Urlaubshits

Ghostly International’s sister imprint Spectral Sound has had a pretty strong year in terms of releases, with the eponymous album from Osborne and singles from Daso & Pawas and Sami Koivikko being particular highlights. Spectral’s output may not be to everybody’s taste, but they have a diverse enough selection of artists so that every so often a single like this is released which hits all the right spots.

From the first crack of the kick drum until the very end, Broker/Dealer’s “Soft Sell” is the kind of soulful techno you want to gorge yourself on over and over again. The full analog bass stabs provide a perfect counterpart to the sharp arpeggios and marshmallow synth horn, which plays a sublime midnight melody. B-side “Save It For Later” is cut from much the same cloth, utilising the same bass, but a much sharper synth melody and a slightly less dreamy tone.

With material this strong, the Thomas Fehlmann remix of “Soft Sell” has its work cut out for it, and never really hits the same heights. It transforms the broad sonic palette of the original into something much more minimal, but as a consequence loses much of the melodic edge that characterises the original.

This is Broker/Dealer’s first release for Spectral since 2004, and I can but only hope they don’t take as long to release their next.

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Soft Sell is available now on Spectral Sound.

Buy 12″ and MP3s direct from the Ghostly store.