Tiger Stripes - Survivor

Beatport: FB: Tiger Stripes is Mikael Nordgren, one of the most respected names in modern house music. He produced the much-loved ’Dark Tradition’ 12“ as D’Malicious for Francois K’s Wave imprint, winning such fans as Jerome Sydenham, Dennis Ferrer and Carl Craig along the way. He’s released records, solo and in collaboration, on labels like Ibadan, King Street/Nitegrooves, Slip’N’Slide and Gossip, and was invited to remix Faze Action’s ’In The Trees’ for the recent Juno re-issue. Somehow he’s also found time to run the hugely esteemed Go! Bang clubnight in Stockholm... Recently, however, Mikael’s been concentrating on his Tiger Stripes alter ego, releasing extraordinary 12“s for Liebe Detail, Urbantorque and now Get Physical. The Sweden’s house and techno pedigree is strongly apparent on this release, combining his love of classic sounds with a continued exploration of dancefloor music’s outer limits and new production techniques. A ’Mad At Me’ attacks the listener from the off, an uncompromising, appealingly sinister one-note bassline driving the track forward as interlocking percussion patterns skitter across the surface. After four minutes of rising drama, Mikael drops an irresistible keyboard hook recalling classic 90s house but delivered with a richness and finesse that’s wholly contemporary. Blaring effects and slick, busy edits provide the perfect counterpoint to the no-nonsense, linear groove at the track’s core. Mikael has a deep understanding of what the dancefloor wants - ’Mad At Me’ will indeed drive people mad, and in the best sense of the word. On B2 ’Survivor’, Tiger Stripes works with a bouncier, more full-bodied tech-funk blueprint, before dropping another killer processed piano hook - all up-down arpeggios with Latin spirit but reassuringly gritty and metallic. Just when it seems a peak of intensity has been reached, there’s a gut-punching drop-down into a rangy, distorted bassline and a second keyboard line arrives to play call-and-response with the main motif. Eventually these layers are peeled away to leave a raw, bass and drum break that will doubtlessly destroy dancefloors. This formidable 12“ is brought to a close with ’Nacht’, a slow-burner of a track which swells up from brushed, shuffling percussion and trippy, kosmische-esque arpeggios into a deep techno cruiser, layered with delicate synth ambience. Quite simply, this will rule at afterparties. A powerful three-track condensation of Mikael’s retro influences and futurist ambitions, this Get Physical release confirms his position as one of the world’s most accomplished house producers and will leave you eagerly awaiting Tiger Stripes’ next transmission.