Dawn

You would be forgiven for thinking that I hate fullon music. Which may be the point, but not because it’s fullon: I hate it because it’s crap.

But this album is different, like a breath of fresh air. Fatali differs from other fullon producers in that he can actually write music. He doesn’t need to go all over the top and slap obvious sounds and noises everywhere. He’s a talented producer, who’s not afraid of melody but not so musically insecure that it’s all he’s got going for him.

Deep is a mellow opener, a baggy groove that gathers energy from nowhere and leads it upwards in style. Ocean Viewsprinkles a bit of acid over an immaculately-produced track, with subtle twists and turns that draw you into the heart of the music wanting very much to be a part of what’s coming next. Flip gets more involved, with a soaring melody dropping in at the midsection; perhaps a little too melodic for some but you can’t argue that it’s very well done indeed; 2nd Episode meanwhile has all the understated energy of an angrier Silicon Sound.

Homeless is epic in a way only Fatali could really pull off: you can hear those little moments in there tempting him to create massive melodic peaks, yet he turns away from them and takes the cerebral option every time, and you can imagine the effect this tantalisation would have on a dancefloor. Likewise Dawn, which takes its time before reaching its summit, just like good dance music should do; lessons ought to be learned from this release, and gawd knows there’s plenty out there who need to learn.

It all comes together on Booster, an effortless glide somewhere between morning fullon and progressive that has a genuinely arresting hands-in-the-air moment, as opposed to one that just came out of the box.

Essentially, the point is that this is pretty much the best of the summer’s melodic-fullon crop, which isn’t to say that it’s going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Fatali definitely has a certain special something, which in the humble opinion of this reviewer puts him considerably above the competition.