for house heads of a certain persuasion, dj duke is a name that resonates for all the right reasons. the u.s. veteran has been responsible for some of the 90’s most seminal moments, chiefly through tracks such as 12 minutes to do it (under his pleasure dome alias), party time and the prosumer-endorsed deep house classic, heard. he returns here courtesy of emerging imprint solo werks, who host his latest ep, green pastures. a momentous house-led workout, it compounds duke’s reputation as a producer of considerable panache while also acting as an auspicious start to life for the dublin based label. the title track is a grainy, old-school cut that bears all the hallmarks of a dusty analogue-jam and harks back to the days of vintage chicago with the sort of zest you’d expect from a man of duke’s credentials. the other original, skyscapes, is packed to the brim with industrial motifs and is characterised by the sort of effortlessly catchy baseline with which duke has made his name. mysterious and ethereal, it takes the listener on an uncompromising and throughly captivating house journey from the off. on the flip side, we have two stunning remixes, the first of which arrives from new jersey don, ruben candelario aka nicuri. a long-time favourite of nyc-based producers a la joey anderson, nicuri turns green pastures into a dreamy, acid-led space, adding layers of suspense and a glittering vocal intto the mix as he goes. last but not least are dublin-based producers slowburn, who serve up a stunning version of skyscapes. a carefully construed voyage into the deep, it caps off a fine ep with some aplomb.
