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released February 6, 2013 by Particles Despite the dark nights and the crisp, cold days, the ’Winter Particles 2013’ compilation heralds a fresh start to the year with a collection of eleven tracks to brighten and enliven the musical soul and banish the post-Christmas blues. The quarterly compilation series has been a watchword for high calibre, pitching established Proton family artists alongside a wealth of exciting up-and-coming producers from across the globe. In this regard, the new ’Winter Particles’ collection continues to build on the foundations of its predecessors. With a forthcoming full-length release on Proton Music for their album “The End“, inspired by Mayan predictions of a global apocalypse, Sed Project kick off proceedings with the beautiful ambient textures and epic build of “Cross“, featuring the haunting vocals of Lisette van den Berg. Three percussion-heavy and techno oriented tracks follow from Mode B, Ioan Gamboa and, newcomer to the Particles family, Ukraine’s Gvozdini. Fellow Ukrainian, Mode B provides a magnificent dark-edged techno number with bass line and upper frequency layers, full of emotion, melancholy and rhythmic sizzle. Ioan Gamboa brings a lighter, bouncing combination of stabs and rhythm to the collection with “Niernes“, while Gvozdini’s “The New Dimension“ is a wonderful collage of strong beats against a backdrop of an arcing, crystalline lead line that cuts through like a laser-guided missile. The next triumvirate of offerings take a deeper groove-laden house approach. Argentinean, Martin Etchegaray provides a warm hypnotic vibe with “Sons of the Plastic Era“, full of deep house sensibilities and subtle chord progressions, while Juan Goya under his Sound Process moniker keeps the South American connection flowing with the deep, soulful sounds of “Take Off“. Dutchman Nick Hogendoorn follows up his recent remix of Sed on Particles with crisp percussive elements, a squelching bass line and a joyous sense of rhythm on “The Lurker“. After his remix of Igor Cold for Particles in December, Poland’s Tuxedo takes up a lighter progressive feel with “Eyes Will Tell The Truth“, combined with a strong beat and elegantly pan-filtered stabs and airy pads. The new production combination of Ad Brown and Andrew Benson has produced a notable highlight with their track “Impossible is Nothing“, full of the dance floor energy that has made Ad Brown famous and coupled with signature sounds from the Benson repertoire. The final pair of tracks return to a more techno inspired sound with the twirling, cascading arpeggios of Dapple Apple’s “Hawking Was Right“ and the similarly avant-garde sound of Mobilize with layers of glissando lead line and arpeggios that wend themselves across a landscape of heavy-weight beats in a “Reason To Live“. Eleven tracks from an impressive global array of talent ensure that Winter is very bright for Particles in 2013. Directed by Jay Epoch AandR by Marina Gerardi Design by Ben Mautner Mastered by Cid Inc. Text by James Warren
