Without any tones of disparagement, Fur Coat are a relative newcomer to dance music. Fur Coat is a duo, comprised of Sergio Munoz and Israel Sunshine, two Venezuelans whose paths crossed and melded due to their love of deep, dark electronic music. It wasn’t until Crosstown Rebels honcho Damian Lazarus signed and released their debut EP, 2011’s ‘Space Ballad,’ that Fur Coat began to establish some notoriety. And when their single ‘You And I’ hit the airwaves, Fur Coat was in the conversation of clubbers,’ fans,’ and peers’ alike. Inevitably a bevvy of remixing opportunities came knocking on their door, with the likes of Timo Maas, Stephan Bodzin, Joy Wellboy, DJ W!LD, Jonny Cruz, and Siopis hoping for the Fur Coat treatment. And it was at the end of the 2012 when Fur Coat’s long awaited debut long play (‘Mind Over Matter’) finally dropped, further cementing their place in the dance music fraternity. Now based in Barcelona, Fur Coat still brings the Latin flavours to their production, oozing a tremendous amount of sensuality and possessing an irresistible edge that bodes so well with their dark, minimalist, and deep production.




It’s no wonder that despite their young presence in dance music, Balance has them rightfully hosting their latest ‘Presents’ compilation release.

With their Balance release, Fur Coat delivers a 17 track extravaganza that weaves mesmerizingly through the deepest, darkest and sexiest, minimalist tech house. They open with Mathew Jonson & The Mole’s remix of ‘Tobias’ If, a futuristic, cyborg house that educes images of post-apocalyptic vastness and surrealism. Masomenos’ ‘Post Communism In Casablanca’ follows; a haunting track, exacerbated by the spoken narrative that is laid over the exotic beats. You then get into more head nodding territory with Patlac’s remix of ‘Embassy of Joy’s Addiction’, as well as Ame’s remix of Joey Negro’s Phuture Bound. The highlights continue with the gorgeous tech house of Chardronnet Vs Afrilounge’s Morning Poem, and Francesca Lombardo’s Perseidi (laden with hypnotic, stabbing synths).

The mix turns slightly with Radio Slave’s remix of Tokyo Black Star’s ‘Caballero’, Cesare Vs Disorder’s ‘Monasterio’, and Luke Slater’s remix of Slam’s ‘Visual Capture’, which are much more moodier affairs than the earlier tracks, with the 80s inspired bassline and synths delivering quite a sinister atmosphere. The crunchy beats of Efdemin’s interpretation of Simon Flower’s ‘Phosphenes’ gives the mix some robustness, which leads on beautifully into Fur Coat’s own ‘Monday’, a prog-tech house affair that Fur Coat especially commissioned for this compilation. It is not hard to imagine this track being dropped at the peak of any DJ set, especially with its wicked, wicked warp basslines.

Agoria’s remix of Metronomy’s ‘Love Letters’ keeps the mix peaking, as well as Fur Coat’s ‘U Turn’. Roman Flugel’s ‘O.T.H.’ signals the mix coming down, but this is all just a ruse, because Malandra Jr’s ‘Infinity’ follows, which is one of the more exuberant tracks of the mix. Eventually, DJ Koze’s ‘Mariposa’ and Barnt Remix of Michael Meyer’s ‘Voigt Kampff Test’ concludes quite an eventful, and spectacular mix.

Fur Coat has gone way beyond justifying Balance’s choice for them in hosting this compilation. Their mix is moody, dark, sensual, and atmospheric, and it bodes well to whatever listening scenario you may find yourself in. They may be relative newcomers to the dance fraternity, but they have certainly shown that they belong, here to stay, and worth everybody’s attention.






Words: LEO VARONA