PJ - Glaze/Skunk

A. Glaze (Original Mix) 4:54 min | 128BPM

B. Skunk (Original Mix) 4:54 min | 128BPM

C. Glaze (Extended Version) 6:10 min | 128BPM

D. Skunk (Extended Version) 6:00 min | 128BPM

Written and Produced by Praveen Jayarajan.
Mastered by Adam Dempsey @ Dex Audio.
Published by Copyright Control 2004.

Release Date - March 19th 2004

DJ MAG APRIL 2004: Journeying all the way from Australia PJ shows us that the tech house scene down under has a lot to shout about. Taking his cues from the likes of Funk D Void and the Youngsters PJ delivers two lively cuts. Glaze has that rumbling Funk D Void style bassline, overpinned with sharp beats and a good selection of sounds. Skunk goes abit further into techno territory but again follows the formula of the sparse arrangements and clinical crisp production. An interesting release. Rating 3.5 stars - Dan Irwin, April 2004 Issue.

PROGRESSIVE SOUNDS: Infamous Light Recordings is a digital only tech house label born in January of this year and can be found at EDMDigital, Beatport and Hooj. Label head Praveen Jayarajan thought it would be a great idea to hop into digital downloads since the growing trend is proving to be quite popular. ´Glaze´ and ´Skunk´ is the first release and it´s a world of computer game beeps and boinks amidst groovy basslines and techy drums. ´Glaze´ is a twisted tech house song with mechanical drumming, lazer shot sounds, and tweeky beeps crazy enough to be video game music. A huge bassline rolls on underneath the tune climbing though ups and downs with quick breaks along the way. A short building tune that never stops up once and keeps a groove all the way through. ´Skunk´ is a bit deeper and relies on a growly bassline and zipper sounding drums that bring in the funk. Weird water sounds are clipped and manipulated to fall into the drums and break up the rhythm. Light ringing tones are hidden in the background but filter through for a perfect melodic balance. Infamous Light has a great sound here for their first release. PJ has brought some fun into tech house, and his basslines make it just mean enough to dirty up the floor.

INTHEMIX: ‘Glaze’ is the one I like better of the two. It’s a fairly straight-up bit of minimal tech house but with some excellently quirky bleeps, pops and squeaks pinging away to make up the majority of the track, along with a huge, droning bassline rumbling away constantly underneath. I reckon it sounds like people playing Game Boy in a sewer under a motorway – the echoey bleeps are like old-skool videogame sound effects, and the incessant humming of the sub-bass gives the impression of nearby evil machinery. Beats-wise it’s fun yet not overdone, with some sections having a great driving techno feel, plus a cheeky little break in the middle livening things up a bit. Doesn’t exactly ‘go off’, but it’s got a uniquely quirky and likeably techy attitude. “Skunk’ is a little more straightforward, with more emphasis on the techno-like beats than ‘Glaze’. It’s got some similarly wacky clicks and bubbling pops washing over the top of the hopping bassline, but it doesn’t have the same kind of light-hearted appeal. Instead this has a moodier tone to it, albeit without quite going chunky, hard, dark, or anything enough to really take its initial promise the full distance. As far as funky electro tech goes though, it’s all in working order, only without the same wacky ‘zing’ as ‘Glaze’... in my opinion, anyhow. An interesting couple of tunes though, and a great start for both PJ and Infamous Light Recordings. James Zabiela apparently played ‘Glaze’ in Miami to a great response, and other DJs including Tyler Stadius and James Holden have also given their thumbs up. They’re definitely worth a listen at www.beatport.com, but be warned that you’re only going to experience their full sub-bass glory if you play them darned LOUD!

RESIDENT ADVISOR: ILR001 is the premiere release from a new Melbourne based tech house label – Infamous Light Recordings. A label which unlike any other will be releasing music solely through digital channels like beatport.com, Hooj and EDM digital. First up on the release schedule is label boss PJ with 2 deep, dark and quirky tracks. ILR’s motto is ‘twisted futuristic tech house’ and that is simply what you get. On the A side "Glaze" starts off with layers of FX you’d normally associate with a bird aviary, PS2 or a game of Atari pong. From there the rolling bass-line kicks in and you’re taken on a journey through what seems to be deep space. The hi-hats and FX prevent you from going too deep but you could easily get sucked into its vortex. However for all its uniqueness the track doesn’t seem to get on a roll and you’re left stranded between that feeling of grabbing another drink or heading straight to the dancefloor. Maybe the extended version will address this issue. 7/10 If "GLaze" takes you on a journey through deep space then "Skunk" transports you directly into the black hole. Like the former it is laden down with great synthetic sound FX that give it that unique interesting feel. The sub bass-lines are there along with the original use of the old washboard, something more akin with folk dancing than tech house. For me this track has a lot more substance and consistency than its brother. A late night stomper that will keep you on the dancefloor wanting more. 8/10

TECHHOUSE LIST: First release from listmember pj on his new "digital-only" label called infamous light recordings and it's a pretty strong one. "glaze" kicks off with spacy, discordant effects over a simple beat before a chest-rattling, airfrog/slam-style sub-bassline drops at around the minute mark. as hi-hats and more bleeps are added, a cool groove rapidly builds that will surely dent, if not damage, the world's techier 'floors. second up my current favourite of the two, "skunk". after a fairly trad intro, another superb bassline snakes its way into the mix - this time a touch less oppressive but a good deal more menacing. plenty of top-end is introduced as are some truly eerie stabs which only contribute to the overall claustrophobic, 4am feel. wicked stuff - Ciaran Walsh, THL (UK).

TECHHOUSE LIST: With respect to the solid "Glaze", head straight to track 2, Skunk. Label Boss PJ launches this one on the right foot with one of those get you high sans-substance type of approaches. Skunk puts a more structured "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball" type of head-trip on the table with it's straight driving direct punches and kicks to push this one along with the focus remaining firmly on the flowing dark and morose bassline. Lay over that, extremely crisp and well timed high accents with a trip roll type of manually created effect. Whether intentional or not, the slow and steady stab pattern brings on an overly ominous emotive response. Keep any over-stimulated party goers far away from the under lit and overcrowded rooms this gem is bound to be rocking in, as they most likely will not be able to handle it. Organized evil, I absolutely love this. Very much looking forward to future releases from this new "digital only" label - Ryan G, THL / NYCE Records (Canada).