Finnish DJ and producer Mikko Lahti debuts on our Green Martian imprint with the wonderful Pain By Numbers. 2014 saw his first release Tokyo Story on Club 86 Recordings with Back To Mine soon following on Tiger Tycoon. With a hand firmly in the trance sound, his influences are the likes of Armin, Chicane, Above & Beyond, Tiesto and Ferry Corsten. This time around he takes on a slightly different approach with smooth progressive house in mind.

Paint By Numbers sets off with a superb rising pad as a deep and lush bass makes its mark. Nice big chunky kicks are joined by bright and crispy hats with cool percussions forming up as the layers build. The bassline evolves into a solid grooving monster that dominates the sound brilliantly. Tight drums and an expertly crafted hat arrangement get the rhythm flowing as stylish synths make their entry into the groove. The break throws up a subdued sequence that is filled with stark piano chords while those sweeping pads fade off. Before we know it we are back into the main sound for the duration of this superbly crafted prog house cut, top notch.

Om Namaha Shiva intros with an energetic vibe right from the off as a probing bassline builds the groove with the help of cool percussions and FX. Punchy kickdrums are on offer to get the feet stomping and get us locked in to the upbeat nature of the track. The break reveals a smooth pad sequence as a wonderful vocal rises up giving off a retro feel. Cool stabs blend in perfectly with that brilliant bassline and you find yourself caught up in the colourful textures. Superb stuff here that is a definite must have track for sure.

#mikkolahti #greenmartian