ben hauke: save the date ep
Francisco Espregueira
Oath’s sub label Last Year at Marienbad opens the 2023 book with another cool release. Following records from Retromigration and Jesse Bru, they now host another huge talent. Ben Hauke is one of our favorite producers from the last decade and now presents Save The Date EP - a wondrous new mini-album comprised by a collection of tracks that make the head turn and the soul yearn. Operating within the contemporary house music realm, where the genre is broken down and reconstructed within differing images, Ben is able deliver a sound that his undoubtedly his own: superb drumming patterns, unconventional layers of synths and samples, bouncy bass lines and a composition form that pulls us into the groove. Having released on a wide variety of labels, including Far Out Recordings, Church, Hear Other Sounds, Melodica, Co-Operation Recordings or YAM, he always seems to be at the top of his musicality.
Save The Date EP is seeped in dynamic boundaries, defying moods and breezy, steppin grooves, moving easily from club floors through to sun kissed walks and deep hued evenings. Broken-beat masterclasses in the form of “Make Up Break Up Bench” and “Let’s Move On Bro”, both of which containing energetic swings and a sombre yet uplifting top layer of keys and flutes which really tie into the choice of samples. Upbeat house numbers in the fast talking “Watch Me Now”, with its gorgeous filtered melodic lines and evocative vocal elements, through to the 90s leaning “Forever Me” and its electronic Sax taking centre stage as we welcome the morning light. The title track keeps up the pace with emphatic piano lines, and a fat bass line contrasting with jazzy keys for late night ecstatic pleasure. There’s even time for a break half way through, with the sub-1 minute “First Snow” showcasing Hauke’s love of hip hop and providing a few moments to ‘recharge’, if you will.
It’s hard to say that this is the most accomplished work in Ben Hauke’s discography. Hard because his discography is immense. Save The Date EP is, nonethless, one of his masterpieces. He has harnessed a particular something during his career to date, and it is no surprise that he continues to push out top quality recordings that feel very much in his own image. Available on vinyl, this record will be, for sure, considered one of our favorite records of 2023. “Heart inducing, pulse setting, all bound within a easy going atmosphere that washes away the fears and sets the mind on a brighter path.”