Anja Schneider - Dubmission EP on mobilee

Mobilee boss Anja Schneider has always been the kind of producer whose records sound as if they have been produced with her own DJ sets in mind. That’s not a criticism. If anything, it speaks volumes for the ways in which her discography reflects her activities as an in-demand DJ and whose weave of minimal, tech-house and techno styles has made her a world-player. Moreover, it underlines the fact that whatever you might write about her releases, the fact that they will do the business on the dance-floor goes without saying.

Dubmission, her first solo EP of the year, doesn’t buck the trend and what’s more, exhibits just how diverse that signature sound is.

Opening track ‘Dubmission’ is the most interesting cut on the EP.A whirring bassline, terse drums and a bubbling hook make for a hypnotic minimal groove that builds and builds, but it’s the arrival of etheral synths and a big, trance-style breakdown that marks it out as something different to what you might expect. Named after and inspired by the Friday-night party at Berlin’s legendary E-WERK club (sadly now only a memory), where the likes of Paul Van Dyk and Kid Paul would regularly spin, it’s a refreshingly unpretentious homage to the late 90’s. Yet, what is perhaps the record’s strongest aspect, and much to Anja’s credit, is that it manages to look back without overdoing the nostalgia. This is one that will conjure up a lot of fond memories for clubbers of a certain age.

‘Revolution’ is apparently inspired by the revolutions taking place across the globe at the moment, not that you would know it from the track itself. An incredibly earnest spoken-word sample accompanies a loop-orientated tech-house groove comprised of velcro-ripping kicks, a bubbling bassline and shimmering melodic refrain. It’s the kind of hypnotic, if somewhat competent and unflashy, track that will become a summer staple in certain sets and which presents Schneider at default setting.

‘Can You Feel It’ closes the package, offering up a fat, bouncing bassline, a reverbing electro hook and nonchalant half-sung, half-spoken vocals from Parsifal Marin of the Brussels Pony Club. The production is watertight, but Marin’s clichéd lyrics about ‘feeling it’ are inane to the point of self-satirising. Thankfully, an instrumental, vocal-free version of the track is included in the package.

All in all, ‘Dubmission’ is a solid EP, offering a reflection of the various sounds and styles that characterise where Anja Schneider is at right now. What’s more, as a snapshot of the kind of grooves that we might expect to hear from her at the festivals and clubs over the summer, the signs are all good for another successful year for the Mobilee boss.