Zapata - Retrospect

Label: Hardmatter – HM008
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: UK
Released: Jun 28, 2024
Genre: Electronic
Style: Deep House, House, Ambient

Berlin-based, New York-born producer Zapata debuts on his own label Hardmatter with six thoughtful slabs of deep, padded, and jazzy house, informed not only by the legacy of his native city but also by the trying times that all house lovers face. 

The EP begins with the spaced-out, beatless ambient yarn 'A1 Bray From Beyond', a cinematic rumination as moving as it is nostalgic, before transitioning to 'A2 Miguel', a modern deep-house anthem dedicated to Mike Huckaby. 'A3 Birchy's Lament' follows, a hauntingly strewn, piano-driven slab of the early-morning deep house certain to move dancers into thoughtful submission. 

The B-side finds Zapata in jazz mode: like a Strictly Rhythm record, the three dubs on the backside-featuring key and piano solos by long-time collaborator and label hero Javonntte-pull together the best of the producer's musical tendencies, from slapping basslines to jazzy interludes.

A1. Bray From Beyond
A2. Miguel
A3. Birchy's Lament
B1. Allegory Park (The OG Dub)
B2. Allegory Park (Wonky Piano Dub)
B3. Allegory Park (Javonntte's Orgonomics Dub)