Daniel Stefanik: Confidence Label: Cocoon

Daniel Stefanik is one of the hottest names on Cocoon's label - and that's a really big thing to live up to. However, Stefanik's multi-faceted album is entertaining, diverse, lively, and playful all at once, and channels the spirit of Cocoon's live events. There's a lot of lushness in Stefanik's signature synths but also some great beats. The most phenomenal tracks are the acid-retro "1996" (#3), the tech-houser "Port of Transition" (#4), and the incredibly organic "Confidence" (#9).

1. Melodic synth intro, layered soundscape, some hi-hats & acid to hint at things to come.
2. Slammin' tech house with breakbeat-y claps. Neat little stop-starts halfway through track, with lush synthesizer backing.
3. Tech-house with acidic overlay, hard & pumpin'. The 1996 title maybe is a reference to the mid-90s sound, perhaps?
4. Chugga-chugga tech-house freight train. Rollin' and throwin' occasional synth blast.
5. Stripped-down funky-ness. Deep, bass-heavy, and shimmering synths.
6. A bit progressive, faster tempo, reverberating synth tones echoing about.
7. Chaotic minimal electro-dub with broken beat, irregular noises, shimmering synth.
8. Meandering & trippy progressive house track, layers of space-y effects & samples.
9. Incredible. An catchy organic deep synth evolves & drives the entire track over lush soundscape. Easily the best track of the album.

There are 4 additional tracks that are bonus releases that are also pretty good here. Try #11 & #13.

10. Dry & crispy claps & hi-hats over a watery soundscape. Acidic bubbling near end.
11. Sci-fi electro-funk with a tech-y grinding beat & bubbling synth soundscape.
12. Funky & break-y tech-house that goes into a crescendo of synth madness.
13. Straight-up synth-y house, but builds up w/ fem. vocal samples and epic synth warbling.