From one of my top favorite labels, Colorize, we have an album I have been obsessing over for the past few weeks. The whole album is nothing less than a collection of perfection *chef’s kiss*.
Amidst the chaos of 2020, there were some truly inspiring works of art that came to life during the pandemic. Each one went from starting out as someone’s daydream, a simple muse, and morphed into a tangible, enjoyable experience to share with the world. This album is one of those, and honestly, it’s a blessing. I wished I could’ve enjoyed this album sooner, and I don’t want you to miss another moment. So let’s jump right in.
Trait (2020) is the creation of DJ/Producer Sound Quelle, an extremely talented artist in the deep and progressive house world for the aforementioned Colorize, a sub label of Enhanced Music . He’s also made appearances on labels such as UV, Monstercat, and Intricate Records. Although Trait is the result of Sound Quelle’s creative genius, many brilliant minds made their collaborative contributions to this album as well. Artists like Reskide, Alex Holmes, Referna, Diana Miro, Run Rivers, and Brandon Mignacca just to name a few. Each one is so uniquely different, and each one deserves some spotlight. Let’s talk track by track:
- My Heart- Our downtempo opener features the angelic voice of Danish/Faroese singer/songwriter, Gunnva. The contrast between ethereal atmospheric nature sounds and dark, moody bass tones piqued my interest right away to see how the rest of the album would play out.
- Summer Rain- Another track with incredible vocal talent, Summer Rain is a beautiful deep house track featuring the rich, unique voice of Diana Miro. You might recognize her from collaborations with Cosmic Gate frequenting ASOT over the years, as well as tracks with Eelke Kleijn, Ruben de Ronde, Franky Wah, Christoph, Jackarta, Avira and many more.
- Ah Up- I love, love this track. This track has such bright melodies with a retro almost synthwave style beat. Definitely a mood lifter.
- Hung- This was the track that grabbed me. After finding myself hitting repeat several times, I knew I had to check out the rest of this album. I love the floaty, fantastical melody over the driving house beat.
- Rise- This one gives me space travel vibes with vibrant synth and unique sounds. It’s the combined creativity of not only Sound Quelle and Referna, who’s collaborated with Sound Quelle in the past on at least two EPs and a few other musical endeavors. This track also includes beautiful vocals from singer/songwriter Run Rivers (aka Chris James). You would know him from the fantastic work he’s done over the years with a highly impressive variety of artists such as Andrew Bayer, Tinlicker, Dosem and many many more.
- I Want to Know– This is one of the more emotional tracks of this album. Powerful vocals of Brandon Mignacca create an expressively original track. You might remember this vocalist from our last edition of Better Late Than Never for his collaboration with Shingo Nakamura’s on his 2021 album Glow.
- Virol- This track is honestly just a bop. It didn’t have the same slap as some of the aforementioned tracks for me, but it’s fun and definitely shuffle playlist material.
- Znan- I love the progressive beat of this track, the clarinet-like samples and cinematic strings. It’s definitely got Sound Quelle’s musical signature.
- Let Go Let Live- Brandon Mignacca returns with vocal collaboration on this jam with bright melodies and a capturing house beat.
- Chernobo– This track would’ve also made it on a shuffle/shapes playlist. The unique sampling and beat give it plenty of potential to be matched with dancefloor expression.
- Erupt- I definitely enjoyed the progressive edge of this track with amazing vocals from Alex Holmes. She’s no stranger to the pop and EDM world as she’s worked with artists such as Craig Connelly, Approaching Nirvana, Cylink to name a few.
- Krasa Rosa- The intro to this track is absolutely beautiful and full of cinematic drama, with an underlying tone of 80s retro. Honestly it feels like something you’d hear in a climactic scene of Stranger Things. This track is the result of Sound Quelle and Reskide, another name you might recognize from ABGT 181, ASOT 762 and 785, and tracks on Intricate Records.
- Asanchi– I love the brooding darkness of this track with the thumping house beat and uplifting bright vocals.
- Birffa- This track delivers another driving beat and big, bold synth. The kind of song I want to get lost to on the dancefloor.
- Radioman- The perfect closing track to this album, Radioman is another joint creation of Reskide and Sound Quelle. This one also evokes the feeling of space travel with sparkling, atmospheric sounds underpinning a more relaxed beat that really seems to pull at your imagination.
I listened to this album all the way through while hiking at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. Much of how I spent the pandemic was being outdoors and listening to music. There’s something ethereal in the place where they come together- the magical fusion of nature and music. This album is a great listen anywhere, but I highly recommend giving it a listen on your next outdoor experience.
This album would’ve totally been my favorite of the year had I heard it in 2020. But I believe music and people share a commonality that they come into your life right when they’re meant to. Trait came into my Spotify right on time, and it’s so much better getting to enjoy it late than never. Whether physical or digital, happy crate digging.
To follow Sound Quelle, you can find him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Soundcloud.
Hannah is a long time party go-er, music lover and part time DJ based out of Houston, TX. She specializes in deep house, trance, progressive, and techno.
