Over the years Montreal producer Jacques Greene has gently folded elements of acid, breakbeat, and Tri-Angle Records-style drag into his music, but the core of his sound has remained simple and constant: Chopped vocal samples glide around hypnotic dance grooves, the music adopting a contemplative, almost melancholy undercurrent in understanding of how sweating it out on the dancefloor can lead to emotional catharsis. On “Believe,” Greene’s latest single, his trademark tension is still present: Drones warble in and out of tune; a filtered break flutters around the downbeats of the tech house pattern; resonance and white noise create anticipation for the drops. But the pitched-up vocal sample that anchors the track feels triumphant and encouraging, making an earnest appeal as the syncopated bassline propels forward: “Now you have to believe.” Through its delicate construction, “Believe” introduces a new, unabashed joy to Greene’s sound, eliciting the close-eyed, hands-up transcendence only a good DJ can supply.
