Before ‘Ragysh
‘ and ‘Inspector Norse’, Todd Terje’s renown was confined to a much smaller disco niche, despite his hundreds of lovingly produced edits over the years. Then ‘Inspector Norse’ went and changed everything last year (not to mention a sample from his 2004 ‘Eurodans’ that featured in Robbie Williams’ chart-topping ‘Candy’). Continuing this inclination for accessibility, Todd turns in an impossibly joyous and buoyant piano house number on his Olsen imprint.
‘Strandbar’, Norwegian for ‘beach bar’, is unabashed in its sheer summer gleefulness, and can only have been produced with a sweaty, outdoor dancefloor in mind.
The samba mix starts off a little to the left, with submerged subaquatic sonics and conga rhythms before the whole thing straightens up with a suitably chunky piano line. The disco version is probably the most playable, pulsing retro-future synths under a bass groove and the bouncy keys.
The bonus cut removes the piano and much of the cheeky synth work, leaving just the bare bones of the percussion. As nice as the drums sound, the track doesn’t amount to much more than a drum tool.
Nothing revolutionary on offer here, but some fun summer fodder nonetheless.
Olsen | June | Format: vinyl, digital
