Engle returns to his UK club roots with new ‘Save U’ EP on Southpoint

When Blonde released 'All Cried Out' back in 2015, few could have predicted that one half of the duo, Adam Englefield, would go on to trade chart house music for basement club speed garage.

His solo project, Engle, sees the Bristol producer reconnect with the UK club sounds that initially shaped his career. On Save U, that means combining the energy of new-wave speed garage with a more melodic approach, invoking some of the euphoria that characterised his Blonde days.

Title track ‘Save U’ opens the EP with soft, reverberant vocals layered over bouncing M1 organ bass, bright piano chords and subtle sax flourishes. ‘Back 95’ then takes things into later-night territory with a weightier, tech house-leaning bassline and intermittent bassline womps that nod back to the sound’s noughties lineage.

Closing track ‘Serious Sound’ comes closest to traditional speed garage. Rolling drums and a familiar bass sound provide its foundations, but Engle offsets the track’s club weight with surprisingly emotive melodic character.

Together, the three tracks offer a different interpretation of a sound currently experiencing another resurgence in UK clubs. Rather than pushing speed garage towards increasingly heavy territory, Engle uses it as the foundation for something brighter and more melodic.

Get it on Beatport