludes to take centre stage. Fabian chops it up and gives it an entirely different energy.
Not for everyone, but in a relentlessly grey British winter there are few places more inviting than Super Zingaro Land.
Zingaro EP is available now on Beatport and Juno Download.
Words: Leonie Mercedes
