by Slava Malkin

Sebastian Mullaert has yet to meet a long production he doesn't like.  His tracks often clock over ten minutes: an eternity in the ADHD world of dance music and a great way to ensure that your track is labeled "unusable" by an average DJ.  But then again, when one is talking about Sebastian Mullaert one is rarely talking about anything average.  Add another lover of long productions (cue Marionette at 11 minutes) Mathew Jonson to the mix, and we know we will be treated to something long...but, more importantly, we will be treated to something special. 
 
Press play on Pollen 4 life and its main staccato line immediately feels like a light spring rain gently poking at newly sprung leaves of a tree.  As the track evolves—at a hypnotically slow pace naturally—its gently swerving synth lines feel like mist itself, extending from the speakers, caressing and enveloping the listener in the warmth of a spring rainy day.  Occasionally a lonely dissonant note, a melancholic line or a thunderous chordal bang sneak up to disrupt the warmth's flow, but the track always finds its way back towards its gentle essence.