Mischa Daniels Take Me Higher Video

Mischa Daniëls may hail from the lands of Dutchness, but you certainly wouldn`t know it from his new single Take Me Higher. Dutch dance music often conjures up thoughts of cheesy melodies, happy-go-lucky beats, silly supersaw synths, and whatever else their epic trance brigade has exported across the seas. It`s easy to forget there are plenty of producers who draw influence from other sources than the superstar DJs.

That Daniëls would produce house music isn`t surprising; he`s already built up a decent reputation for that over the past few years. No, it`s the fact, despite being from The Netherlands, Take Me Higher sounds like something you`d hear from a number of reputable New York producers instead.

So, yes. You have no Stoney Boy levels of vapid vocals in this single. Instead, Take Me Higher opts for simple tribal grooves, a catchy looping hook that recalls a time pianos ruled house but with a nice keyboard tone instead, and a soulful gal repeating the track`s name without ever dipping into redundancy. It has late 80s written all over it, and would probably be thought as much were it not for the washing reverb effects which effectively keeps this in the 21st Century. Appropriate breakdowns and builds with layered claps crop up throughout but never feel superfluous, something many of Daniëls` trance countrymen could stand to grab a better handle on. While it may not be a standout, this track still makes for a decent complimentary track in house sets.

Two remixes round out this package, each bringing Take Me Higher into different territory. DJ Antoine and Mad Mark use the tribal feel of Daniëls` original and run with it, stripping the track down into a rhythmic excursion of Latin drumming. It`s a fun diversion, but definitely one for transitions between songs. Meanwhile, feeling the potential funk of the original, Chevy Escolano injects a little disco power into the tribal grooves. The upbeat nature of his remix definitely wins the award for Best Ass Shaker out of all three cuts.

Hm. Not a lengthy review of this, I must admit, but to be honest there isn`t a whole heck of a lot more to talk about here. It was apparently a big hit at WMC earlier this year, but at this point it's rather moot to talk about that event, as the hype from then has died off seven months on.

In the end, all three of these use straight-forward arrangements, so there isn`t anything here that will surprise house fans. However, neither will it send them fleeing either. Take Me Higher is a simple bit of house music that will work a crowd up nicely in those early moments of a night, and has just enough charm in the hook to please those at home as well.

-- Sykonee