The release of Sideshow’s new EP comes 3 years after my first tasting of them in ‘Sound of Today’, which I still remember as it was one of the very first non trance tracks I ever bought! ‘Sound of Today’ (released on Simple) was, to me, at the time an introduction to completely bizarre and compelling music. It stretched my genre boundaries and perceptions forever, so I had to see what they’re up to now.

The sound is heavily wedged in the tech house genre, if classifying music is your thing, and it features a full sound, unlike the minimalist approach of their first offering. The title track, Philly Soundworks, is wrapped nicely in a 6-minute format to make life easier for us simpleton DJs. It has a great rhythm, although the synths could possibly be toned down, and a hint of vocal sampling used to bring back the funk in this master crafted piece of tech.

The Jesse Rose remix features a far more pronounced house beat and drives the synths almost into the background. Jesse’s mix loses some of the soft delicate features of the original and replaces them with a harder sound, which personally I think loses the balance of the track. Tougher synths feature heavily in the last which enforces a dominating beat. Truly a peaktime track, but for me the weakest on the EP.

The final remix, by Lee Jones, is something of a dark horse for me. I’ve seen little work by him, but I was impressed on the first listen. It’s a perfect inclusion for a lazy summer afternoon in the sun, and with a more progressive feel in the chords he has managed to include the original synth stab while conveying emotion unlike the other 2 tracks. It’s possible I’m being bias as it has a great progressive tech sound, but the track just oozes natural beauty, with a breakdown synth and driving close that is most unexpected. It makes it all the more versatile.

The Lee Rose remix is my pick for the EP, but it’s a hard decision between it and the original. Both are different; the Lee Jones rework a unique downbeat number, and the original a thrilling tech funk trip. Enjoyable stuff!