Adam Ten has quietly become one of the most interesting names in the melodic house and Mediterranean-flavored scene, and “I Never Knew” shows exactly why. This is house music with actual soul, the kind that prioritizes feel over flash. The groove is hypnotic in that way good extended mixes are, built to be lived in rather than consumed in thirty seconds. There’s a warmth to the chords that wraps around the whole track, and the vocal sample drifts through like a half-remembered dream. I love that he gives it room to develop, letting the tension build slowly across the full runtime instead of rushing to a payoff. It’s the rare dance track that works equally well at 2am on a dancefloor or 2pm on a Sunday with coffee. The bassline is understated but it’s the secret engine of the whole thing. This is grown-up house music that never gets boring. Defected clearly still has impeccable taste. Lose yourself in it.
January
Chrome Daydream
Chrome stars, jelly hearts and holographic colour. A nod to the glossy, optimistic graphics of the early web.