Boston Rascal

Jakhira’s next outing on Piston is the delicious deep house groover Boston Rascal which comes backed up with two superb remixes from Rubba J and label boss Rogerio Martins. UK born but now residing in Belgium, Jack delivers a certain dynamic in his sound which captivates the listener. His musical roots spread far and wide with some serious bangers across multiple genres. More recently he has favoured the deeper, soulful side of house music while maintaining a presence in other styles. His last cut for us here at Piston was a fantastic remix on Demarkus Lewis – Sing It which grabbed a lot of attention. Much more to come from this outstandingly talented artist, stay tuned.

The Original Mix intros with a classic chunky kick and crispy hi hat combi alongside a rhythmic layer percussion layer. Smooth chord pads come through leading us into a beautifully warm piano chord sequence creating a relaxed atmosphere. On the low end a deep and funky bassline dominates before the lead synth comes in to take us all the way. The track breaks to reveal more of those warming pianos and then it’s back into full swing for the duration. Top notch stuff that is not to be missed.

Rubba J aka Jan Costermans is first up on the remix and once again we’re treated to some special deep grooves. Jan is a product of the oldskool Hip Hop years and it was during this time that he got a drum machine and guitar and began experimenting. He was searching for funky grooves like that of his peers including Prince, Herbie Hancock and others. His sound gradually changed into deep house and this led to works with other artists and solo releases on labels like, Brique Rouge and Wally’s Groove among others. This one marks his fourth Piston outing and follows his last slice – the superb Aqua Park EP, from late 2016. Great to see him back and we hope to see more in the future. On the remix we’re thrust into a funky workout thanks to those filtered synths and a tight drum section that dishes out a cool flowing rhythm. Swirling pads float overhead to the backdrop of a fantastic, simple short diva vocal that adds a cool character to the sound. A subtle bassline sits nicely on the bottom allowing those expertly crafted synth keys room to shine. A fine slice that will not disappoint.

Fresh off the back of his very successful 300 EP (marking Piston Recordings 300th release) as well as remixes for Demarkus Lewis, Rogerio Martins steps into remix duties once again giving us another taste of his wonderful pumping deep house prowess. With such a busy schedule we wonder how this guy does it, dedication and determination to see his vision for his label succeed is one incentive, but sheer love of music is probably more accurate. It’s usually all work and not much play with the boss, but this time we get a sense that he had a lot of play while remixing this one, turn it up and enjoy. Here Rogerio intros the remix with a nice pumping kick drum as crispy hi hats fade in alongside a wonderful staccato synth chord. A very well balanced drum section keeps the rhythm flowing while short vocals ring out alongside the main synth line melody. In the background the pads build a strong atmosphere as those hypnotic synth chords stay the course. An absolute stomper of a track that is a definite must have.