Sueño Latino - Sueño Latino

I am either going to get excommunicated from the electronic music scene or get praised beyond the infinite universe of the stars for saying this, but Derrick May's remix of Sueno Latino may just be where he hit his peak in terms of harmony, emotion, soul and down right heart tearing melody.
Barely ever do I grace a remix of a timeless classic with an essential tag, but this particular release is a never ending fountain of inspiration for many a generations of music enthusiasts on a global scale.
As if Derrick May has not proved countless times the amount of soul machines can and will portray into the human mind, here, once and for all, he sealed the topic and shoved words of disbelief back in naysayers throats for ages to come!
Just in case you're still having doubts, the vinyl mastering on this 1992 original press is ace, while the cover art shines with positivity and radiates good vibrations. 10/10.
Thank you.

They say that a music blessed by the human genious cannot be touched. "It's better to leave as it was primarly conceived", they will say. Well, just imagine if fragments of this music appear on a whole new context years later, shining once again through the talent of new creators. Try to figure out if this second generation tune hits the spot and invades the dancefloors throughout the World. The example we're talking about, "Sueno Latino", is just one in a thousand – and, in this case, the main inspiration - "E2 E4" Long Play by Manuel Göttsching, was already a breakthrough at the time it came out – at the dawn of eighties.

After having heard them over and over, a bold young fellow reputed Techno-Pioneer decided to create a new re-work for it: a personal remix, initially released on the Italian label Creative during the year of 1992, with the very risky mission of bringing a new challenging perspective for it.
The fact that the final result became a Top TEN for countless generations of demanding & intense listeners (as well as on my personal mobile, by the way), was released on other labels such as Buzz, Distinctive and included on compilations like “House Rarities”, “Avanti II”, “Fuse 4” and “Decade Of Dance” gives us a slight idea of the importance of May’s remix.

I sincerely don't know how to describe the full extension of this re-work greatness. First of all, it’s a lesson of harmonic mastery, from the synthesizer chords pad variations to the simulated flute notes and the distorted ethereal hi-hats. This ultra-dense musical aura has a special combination of rhythmic piano lines of different kinds, beautiful synth pads (from three basic notes to multi-chord environments), the original piano sequence of M. Gottsching' s “E2-E4”, sensual percussion with distorted snares, hi-hats & effects and simulated transversal flute lines, giving the Latin Dream atmosphere, and blending the futuristic-unique surrounding with the Balearic.
The notion of Tempo seems perfect: every instant, Mayday knows which synth line must prevail on the ensemble, and raises slowly its volume, just like on an epic story, without disturbing the holistic harmony.
Everything is so instigating, so swinging, and at the same time so dense, soulful, fulfilling, so mellow. The amazingly-built rhythmic pianos, so hard to find nowadays, delights us without warning: one more syncopated, tense and rhythmic, while the other goes far more balanced-driven, emotional, based on exceptional timbres and on a sustaining bass note. The Latin Dream is now more Technological and at the same time, human.
The results of it, every timbre, every detail is so well synchronized that it takes us some time for us to notice the nature of each element. An incredible progression between the synth lines melted with the rhythm elements progresses on the first part until a point where you’ll feel totally without parameters, enchanted by the soundwaves. Your only desire will be hear it forever. The synchronism between the different sounds is much more than you can expect, and there are moments when four to five synth lines dialogue between them simultaneously with delicateness, exploiting the principles of melody, harmony and balance.
Then comes the drop out, the Balearic bird sounds cheers us with the bongos, and the come back swirls on another magnificent evolution culminating in a clash between May’s two main rhythmic piano lines, with a little more emphasis on the sophisticated balance of the elegant one.
Derrick May’s mix for “Sueno Latino” is phenomenal example of a third generation genius artwork (Manuel Göttsching, Sueno Latino, Mayday to mention all of them), honoring man’s eternal seach for self-surprise. It really makes us wonder why can’t the current average electronic producers vislumbrate any further and create bolder conceptions for their music – such as different rhythmic functions for the instrument lines, more inspiring chords or challenging combinations between them.

Even though we sometimes won’t be able to define precisely the nature of an ahead-of-our-time composition, the result spread from a complex ensemble of accurate feeling indicates the presence of Soul. It doesn’t have a rule, or definition for it. It can be hypnotic, funky, atmospheric, groovy, minimal, or whatever label you can imagine, and it can count on more or less sequenced lines – but it certainly has to be human, made with a burning desire, for the Soul is always behind ART.

This record does more than "contain a sample from" E2-E4. It is entirely based around a loop from that record, with a spanish female intoning breathily over the top.

At least Manuel Gottsching is credited as the writer on the sleeve of this version, and I'm sure sales of represses of E2-E4 were stimulated by this record, so he did rather well out of the whole thing.

Derrick May remix of the Italian Sueno Latino cover of Göttsching's original 'E2-E4' is indeed original, electronic on the edge of psychedelica, haunting as the original and an marvelous piece of music standing on it's own legs with the head in the sky and goes in another direction than 'E2-E4'...
The question which one of the version is the best isn't really relevant, as all these versions, Sueno Latino included are just quite different. The Göttsching original is much deeper [it is also longer and split on two sides on the vinyl release], sweeter, more ambiant, atmospheric but still haunting. The Derrick May remix is an amazing electrified psychedelic version but even the Sueno Latino sampladelic release would not have been seing the day if Manuel Göttsching would had never released that 54,38 minutes master-piece that not much people wanted to listen back then when it was available in 1981!

Contains samples from the legendary Electronic Music Album "E2-E4" by Manuel Goettsching, Germany (released on Spalax, France in 1984).

The track on the a-side "Sueno Latino (Illusion First Mix)" is better than the original "E2-E4" and all other remixes. Something between Latino House and classic Derrick May style - another masterpiece by Mr. May!
Absolutely fantastic!!!