Tangled in

Chicago-based Area has been seriously on the rise in 2010, with 12"s and remixes recently out on Francois K's Wave Music, Echospace, Mathematics, Matrix Records Detroit, Anton Zap's new Ethereal Sound, and a dubby collaboration with Brendon Moeller under the Lightness guise. These releases have seen glowing support from institutions like De:bug, Groove, Hardwax, and have been adopted by adventurous tastemakers like Nina Kravitz (REKIDS, Propaganda club), Kevin Gorman (Ostgut Ton, Mikrowave) and Ripperton (Planet E, Plak). The Area sound has transcended the often trend-driven, region-based tastes and garnered heavy attention in Japan, Korea, and Russia as well as hubs like London, New York, and Berlin. Area's first artist release on Steadfast features the signature crossover style that fuses genres and eras into distinctive, driving productions. The vocal-driven A-side is loaded with bass music swagger, heavy syncopation, and spacious darkness that would mark it as good company for the new breed of Dubstep-influenced club music. The original version is a slow-building, trippy, club-oriented joint that serves well alongside the edgy palette of artists like STL or Shackleton. The "Bonus Level" version twists the claustrophobic atmosphere with a Chicago-bred bassline-driven jack beat. On the flip is Area's sensational remix of the Echologist track "dirt" which has been played by the likes of Martyn and Brother's Vibe. The release concludes with a beatless version of Tangled In, focusing on the textures and vocals from the original.