The first release of the new year has to be a special one, with 2014 being no exception. After strong EPs on Light my Fire and various remixes, Dan Caster presents an absolute treat on Stil vor Talent, his ‘Bleeding’ EP.

The title track kicks things off: here, Benjamin Franklin’s soulful voice carries us through a sea of dub chords, which slowly build into an emotionally charged climax. Kyodai’s remix then offers itself as an ode to classic deep house, as one encounters warming piano keys and saxophone sounds in perfect harmony with the original’s vocals. For ‘Nouvelle Future’ Dan enlists Björn Störig. It’s instantly obvious that the pair is a good match; their organic sunset-house is made for those epic dance-floor moments. Aided by a driving groove, Oliver Schories then accentuates the guitar and vocal elements of the original to great effect. Next up, Dan delivers an outright party-starter in the form of ‘Freaky, Noisy’, which, lastly, KANT reworks with a nod to electro for good measure.

Catalogue number: SVT121