Review - Gran Riserva

This Austrian duo has made a name for themselves in the downtempo scene thanks to remix work and their incredible debut, "Freaks & Icons." This new album doesn't do much to modify their style, but it certainly takes up where "Freaks" left off by extending its classy, funky sound. Firmly positioned in the new global chill movement, Dzihan & Kamien (like fellow Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister) take the influences of both the pan-European club scene and the sounds of Central Asia to create stylistically diverse -- yet unrepentantly beautiful -- music. Influenced by recording in locales as varied as Istanbul and Tuscany, "Gran Riserva" maintains a richly organic sound that, though built by sequencers, is enhanced by copious live instrumentation (horns, polyethnic percussion, thick double-bass lines). And, like the title implies, the result is an album that's as varied in flavors and textures as that $200 bottle of wine you should have bought last year.