DA Premiere: Matthew Styles debuts on Crosstown Rebels with ‘Avon’
Matthew Styles is one of the true unsung heroes of house music’s underground. Serving as Crosstown Rebels‘ first label manager a decade ago, Styles navigated the label through some of its most successful releases and meteoric rise to prominence. Since then, Styles has become an in-demand engineer for dance music luminaries such as Hercules and Love Affair and racked up production credits on Gerd Janson’s Running Back, Ostgut and Rekids while turning in acclaimed regular appearances at Berlin’s Berghain and Panorama Bar.
Despite his longtime involvement with Crosstown Rebels and lauded production and engineering chops, he’d never actually given label boss Damian Lazarus a demo of his own — up until now, that is. Sleepless is the four-track label debut from Matthew Styles, a sonic journey through the depths and valleys of house music. “Avon” is a razor sharp break-beat workout that wields relentlessly addictive synth riffs and huge electro-bass swells for prime club effect. While the first half of the track ups the energy and movement on the floor, the track closes out on a cerebral vibe with the synth lines taking a turn as the drum breaks clatter on. Given his history with the label, it’s hard to believe that this is Styles’ debut on Crosstown Rebels, but it’s a highly impressive EP nonetheless.
Buy Sleepless on Juno
Categories: Music