harry agius has been making waves as midland since 2010, releasing a series of increasingly impressive 12s as a solo artist but also collaborating with the likes of ramadanman (pearson sound), breach and pariah on labels such as aus music, naked naked, works the long nights and his own graded imprint. he is also a prolific remixer who has lent his talents to artists such as lone, guy gerber, julio bashmore, dusky and more. we can proudly say he came to many peoples attention via his first phonica 12 play the game back in 2010 and he has remained a friend and regular at the shop ever since. midlands well deserved rise has been a delight to watch from the sidelines and were glad to welcome harry back to phonica with the fantastic before we leave. it starts slowly but surely as reverb soaked percussion comes to the fore, cushioned by the truly beautiful string melody, which were sure will be stuck in many a head this year! this could well be midlands most deftly handled arrangement yet. running backs gerd janson wisely decides to stick to the original tracks feel, letting the strings weave their magic, yet also brings the bassline and drums to the forefront. delicately but expertly done. midland rounds out the 12 with his barebones drums and percussion-only bonus beats version, perfect dj tool material. we wish more records had these!