Review: Renato Ratier – Folk Us
The multifaceted Renato Ratier has been keeping busy recently – even by his own lofty standards. Not only has he somehow found time to release the impressive ”Soul Machine” EP, but he’s also got an album – and the small matter of a new club in Rio – on the horizon. His latest EP, ”Folk Us”, however, still bears all the hallmarks of a producer who’s taken a slow and steady approach to his craft
The title track is very much indicative of the latter fact, with its askew techniques and unlikely sound proving a real treat to the ears. Rather than bowl us over with a firm dancefloor aesthetic, Ratier instead opts for a more measured, humble and synthetic style – with the original’s smooth melody and percussion-fueled approach a refreshing change to what we’re used to.
It all neatly paves the way for the remixes, the first of which comes from renowned British house music producer, Luke Solomon. Solomon’s years in the game come to the fore too, as he fashions a sultry, more groove-led remix out of the original, with this one bumping and grinding with the exact sort of confidence we’d expect from a man who’s worked alongside Derrick Carter for so long. Davis serves up the final remix, and it’s a task he serves up with the sort of gumption that suggests we’ll be hearing a lot more of his name in the future. The most sun-glistened of the bunch, it ends the package amongst an onslaught of good vibes and good sounds. Expert stuff all around.
– Stephen Flynn
