Zapata Retrospect

Is deep house music dead? On HM008 - Retrospect, Hardmatter co-founder and label honcho Zapata flips that notion on its head, and proves that it’s anything but. The Berlin-based, New York-born producer debuts on his own label with 6 thoughtful slabs of deep, padded, and jazzy house, informed not only by the legacy of his native city but also by the trying times that all house lovers face. The EP begins with the spaced-out, beatless ambient yarn “A1 Bray From Beyond,” a cinematic rumination as moving as it is nostalgic, before transitioning to “A2 Miguel,” a modern deep-house anthem dedicated to Mike Huckaby. “A3 Birchy’s Lament” follows, a hauntingly strewn, piano-driven slab of the early-morning deep house certain to move dancers into thoughtful submission. The B-side finds Zapata in jazz mode: like a Strictly Rhythm record, the 3 dubs on the backside—featuring key and piano solos by long-time collaborator and label hero Javonntte—pull together the best of the producer’s musical tendencies, from slapping basslines to jazzy interludes.