Talal & Zoi are two young cousins emerging from the maelstrom of Toronto's white-hot underground, quickly establishing themselves as a production duo of note. They've recently made big noise with their remix of Meesha's "Daat" for Thoughtless, as well as being hailed as producers of the future with their track "Silky King" for Claude VonStroke's Five Years of Dirtybird compilation - but none of that is preparation for "Empty Roads." The title track is a unique yet soulful collision of Eastern and Western melodies, inviting tech-house beats infused with tweaked vocal snippets and rattling polyrhythmic textures. Woven together with top-notch production, its path leads to a deep, swaying breakdown where shimmering sitars seamlessly intertwine with haunting Rhodes, muted guitar plucks and tuned percussion; the results are simply unforgettable. If the original is all about grace and style, then UK ex-pat Marc Cotterell's remix brings it back to pure club functionality. His hi-tech deep house rework grabs hold and refuses to let go, rewarding those enslaved by the rhythm with endless amounts of groove. Finally, the closer evokes the expansive yet surreal state of dreams through majestic synthetic rhythms, bulging low end, and Talal & Zoi's signature melodies; a classic end-of-the-nighter, this one is sure to find a home at numerous outdoor festivals this summer. As a powerful show of skill from these promising newcomers, "Empty Roads" effortlessly merges global modalities within the parameters of modern tech-house, crafting a heady and deeply intoxicating blend for the dancefloor...