September 27th, 2008 by niwa | posted in .nl, albums, download, downtempo, free music, jazz, soul |

The Dutch netlabel Fant00m has re-released Mentz’s classic 2004 EP “Relocate”. At the time, when acts like Nostalgia 77 and Cinematic Orchestra were gaining notoriety, the 4-track release was quite unique for being one of the only freely downloadable pack in it’s genre. With the re-release we might see a new trend too.

We’re familiar with re-releases (re-issues) in the world of hardcopy media like vinyl and CD, when items sell more than expected or when tracks somehow gain popularity (by famous DJ plays or featurings in movies for example) long after their release. On the internet however, re-releasing has a different mindset. Here it means someone decides that a product that is still freely available deserves renewed attention and therefor puts it back in front of the public’s eye. In my opinion it’s a huge compliment since it’s a ‘people’s choice’, and there is no material gain involved for the people plugging the release.

If sampling was a certified artform it would be called ‘musical collage’, and there is no better way of describing the jazz-influenced compositions Mentz produces. His minimalistic approach in both sample-usage and mixing techniques delivers a raw but profound sound which is basically what music should be: a feeling, in stead of just notes being played together.

Every track has a small and simple loop that forms the ground, and on top of that loop are carefully layered longer samples, heavy breakdowns and moody horn sections. It’s repetitive but unpredictable, easy listening but too intricate to be unnoticed and it’s light music that weighs heavy on the soul.

The artwork was done by urbanexplorers, who, if I’ve understood it correctly, makes ‘as-is’ photographs of abandoned and deteriorated sites.

Get the ep here