Badoor by Sound Quelle

Sound Quelle's 2018 has been nothing short of remarkable: following significant radio support from the likes of Armin van Buuren and Above & Beyond, his recent career-defining mini-album ("Ethereal") earned him guest mix duties on a recent episode of the latter's celebrated "Group Therapy" podcast and radio show. It is our great pleasure to co-pilot "Badoor," another soulful and evocative deep-progressive offering from the Russian phenom.

The title cut lunges out of the gate with a chunky groove, as a bevy of atmospheric, if not celestial themes contribute myriad textures to the soundscape. There's a hint of the exotic in the title, "Badoor," so-named for an Indian village, and the song delivers on this promise. Specifically, the breakdown delivers a unique, moving theme from an instrument that feels ancestral to the trumpet. When the drop arrives, the listener is pulled between two diametrically opposed poles: one that proves meditative and the other kinesthetic, courtesy of Sound Quelle's vintage liquid-y beats.

The B-side of the "Badoor" EP is the intoxicating "Openium," a song that centers on a slightly deeper rhythm than its release counterpart; yet, the steady crescendo of the arrangement and, ultimately, the (mini-)anthemic breakdown reveal a strong progressive trance influence as well. In the opening few minutes, a few flirtatious melody lines create anticipation for the full breakdown theme. With palpable tension, a gorgeous piano motif emerges, soon backed by stirring strings. Rather than unleashing a massive, club-rattling drop, Sound Quelle pulls back the energy and offers, instead, a pensive deep house groove that creates a perfect symmetry to the overall arrangement.