About this item

After 2 outings on recent SHOUTS compilations, Asa Tate lands on Rhythm Section Intl proper with a timeless EP - “Replica”. Asa Tate, FKA Tech Support has been on a bit of a tear recently and this record feels like a real step up: a statement of intention aimed directly at the peak time dancefloor.

A student of the Weatherall school of DJing, Asa Tate has showcased an astonishingly mature approach to production over the years that belies his age. You’d be forgiven for thinking these 4 tracks had been discovered from a dusty DAT tape, locked away in the vaults of a northern Italian club and rediscovered after 30 years....Listen more closely and you’ll notice the contemporary production flair and more recent influences that make this EP a perfect reinterpretation of the mid 90s house sound: sitting somewhere between dream house and Morales finest work under the red zone moniker.

The EP wastes no time in setting it’s intentions with the A1 Title Track, “Replica” - after a brief and floaty progressive house intro the refrain ‘E-e-e-e-e-e-e-ECSTASY’ echoes loudly over sampled vocals, euphoric piano chords, throbbing lead synths and a bouncy, tech-house bassline.

“89” is a sultry deep house cut featuring rising Spanish star, Dariam Coco on vocals. It floats like a butterfly, but stings like a bee, as the soft chords are interrupted with huge drum fills deftly transforming an after party jam to a peak time moment.

We continue to “Unknowns” - a masterclass in building tension and holding it - this track simmers with restrained intensity for almost 6 minutes. It’s trademark Asa Tate production at its most understated and classy. We round of the EP with the fittingly titled “Last Dance”, a wistful composition that brings us back down to earth slowly, safely and gently; always grooving but never pushing - this one is the soundtrack to the end of a long summer day and reaffirms Asa Tate’s claim to be a modern master of deep house. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: New material from the RS camp and it's a trip into feathers n facepaint house tropicalia; the neons across a jet black sky, the soft smell of pines and a rumbling sub that never ceases. Is Vortex still open?

TRACK LISTING

A1. Replica
A2. 89 Feat. Dariam Coco
B1. Unknowns
B2. Last Dance