“Destiny (feat. Pional)” - John Talabot

Production albums either soar or flop, so it’s a good thing John Talabot knows how to take his time.  Every track is a rocket launch, a slow build from simple elements that lead to cathartic climax, completely unexpected.  Talabot always takes his time, usually with one release per year, an unreasonably slow rate for any dance producer, but his tracks work the same way.  They take so much time to build and worm into your ear that it must take twice as long to write.  And in the meantime, Talabot never lets an inkling out about the change in his sound.  Whereas producers change with the time and the scene, Talabot has ran from his previous Balearic roots and brought the techno proficiency of Pantha du Prince into his sound and the darkness of dubstep.   He doesn’t make music with hooks, but with grooves for any listener to grab onto and continue the journey.  He does not make music for people to love, but for people to be astonished by.  These are not tracks for the pleasure of dancing or emotional release, these are tracks to learn from.

“Destiny” begins with an easy wail, slowly adding layer of rhythmic layer until the vocal line sets in, reminding you that Talabot makes actual songs.  This is more than a producer at work.  For anyone who does not work with vocal lines often, it’s a stunning precedent to do one so well.  It’s a stunning precedent in general, one that the world will surely take notice.

- Eric Kossina