We struggled to download it on Monday, were completely consumed by it on Tuesday, so planned to extol its virtues on Wednesday, but with the day one frenzy growing with each & every passing hour and the following four days ending in total destruction, it is only now, on day six, that we have summoned the strength of mind to piece together our review of Steve Pitron’s new podcast, “WE Formula 2 Part 1”, into this special super sized feature
From a tender age, there have been plenty of passions in our lives but nothing greater than music, mounds of significant moments both home in South Africa, here in London & on our travels, bookmarked by this magical medium, whether it be a single tune or a collection of tracks, artists or even film scores. Indeed, the list, if we were to make one, would be very varied, a generous genre of sounds from pop to classic, instrumental to vocal and much in between, although since that fateful day when we made our first steps into a club, it has been house music that has dominated those bookmarked moments. And while, like with every other genre, there are tracks that we readily recognise as being attached to places or people in time, it is also true that compilations hold magical memories of their own, especially when travelling, Mikey D’s “Lose Control” compilation forever about Paris, Danny Verde’s “Escape From Paradise” podcast lovingly linked to Berlin & Jamie Head’s “WE Attacks” mix inextricably connected to Brussels, just three examples of many more. However, back here in the capital there is one podcast producer that rules our airwaves, his prolific productions entertaining us virtually everywhere, whether it be spinning around London’s roads, sorting the weekly shop, heading to & from a club or even completing the household chores, our other three afore-mentioned men finding themselves in distinguished company when we reveal that it is Steve Pitron.
Yes, since summer 2010 (the compilation & the year) Steve’s sounds have well & truly dominated our musical minds, yes we have continued to promote a long list of others through our newsletters, focuses & features, but the common denominator, or perhaps better described as the returning point, is Mr Pitron & his podcasts. And, without exception, with each new release we are sent into a surreal spin by his sounds, some productions affecting us more than others, Steve having the uncanny knack & ability to hit our musical sweet spots so hard that those now infamous trademark tears tumble. Indeed, while these emotional eruptions are well documented in our regular reviews, it is when we are alone with his podcasts playing that they are exacerbated the enth degree, certain tracks causing spills as well as thrills, his “Jan 2012 Session” probably the most notable protagonist to date, although aspects of “Afterhours & Summer 2011” are equally responsible, as have proved his two “Summer 2012” compilations, stand-out tear tumbling tracks being “Take Me Higher” & “My World”, while superbly spine chilling & goose bump boasting moments occur on every single podcast of Mr Pitron’s, hence why we hold them in such high regard.
So when news hits of a new Steve Pitron podcast, it is headline grabbing musical material, not just for us, but for thousands around the world who clammer to add his latest compilation to their collection, the download figures making quite spectacular reading, “Jan 2012” for example reaching the dizzy heights of well over sixty thousand on Podomatic alone (he has iTunes & Soundcloud too), while stats across all the podcasts from just this year, exceed the 175,000 mark. And while we can count our downloads within that fabulous figure, we can also count ourselves as extremely privileged to have been a few hours or even a day ahead of the game, as this prolific podcast producer gifts us with advance copies of his new production pressings, but with the release of “WE Formula 2 Part 1” and this advance absent, we were akin to a Lotus at the back of an F1 grid that is left standing at the start. Indeed, following its release on Monday morning, while others sped to Steve’s podomatic page to grab their copy of his latest triumph, the hoards of house music heads racing ahead of us like Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull car, we were left for dust as we grappled with computer glitches, meaning it was a good ten hours before we could get this most treasured prize into our collection. Moreover, while we were left floundering in a download failure frenzy, this Pitron podcast production was lighting up the walls of social networking sites everywhere, this amazing activity not just restricted to the usual faithful, but messages flying in from across the globe, sources including Sydney, New York, Rio & Cape Town, download figures simultaneously lighting up the podomatic board like never before. So it became quickly apparent to us that tons were tuned into this dynamically diverse direction Steve was taking them on with his 2nd WE devotion in four months, the directional twists & turns tighter than the Monaco grand prix circuit and more stunning than the spectacular storms at Sepang.
So, finding ourselves in our own pole position with the podcast, Tuesday was to become a momentous occasion as this wonderful “WE Formula 2 Part 1” production would be the very first to be nibble size reviewed on Twitter, we posting our thoughts, track by track, in a captivating commentary which soon served to highlight, not just the terrific twists & turns Steve was steering us through, but moreover the tear tumbling and emotionally enthralling journey this resplendently recognised phenomenal podcast was taking us on. Now, you can still see that live commentary for yourselves today by clicking on http://twitter.com/discomatt, but no review of a compilation this colossal would be complete without further commentary, although with hardly a touch paper width between all twenty one tracks found on this Pitron production, it is difficult for us to leave out a mention for any one tune. That said, there are some heavenly highlights, the opener “Finally I”, the first, and one that attaches huge emotional & sentimental value to a recently formed friendship, Alex Roque’s stunner having been given the rousing Crazibiza remix treatment here, while others tipping our nerve gangling, tear tumbling & spine shivering scales (all good feelings you understand) are “I Do”, “Symphony”, “Murder The Dancefloor”, “Strange Fruit”, “Stand Alone” & “Naturally”. Then we come to “Can’t Stop Me” Carlos Fas’s tune terrifically trapping us hook, line & sinker, the combination of vocals & tech/progressive beats simply breathtaking, this very much a pattern of the whole podcast, Steve somehow (and spectacularly) dipping in & out of the two with enthralling effect, vocals quickly replaced by full on tech and back, over and over again, again and again, until we effectively wave the white (rather than the chequered) flag of surrender to all these scintillating sounds.
But while all the above tracks are compelling enough, there are two that, like “Finally I”, stand out for us, we zooming to the end of the compilation to find the mind numbingly magnificent “Not Alone”, artist DHP employing the vocal services of Sunday Girl, while the version Steve has selected comes from Spanish superstar D.J/Producer Taito Tikaro (along with studio partner Flavio Zarza)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbESoQ_tWI8[/youtube]
the duo having pulled out another incredible interpretation that matches the might of “My World” & “Lift Me Up”, very much like the first track on this Pitron production, proving prolific as a closer and very much tempting you to play the whole compilation over again, just how a curtain call tune should be in our books. However, if there was ever a track to completely stop us in our tracks, and we mean literally, as we had to suspend all work & other duties as the emotional enormity of it hit, was & remains “Beautiful Lie”, a last minute addition to this phenomenal podcast, but an inspired one as , like so many others, it sits right between two tech tracks and exemplifies all the terrific twists & turns that make this captivating compilation compare with the most compelling race & circuit on the Formula 1 calendar. Masterminded on this mix in an, as yet, unrevealed re-work format, the story behind how it made it here is tear jerking enough (could share it all although is pretty personal stuff), but when we searched through Youtube to find it, we came across a whole host of versions, Henri Josh’s remix one, DJ Paul’s another, while it was the video connected with the Chuckie, Ortzy & Nico Hamuy remix version that brought the whole story together for us, since when this masterful piece of music has attained the status enjoyed only by one other track this year, “Take Me Higher” having had a similar effect on us, those emotional eruptions, goose bump reactions & superbly spine shivering sensations so similar its uncanny.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX_1AqKc4vk[/youtube]
Yet all these heavenly house music highlights aside, we can say with complete conviction that “WE Formula 2 Part 1”, from superb start to fabulous finish and track one to twenty one, has had an unprecedented effect on us, each & every time we press that play button, we immediately sinking into successive sensations that include our breath being taken away, our heart pounding, our stomach churning and (naturally) our trademark tears tumbling, each day these feelings becoming more intense, day by day and hour by hour, to the extent that, by close of play on day 5, we were left totally yet delightfully destroyed in a delirious dance music daze. But perhaps the most spectacular slice of this superb story was the news that news that this stunning Steve Pitron production made it to the number one Podomatic chart podium position (and remains there today), a richly deserved achievement which we exclaimed with just one word, awesome, this masterpiece in mixing proving to be just that, he yet again pushing our emotionally erupting envelope. So it is a podcast publication that we have not only named as our podcast of the week, but one that is surely destined to be our podcast of the year and quite possibly of all time, so one that we cannot recommend highly enough, such is the skill, diversity, dynamism, & splendour of each & every of the Steve sound selection, one you can download for free right now by going http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com, while a visit to permalink http://stevepitronsessions.podomatic.com/entry/2012-11-19T02_05_36-08_00 gives you the opportunity to “like” the podcast, pop on a message of appreciation and surely also add it to your podomatic playlist(s), over 8000 downloads so far making it the fastest achiever of any of his productions yet.
So, with all those emotions running through us in extolling the virtues of this colossal compilation,we couldn’t think of a better way to end our super sized review feature by echoing a track on this Pitron pressing that has been our catchphrase since we started out in life and what this phenomenal production shouts from every rooftop we can imagine, that being that in both Steve Pitron & this “WE Formula 2 Part 1” podcast, “Music Is The Answer!” (DISCO MATT)
