Festival Queen by Charles Levine & Martin Buttrich

Charles Levine is best known as one half of Soul Clap, the love-fuelled production and DJ duo that brought all new emotions to the dance music scene when they first emerged in the mid-nineties. Martin Buttrich is an acclaimed studio wizard and Grammy-nominated producer with an enviable discography that pairs meticulous synth craft with compelling grooves from across the house spectrum.

Together, the two have formed a close friendship, originally stemming from a 2016 collaboration in which Buttrich mixed and added production to Soul Clap's self-titled second album, which was released on !K7 Records. Since then, Buttrich and Levine have worked their way through a variety of studio sessions, exciting moments of synthesis, and deep philosophical waxings, ultimately culminating in this present moment in time on Stratasonic.

They open up their new EP with "Festival Queen," a powerful and fulsome cut with angelic vocals working you into a frenzied state as the power of the percussive groove on. After a pulsating, stripped-back Dub allows the colorful synth work to shine, "Festival Queen Reprise" is stripped of the drums and becomes a more heavenly piece perfect for comedowns.

"Charlie & The Moog" is a deep and playful trippy affair with languid synths bringing cheeky energy to the loose-limbed drums. It's a cosmic world of ever-shift-ing melody that warps space and time, and a dub gets even more wonderfully woozy.

Charles Levine & Martin Buttrich - Festival Queen
Release Date 28th June 2024
Label Stratasonic

Tracklist
1. Festival Queen
2. Festival Queen (Dub)
3. Festival Queen Reprise (Digital Only)
4. Charlie & The Moog
5. Charlie & The Moog (Dub)