Review: MARCELUS Shine EP TRESOR269

This is the third EP by Marcelus (French producer Cédric Bros) Marcelus returns with the ‘Shine EP’, third 12" to be released on Tresor, which is increasingly coming to seem like a natural home for him.

Opener 'Red Dance' innovatively re-works the classic techno-minimalist sounds of Pacou's late 1990s Tresor releases. It's centred on brittle sounds with a metallic edge that produce a strong impact without sacrificing complexity.



'Worship The Bass' gradually intensifies and accumulates power and packs a strong punch, but is misleadingly-titled as it's not actually a massively bassy track. Instead Marcelus'  cold, filtered sounds compete thoughtfully with a muffled kick.



The B-side tracks (for vinyl listeners) are much more atmospheric and abstract, reminding us of the ambient side of Tresor's vast back catalogue. A filtered, metallic sound circles through 'Shine', accompanied by gauzy sounds and a disembodied female voice in a digital fog. It's certainly not a typical track and all the better for it.



'Astral' is suitably ethereal and makes for a graceful end to the EP. It's a deep and beat-less outro with a trace of the ambient textures of Harold Budd.