After the debut EP by ĂVEM at the end of last year, the second EP of the Viennese Label Heimlich Musik comes from Beirut-based producer Rabih Rizk. With releases on Wildfang Musik, Lump Records and Magician On Duty, Rabih Rizk already earned reputation within the community. His ‘Sleep’ EP contains two original tracks and two remixes by Landhouse & Raddantze from Karlsruhe and well-known member of Matanza, Rodrigo Gallardo. Both original tracks are strongly driven by emotions reflecting the feeling of solitude. According to the artist, ‘Sleep’ expresses his own personal relationship towards anxiety while ‘Phone Index’ tells a story about being alone somewhere in the middle of the night filled with the emptiness of waiting for a phone call. These melancholic thoughts are expressed through the dark vocals as well as through the rolling basslines and fragile pads you can hear in both original tracks. With their remix, Landhouse & Raddantze delivered a version of ‘Sleep’ that is even more dreamy than the original without losing their individual signature style while focusing on the vocal lines. Well-established artist Rodrigo Gallardo created a powerful banger that seems to be made for the dancefloor by adding flute sounds reflecting the melodies of the original track. While working with rhythmic arpeggio-lines, Gallardo gives his remix extra power through surrounding the melodic parts with strong sub-basses. The mood that was established with the first EP on Heimlich Musik by the end of last year is continued with this EP without losing an individual style when it comes to aesthetics and arrangements of the original tracks and the remixes.
Continuing in the vein of "luscious and enthralling" from Heimlich 1, this second comp has several standout tracks for reflective listening, especially Lukas Endhardt's. Angel Figueroa