jacques bon & drux: a long way

It's been a long way. All seems to blend naturally with A Long Way, the debut album from Parisian duo Jacques Bon & Drux. Jacques is a long-term friend, who was running the Paris branch of the Smallville record store for 13 years (2006-2019). He made himself a name also outside of Paris as a DJ and with music released on Giegling, Kann, Mule Musiq, and of course Smallville. Jacques shares his studio in Paris with Vincent Drux, a producer and sound engineer, who recently started his own imprint Cabale Records. Both got together naturally in the studio for hour-long sessions to craft an album together. House music at its most meticulous form. First, as a short form, in which every track captures another time zone of the dancefloor experience. And then as longform, as a whole album with a narrative that combines futuristic aesthetics, classic ethos, and human warmth. From the rolling percussion and windy-city style bassline of opener "Distant Voices", with its cut yet longing distant voices, through deepy, dubby, and raw "Celeste", the haunting synths of "Mirage"; The snares that arrive mid through "Space Ways" and launch into another level; The techy vibe ride of "Radiance"; The late night chords and peak time beat programming of "Your Wings"; And then final couple stick the landing with enough energy, deepness and beauty - "Elevate", which channels Bon and Drux's inner Fred P, and "Sandstorm", a mastery percussive tale with a long, repetitive chord that opens and closes, teases until it disappears and remains nothing but a whispery dying effect.