FRESH JUICE: MIDNIGHT DUB VOL.1 by PLUS ONE

PLUS ONE (Matt Finnegan) delivers on this name-your-price EP of move bustin' reworkings of four of the industry's finest R&B stars.

Words by Michael Savage/ Design by Michael Savage

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Buy/ Stream here: mattfinneganplusone.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-dub-vol-1

PLUS ONE has proven himself to be a versatile producer and DJ with a dedication to advancing his sound using whatever inspiration he can find. In this case, it's the sound of racing games from his childhood such as cult favourites Midnight Club and Need For Speed Underground. The Irishman shines most with the use of atmospheric elements in his compositions and if you check out who creates most of his artwork, you can build a mental image of a blissful harmonious relationship between Matt and HIS plus one.

As the overseas movement in dance music draws toward more leftfield and bass sounds, PLUS ONE will be seen as one of the early Irish adopters of the sound. The Dublin native has crafted this sound from his experience playing around the Emerald Isle having worked with dominant acts like Kojaque and making appearances on Rinse FM, as well as working with an eclectic bunch of Irish dance artists in Glimmerman, Ema, Small Crab, and Sputnik One.

PLUS ONE takes four R&B hits from the past two years and creates some powerful arrangements to be heard in more intimate club settings. Each track is manipulated to give a complete new listening experience to the originals, reshaping the vocals into a new role in the tracks, and diverging from the original pop sound. The end result is an atmospheric EP filled with euphoric introspective vocals on top of dreamy textures.

Flamenco R&B singer Rosalia's global hit 'A PALÉ' is the first to go under the PLUS ONE hammer. Finnegan constructs a rapturous experience that accentuates the 808s used in the original tune, creating a mystical listening experience with masterful use of reverb and echo building up into a hypnotic chorus.

On the follow up, 'IF I CRIED' gives us a huge jungle edit as PLUS ONE pushes the BPM up considerably. Seriously mighty and wavy, this unreleased track from Charlie XCX gets the hyperpop treatment as Matt makes use of glitchy flangers and a tight phone-box type reverb on the vocal to give the tune a complete cosmetic overhaul. The incomprehensible vocals overlay a dizzying breakbeat that keeps evolving throughout the track. It's massive!

The musical prowess of Doja Cat is given new life with PLUS ONE's take on 'STREETS'. The original cozy, introspective offering is given a mood shift, becoming more pronounced, soothing and spacy with Finnegan's touch up. The un-commanding low-end is made up for with an expansive hall of reverbs and powerful percussion loops push the energy all the way up.

Giveon is the type of artist to make you ugly cry. He is not bound to any constraints and constantly shows his affinity for music. HEARTBREAK ANNIVERSARY (PLUS ONE EDIT) sticks up two fingers at that original slow-burning soulful offering and creates a leftfield dubby banger. The drums and synth swell up until eventually accumulating into a two-stepping release. The final edit on the EP puts the vocal on the backfoot and instead unleashes a hefty instrumental akin to early Floating Points.

A constant releaser, PLUS ONE pushes the boundaries of his sound on this concept release, breathing new life into global chart R&B hits in comprehensive fashion. 4 club friendly tools that you can have for nothing, but they hit so tight that it would be immoral not to throw some dollars towards the release.

Stream/ Buy from PLUS ONE's extended collection here: mattfinneganplusone.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-dub-vol-1