A Brighter Light is the debut release from duo A/Jus/Ted, otherwise known as Justin Strauss and Teddy Stuart. Strauss and Stuart met last year and they have a range of engineering, production and remix experience across artists as diverse as Lenny Kravitz and LCD Soundsystem. I first heard this track on Future Disco Vol. 6, on which it was a highlight, but it is now out on its own.
As A/Jus/Ted they are making synth-led, disco influenced house music. The original track has a crisp edge - the synths provide a progressive feel while a proto-house bass line provides a human counter-point, elegantly grounding the track. Jeremy Glenn's vocals scatter the song with a further layer of sunshine, creating a soulful but forward looking record.
Lars Vegas, fresh off of his own release The Game, provides the first remix and takes it into deeper territory. It reflects his affection for deeper classic house, the vocals still the track's centre but a cool drop leads into thick bass and a layer of reverb. It's a more functional mix, and its simplicity serves the track well.
Along with an instrumental on the digital release the final mix comes from A/Jus/Ted themselves, who strip the track right back and lock into an acid groove. They continue to make use of the vocal but it's a much deeper track than either of the other versions and it runs with the progressive cues of the original to create a tech-house piece more suited for sun-up than sun-down.
A Brighter Light is out now on Under the Shade.