• Sublime and morphing atmosphere
• Sentimental and hooking melodic aspect
• Polished production quality from Murtagh
The deeper spectrum of Dance music has often awed me, as I find such quality compositions now and then; a standing testament that this minimal niche of industry has hidden gems to be explored. Let me be slightly more specific: the Progressive House realm (not the festival variant, mind you) seems undermined and hence I wanted to dedicate a review. My thoughts will rest on the latest creation from the renowned Murtagh, whose mettle in engineering narrative and uplifting music is apparently unending. “Sombra”, released on Colorize recordings, grabbed my attention thoroughly this weekend.
Having gained my appreciation upon sudden discovery, Murtagh’s resume, or shall we say discography, has impressed me to greater ends. The Irish act has consistently displayed his expertise on crafting hypnotic melodies, which evolve gracefully without overwhelming or hesitating to take interesting turns. If you want a rough idea of how his signature sounds, my commendation will go first to his 9AM/10AM EP. Oh how delightful it sounds, hitting me with the nostalgic and sublime elements entirely. 10 AM especially carries this weightlessness and dreamy mood that encompasses you, the ricochet-ing hook that repeats without becoming mundane and dreary.
Turning on to “Sombra”, Murtagh took opportunity of embracing the label’s trademark components: brassy and analogue-ish basslines, complete with a space-y and morphing atmosphere and percussion to drive the groove. Here he doesn’t let go of his specialty of embedding melancholic but enchanting hook, which is the soul of this instrumental. The arrangement, as this particular style usually does, brandishes a breakdown which lets the listener ruminate the highlight of the production: the arpeggiating hook which takes the limelight. The drop approaches slowly, as if drawing towards this massive conclusion of a climax. Describing such schematics become tough as they rely on working with a chosen few synths or sounds per se, while maintaining a fluid dynamic that not bore you out. This is a sentimental performance after all, which grows and invades your attention over time. And talking about the overall aesthetics, imagine the properties of Progressive Trance blending politely towards a deeper House structure, hence making it hard to nominate a pinpoint sub-genre for this specific song (a waste of time and wits rather).
My conclusions are this: Murtagh is a talent not to be overseen or taken lightly. He has upheld a thought and emotion provoking characteristic in his music, and Colorize has adeptly comprehended this and gave him a great platform. Hoping there are more follow-up singles like this, certainly not to be missed!
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