About the artist: Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden officially started Gabriel & Dresden in 2001, a year that saw the San Francisco based duo produce remixes for such electronic music legends as New Order and Way Out West. Their first single "Lament" followed in 2002 and their careers kicked into hyperdrive from there, remixing huge acts from both the dance and pop world such as Paul Oakenfold, Tiesto, Depeche Mode, Dido, Annie Lennox and Above & Beyond, just to name a few. Their 2003 remix of Andain's "Beautiful Things", a Josh Gabriel side project no less, was also a smashing success. Big hits of their own also followed, from "As The Rush Comes", their 2003 collaboration with vocalist Jes Brieden released under the name Motorcycle, to 2006's "Tracking Treasure Down", which reached number one on the U.S Hot Dance Club Play chart. The latter song featured on their debut album Gabriel & Dresden which followed later in 2006.
Despite their success,the two decided to go their separate ways in 2008. Dresden would team up with Mikael Johnston to form a new duo, Dresden and Johnston, which produced a number of remixes and singles of their own. An album was even completed but never released. Meanwhile, Gabriel released a solo album in 2008 and finally released a full length Andain album, You Once Told Me, in 2008. In 2010, the duo reunited for a New Year's Eve event in Los Angeles and shortly after that gig, announced they were reuniting. Lots of shows, remixes and singles followed until Gabriel & Dresden finally released their long awaited second album, The Only Road, in 2017 on Above & Beyond's Anjunabeats label. The Only Road was easily one of my favorite electronic releases of 2017, leaving fans of the duo hoping it wouldn't be quite so long before album three arrived. Thankfully that album has arrived in early 2020.
About the album: Thanks to another successful Kickstarter campaign, Remedy, Gabriel & Dresden's third album is here. As they did on The Only Road, most of the tracks here feature vocalists. Since there is no need to fix something that isn't broken, it's no surprise that Brittany O'Neal, who performs as Sub Teal, returns to provide lead vocals on six of the album's ten tracks. She worked with the duo on four songs off the previous album and the increased collaboration is welcomed, she is the perfect vocal compliment to their music. Two other tracks feature vocals, with Centre handling the duties on "Remember" while Jan Burton returns to collaborate on the fantastic and dramatic "Keep On Holding". Gabriel & Dresden take the spotlight on the album's remaining two tracks, the instrumentals "Luna" and "Twelve".
As on The Only Road, the songs on Remedy that feature Sub Teal are on a deeper level lyrically than much of what you come across in vocal electronic music. There is a melancholy to album opener "No One's To Blame", an exploration of the aftermath of a relationship. "Knowing death is our greatest fear" she sings on the astounding "Falling Forward" which is followed by the darter vibe of "All I've Got", a killer one-two punch on an album full of knockouts. On "Will I Change", Sub Teal asks the question, "Will I change before it's too late?" while Gabriel & Dresden take you on an emotional roller coaster of production. The first minute of the song is carried by a thumping dance beat which dissipates into a somber piano ballad before building back into an uplifting dance track.
I most often see the duo's music referred to as progressive trance, and Gabriel & Dresden recently took umbrage with the trance label attached to their music on Twitter. This is why I personally hate having to label every form of music out there, especially in the electronic genre. Remedy is euphoric, it is emotional, it is beautifully produced and performed. Sure, while there are elements of progressive trance, there are also pop song structures. Instead of attaching a label to it that the artists dislike, let's just call it what it really is. Great electronic dance music. Period. Remedy will go down as one of the best electronic music albums of 2020 and it's the year's first great album.
Favorite tracks: "Falling Forward", "All I've Got", "Keep On Holding", "No One's To Blame"
Remedy was released January 17th via the Anjunabeats label.
Official Website of Gabriel & Dresden
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Purchase Remedy from the Anjuna Music Store
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