3 out of 5

Label: The Vinyl Factory

Produced by: Soulwax

An okay single and some interesting background material.

‘Close to Paradise’ has the Dewaele Brothers doing a club-lite track tribute to… Loewe, which is a high-end fashion brand that I’m sure has just exposed me as some type of luddite for not knowing anything about it. Loewe conducted some interviews regarding the history of the brand – more directly the area / culture in which it grew – and had Soulwax ‘score’ those interviews.

We get the raw form of chats with the likes of Paula’s Ibiza (this being something sold through Loewe, methinks?) founder Armin Heinemann, and some other likely relevant folks, talking about the area as they were growing up or starting in their various trades. A reference to ‘paradise’ is made; sounds of nature are either organically or otherwise interspersed; and there’s definitely a theme of personal and artistic freedom.

‘Close to Paradise’ on the A-side incorporates snippets of the interviews; the B-side is just the music. They are two separate vibes, with the tune acceptably functioning as ambience for the stories, and then as a breezy island jam when played on its lonesome. There’s a dash of ‘waxy ‘tude in there, aligning it with a laidback Nite Versions style, and the brothers have a good sense of how long to let aspects loop before adding in some other layer to the music. Overall it’s not meant to be a banger, though, so as long as you’re buying it with that knowledge, it’s an enjoyable listen.