KEVIN OVER Mobilee Back to Back Vol. 11 2LP

OPAKOWANIE: GATEFOLD

Kevin Over further cements his status as mobilee’s most exciting fresh talent with a blistering collection of unheard material, deftly showcasing the work of a young artist rapidly reaching critical mass.

You don’t come to find yourself at the helm of one of the most successful underground house and techno imprints without a keen eye for fresh talent, that which has the potential to be nurtured, moulded and pushed to the next level. Anja Schneider has worked hard to hone that skill over the years, fine-tuning her instinctive, risk-taking persona; as a result, she just knows when someone is worth investing in. With that said, she new has her new protégé Kevin Over locked firmly in her sights – and with good reason.

But even so, for Over to find himself behind the wheel of one of mobilee’s annual long-form releases, despite him barely being over a quarter of a century old (not to mention having only met its founder in person less than a year ago), is quite something. But then again, Anja Schneider isn’t your usual A&R, and Kevin Over isn’t your usual ‘talent’ - as if his recent stellar run of EPs on Truesoul, Nofitstate, Avotre and of course mobilee in the last year alone, didn’t tell you already.

Part compilation, and part album, Over was keen to emphasize how this was his first musically extensive project which followed a defined musical structure, and was consistent in its vibe and mood from beginning to end; “I felt like I needed more of a defined direction at this point in my career, as many of my EPs had traversed a wide variety of styles. The whole process took around three months, drawing from my early influences in garage and Chicago house as well as older funk stuff. I definitely got lost down the Youtube rabbit hole whilst looking for things to sample! I’m also so proud of having some of my favorite artists such as Marquis Hawkes, Jacob Korn and Soulphiction on board for remixes as well.”

As a result, the package displays a remarkably well-rounded cohesion, despite many of the tracks being wildly disparate in a musical sense. They all contain that trademark Over sound that’s hard to put your finger on, be it the piston-driven, jacking drums, the use of dirt and distortion as a textural tool, or the understated yet catchy melodies. The gloriously gravelly deep house of ‘Vember’ contrasts beautifully against the woozy, euphoria of ‘Look At Me Sartre’. There’s everything from disco-inflected bangers (‘Pfeffi Care’) to bittersweet, nostalgic house making an appearance (‘Hillside Av.’), rounding off with his haunting take on Rodriguez Jr.’s 2012 anthem ‘Satellite’

As is tradition with the ‘Back To Back’ series, the full package will also be accompanied by a ‘best of’ mobilee tracks from the previous year, with tracks from Audiofly, Ray Opkara, Rodriguez Jr. amongst many others, and of course Anja Schneider herself. Kevin’s series of original tracks and remixes will be available to buy as a 2 x 12” gatefold package. A tour is also scheduled to follow.