This song reminds me of Formant’s Lightshine, but with better programming and a huge injection of energy. If you like that song, you’ll love Everything is You.

The Vitals:

Label: Stereo Productions
Genre: Progressive House / Tribal
Number of Tracks: 1
How you can obtain a copy: The Vinyl is forthcoming from Stereo Productions, a new label from Spain. Ask for it at your local record shop or search for it at one of the online stores.

Factor Scores:

• Production: 9.0
• Programming & Arrangement: 8.4
• Entertainment Quality: 8.2
• Total: 8.5 - Great

Summary:

Everything Is You casts Stryke in the role of the mad scientist, offering a volatile concoction of tribal, progressive, and techno influences that blend in style with uncanny smoothness, but growl and stomp with a spirit akin to Dr. Jeckyll’s formula. The track oozes danceability from the onset, immediately demanding attention with the introduction of its rigid tribal beats and additional looping percussion. As the song progresses, Stryke adds a house bassline, mildly melodic pads, male vocals, dark synth stabs, and a sweeping stereo jet effect to the churning mix, eventually culminating in a huge buildup. Even in its peak moments, the energy is restrained by the producer’s hypnotic techno sway, never allowing the intensity to exceed the reach of its maddening loops. The song has a tempo and level of quality that compare favorably to works previously released by progressive house luminary Tom Stephan (a.k.a. Superchumbo), but its smooth analogue influences trademark the sound as Stryke’s alone.

Factor Scores:

Production quality: 9.0

It doesn’t get much better than this. Stryke produced this song with painstaking detail and a craftsman’s touch, including brilliantly gentle echo effects within the beats, perfectly executed panning in the background sweeps, and top-notch mastering to boot. I am convinced that the bigger the sound system this song is played on, the better it will sound.

Programming & Arrangement: 8.4

The thing I like best about this track is how it sounds completely up-to-date, but thoroughly old school at the same time. The key seems to be its generous portion of classic analogue pads, which give the song a rock-steady flow and a soothing effect to pair with its abrasive, dark-progressive side. The progression, arrangement, and timing of the track are all excellent, and I wish that more producers would take chances with buildups in deeper tracks like Stryke does here. The only thing I don’t care for is the deep male vocal, which sporadically calls out the title phrase. I think it would better serve the overall cause if it were closer to normal pitch, more creatively processed, and placed in a featured role.

Entertainment quality: 8.2

Stryke mentioned in last month’s interview with Tastyfresh that crossing genre boundaries will be the next big movement for electronic dance music. Everything Is You has the broad appeal to achieve just that, featuring an infectious house cadence versatile enough to list techno, progressive, and tribal dancefloors among its potential targets. The edgy track’s only real limitation is that it isn’t a sing-song anthem, which may pigeonhole it a bit, keeping it off the playlists in commercially leaning clubs.

Total: 8.5

This fantastic effort by Stryke is only a more prominent vocal away from being one of the top songs of the year. As it is now, Everything Is You is an essential purchase for deejays playing to crowds that have a taste for the deeper, progressive sounds that have dominated EDM over the past few years.

Bill’s Take:

This song reminds me of Formant’s Lightshine, but with better programming and a huge injection of energy. If you like that song, you’ll love Everything is You.