Ozgur Ozkan – Dark Forest [Deepwibe Underground]

Deepwibe Underground opens the month of October by welcoming Ozgur Ozkan to the label for his debut single. With a career that spans well over a decade the Turkish artist has firmly etched his place in the evolution of progressive house. Releases courtesy of Balkan Connection, Movement Recordings, Soundteller Records and Stellar Fountain highlight his resume, along with support from the genres top tastemakers. In what has been a quiet year thus far, Ozgur now presents his first project of 2021 for Deepwibe Underground, alongside remixes from Christian Monique and Monograph & The Cobb.

Living up to it's title, 'Dark Forest' comes in nicely dialled for a dark, peak time dancefloor. It might be one of Ozgur's biggest and darkest tracks to date in fact, with it's tough beats, devilish electronics and maze of effervescent percussion. Brooding tonal themes gradually open up across the first act, while indistinct vocals and acid-like lines converge in a prophetic sounding marriage. A nicely timed break advances the narrative further with more reprocessed vocals building tension and drama against a back drop of sizzling effects, eventually peaking with a thumping drop and buzzing finale. Massive stuff from Ozgur.

Returning to the label and providing the first interpretation is Christian Monique. The Italian artist is making his fourth appearance on the Estonian imprint, coming off excellent outings for La Cura de la Semana and Nick Warren's The Soundgarden. Always bringing a fresh approach to his remixes, Christian takes 'Dark Forest' into deeper, more hypnotic territory with great results. Backed by a rumbling groove and clattering percussion, you get a sense for it's slow burning feel early. Icy pads create an ominous canopy over the galloping beats, delivering a great sense of flow leading into the break. Offering a slightly lighter mood, the centrepiece keeps the sizzling underbelly moving with clustered keys and timely vocal elements ushering in a stirring finale.

Rounding out the release with the final remix are label boss Monograph and frequent studio partner The Cobb. A production team that continues to impress with each successive outing, who come off the strength of their recently released 'Plastic People' interpretation. Once again offering a creative rendition, Monograph and The Cobb take that darker sensibility from the original and give it a much more hopeful feel while still managing to incorporate the vocal elements and overall atmospheric disposition from the original version. There's something decidedly 'late night' sounding about this, from it's sleek, dubbed out groove to gaseous effects and general otherworldly feel, it's a version that could send a back room into a frenzy during the early morning hours. Sensational stuff from Monograph and The Cobb who cap off the release with one of their most heady productions to date. Highly recommended.

Buy: https://bit.ly/2Wn9CMt

Release Date: 01-10-2021

Release Promo: http://releasepromo.com

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