Steven Cock - Death Of The Funky Chameleon - Cargo Edition 023

For their next EP, Moon Harbour’s sister imprint Cargo Edition turns to someone about which little is known, but to someone that has contributed some essential releases to the label’s cannon to date including last year’s ‘Sweet Beat Drop’. Here Dresden’s Steven Cock returns in similarly low-key style with three stripped back deep house grooves.

The title track opens things with smooth subliminal kicks and classic techno hi hats. Existing in the grey area between deep house and dub techno, coarse claps add bite to the groove before some warm, jazzy chords heat the thing through to perfection.

Next up, ‘F.D. One’ bounces more joyously with smeared synths adding a brighter mood and colour to the clipped kicks below. Some dollops of sub bass add weight to the groove and tiny human voices seem to lurk somewhere in the midst of it all: simple but effective, it’s as classy as it is restrained.

‘Language of My City’ is even more kinetic, with busy kicks churning beneath more real world ambiance as echoing claps add an off kilter feel to proceedings. It’s spacious yet purposeful and is a refreshingly original take on deep house that doesn’t reply on the genre’s usual tired tropes for its thrills.

If he keeps on crafting Connaisseur tracks like this, plenty of people will be determined to find out more about Cargo EditionÂ’s secret weapon aka Steven Cock.