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Published in deep house ·

Pitto, Woodie S

Shadows

Utrecht producer Pitto and Woodie S stretch Shadows over almost ten minutes of deep house on Joris Voorn's Green label: a clicking pattern, a synthesised bassline and a melody that seems to hover just out of reach.

By korczis 2 min read
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Review

Genre and Mood

Pitto and Woodie S made Shadows as deep house of the patient kind: almost ten minutes long, more interested in a state of mind than in a peak. The mood is hypnotic and ethereal. The label that released it heard an almost supernatural perspective in it.

Song Summary

Green’s own notes name the parts that build it: a beautiful melody played by Woodie S, a continuous clicking pattern and a synthesised bassline, layered into what the label calls a multi-layered single. There is no story to follow, only a texture to sink into. The memorable detail is the meeting of that clicking rhythm with Woodie S’s melody.

Musical Breakdown

Intro

At almost ten minutes, Shadows has room to unfold, and the continuous clicking pattern the label describes is the thread to follow.

Main Section

The clicking pattern and the synthesised bassline form the groove; the many layers the label speaks of are the details to listen for over its length.

Outro

A track this long is built to be mixed, so listen to the last minutes as a DJ would, for the moment the next record could come in.

Concepts in Focus

The bassline is the engine of Shadows. In deep house the bass often carries the groove as much as the drums do, and here a synthesised line sits under the clicking percussion, and carries the groove beneath the melody for the whole length of the track.

The release also shows what a remix is for. The twelve-inch paired the 9:54 original on the A-side with a 7:09 remix by Johannes Brecht on the B-side, and the label points out that his version brings vocals forward and adds another dimension. Green also released a dub by Edwin Oosterwal with a more chilled feel. One record thus offers a DJ different shades of the same idea. Compare how Solomun – Friends, another long deep house track from 2014, holds its length through groove alone.

Artistic Context

Pitto is Geurt Kersjes, a DJ and producer from Utrecht, where in 2013 he dreamed up Studio Stekker, a collaborative production space connected to the city’s Stekker festival. Shadows followed his album Objects In A Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear on Green, the label Joris Voorn founded in 2005 for melodic house and techno. Discogs credits the writing to Pitto and Woodie S and lists Joris Voorn for additional mixing; the vinyl came out in the Netherlands in June 2014 as catalogue number GR17.

Impact and Reception

Green reported support from DJs including Steve Bug, Mano Le Tough, Jimpster, Skream and Agoria, and the original reappeared in 2015 on the compilation Alpine Grooves Vol. 7. It is here for its patience. Give it the full ten minutes, ideally late at night.

Learn from this track

Intermediate

What you will learn

  • Hear how a bassline and a repeating percussion pattern can carry a ten-minute track without a big drop.
  • Explain why a label pairs an original with remixes on the same release, and what each version is for.
  • Describe how a melody can make an electronic track feel other-worldly rather than simply danceable.

Listening guide

  1. the clicking pattern The continuous clicking pattern the label describes: a fine rhythmic thread that runs through the whole track.
  2. the bassline The synthesised bassline beneath it, the low, steady part that carries the groove and the body's attention.
  3. the melody The melody credited to Woodie S, floating over the rhythm and giving the track the almost supernatural air the label hears in it.
  4. the long middle Almost ten minutes: listen for small changes in the layers rather than for one big moment of release.

Concepts in this track

bassline

67 tracks

The lowest melodic part of a track. In dance music it often carries the hook as much as the vocal does, and its rhythm against the kick drum defines the groove.

remix

164 tracks

A new version of a recording made by reworking its parts: changing the beat, harmony, tempo or structure, often by another producer. A remix can turn a ballad into a club track.

Listen next, and why

Questions for discussion

  1. Shadows runs 9:54. What keeps a track interesting for that long when nothing dramatic happens?
  2. The label calls the track multi-layered. Which layer did you notice first, and which only after several minutes?
  3. The B-side is a remix by Johannes Brecht that brings vocals forward. Why might a label put a different version on the other side of the same record?

References

  1. GREEN. Pitto - Shadows feat. Woodie S (2014). Label
  2. Discogs. Pitto Feat. Woodie S - Shadows (2014). Database
  3. ADAM Audio. The architect behind Studio Stekker (2022). Interview
  4. Pitto - Topic. Shadows (Alpine Grooves, Vol. 7) (2015). Video
  5. MusicBrainz. Shadows. Database

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