Here we have three new interpretations of The First, a track that has now reached the level of Balearic classic.
Deep, downtempo maestro George Solar presents a stripped-back version that is the calm before the storm after sunset; fellow Ibiza resident Sadeedo strips back the track even further to an infectious rhythm track using drums, bass and samples; and finally SONLIFE shares a new version with a kick that he made for his recent Chill Out Tent mix on Apple Music.
Sadeedo:
My ears pricked up when I heard Sonlife's 'The First' on The Chillout Tent. It's such a stunning track, so emotive and deep, the mood of it reminded me very much of Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy.
I'd been getting more and more into Broken Beat in recent years, and wanted to have a go at making that kind of thing myself, and the double bass was the perfect backbone for me to build on. I'm still learning how to operate my MPC, so reversing the vocal sample was actually a mistake, but it worked out nicely! I had also recorded some atmospheric sounds in downtown Amman in Jordan, and they seemed to fit the vibe of the track well. Perhaps on some deeper subconscious level, there was a link between my own Middle Eastern origins and Sonlife's Turkish roots that inspired me to do that.
George Solar:
When I received the promo for this amazing instant future classic it reminded me of the Cinematic Orchestra - which is not really a comparison, more like the biggest compliment possible, in a way. There’s a constant special vibe in what SONLIFE does.
You can tell the proper breakbeat education yet at the same time the quality of soulful reduction and, quite literally, a rather cinematic production approach make the original a total stand-out tune, like a mighty lighthouse.
For my remix, I decided to keep it minimalistic and only use the very base of the original. Everything wraps itself around that mystic piano riff, with a lot of joy in repetition and a side order of dub. I imagined a dramatic balearic sunset with a heavy storm incoming on the horizon, distant thunder & all, with a view from that lighthouse, of course!
SONLIFE:
The First will always hold a bit of a special place for me because, despite having started producing music around 11 years ago, it was the first (zing!) tune where I was like "ok, I've actually landed on a sound now", and so much of what I've done following The First has echoed that thing that I found during the making of it.
The Club Mix is mainly just a slightly alternative take, I wanted something a bit more mixable for DJs who might be looking to start their set with something mellow enough to ease in but with enough of a groove to get people moving. There were also parts of the original track that, on looking back, I felt could have been cranked up a bit more, or just more brought to the forefront, so this gave me the opportunity to make those adjustments.
I'm so excited for people to hear George and Said's mixes. They've both made such great interpretations of the track, George's slow swelling, cinematic magic and Said's bouncy, shuffly straight banger! They've both been incredibly supportive and I'm very very grateful to them.
Dedicated to the idea of “creating stillness,” the latest from Rohne offers hushed electroacoustic songs that gently sway. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 3, 2021