Chapeau 01 by Niceteed Follow, Josh Coakley Follow

Chapeau 01 review

Chapeau Music is glad to present this first limited vinyl release from Niceteed. “Nothing But Pain EP” is an harsh and obscure record wrapped by hard and uncompromising dancefloor-oriented raw grooves and punchy low ends. Only 300 copies, gone is gone, no repress.

The title track “Nothing But Pain” shows the sound evolution that Niceteed is taking and opens the label to new music styles; huge rounded kick, violent sub bass, warm n’ dirty groove elements absorbed inside the reverberated synth stab and an epic shrill vocal, a track which belongs in the peak-moment of every secret rave. If we consider we also have a more Tech-oriented banger remix by the Irish talent Josh Coakley everything collides on an absolute terrific A-side.

“This EP means a lot for me and for the label, I have dreamed for a long time to release a vinyl on Chapeau and It’s hard to say how happy I am about this achievement. During these difficult months for the scene I had enough time to think and to concentrate about what I want to do and the direction I want to take, it was a very deep inner process. This vinyl style perfectly represents what I want to play out, I feel the overall production workflow and my production approach was more spontaneous and less thoughtful on these tracks.”

– Niceteed

The flip side opens with “Leben”, a tribute track for the crew that Niceteed is part of in his hometown. Here the fast and weighty kick drum hugs the rhythmic components, gritty hi-hats and claps. Everything settles down on the straight and impact synth stab line. In the breaks the doubled high-pitched vocal completely captures the attention, then the heavy kick drum restores the late-night techno mood, literally surfing on the distorted 909 rides. The final track “Ketama Aurea” introduces us in the darkest part of this record, a gloomier zone that perfectly fits the end of this EP. Over the saturated groove and the baggy kick drum everything is under the hypnosis of the tangled synth melodies, their sounds are intertwined in the mix like arms of ravers in the murkiest warehouse party. In the breaks the melancholic and significant vocal is followed by the warm bassline that stands out in an impressive way.

“Vinyl has always had a special place in my heart. Growing up my Father who was a DJ in the 90’s and would regularly play vinyl in the clubs. He now collects his favourite records from back in the day, gets them signed by the artists and frames them on our kitchen wall. He is able to tell a story of each one, on where he played it or heard it, the year and the club it was played at. He was the one who introduced me to the art form and I was instantly hooked. Everything just sounds better on vinyl. I have spent many weekends travelling into the city to the various record stores, spending hours listening and buying records as well as ordering various records from the various retailers.”

– Josh Coakley