March is early, but not too early to acknowledge Kornél Kovács’ “Szira” as one of the sweetest, most uplifting house tracks you’ll likely hear this summer. Kovács is one of the co-founders of Stockholm’s Studio Barnhus label, alongside Axel Boman and Petter Nordkvist; he’s kept a lower profile than Mr. “Purple Drank” Boman and the formerly Border Community-affiliated Petter (both of whom also have their own Man Tear project for DFA), but even with his scant discography, he’s already proven himself a master at baby-making basement jams, blissed-out R&B edits, and hopeful, harp-filled house.
With “Szikra” (Hungarian for “spark”), Kovács conjures a kind of idealized vision of New York in the early ’90s — think Todd Terry, Pal Joey, and the Jungle Brothers sipping daiquiris on a beach in a crystal-domed biosphere — with a hiccupping groove, sparkling keyboards, and buoyant little vocal samples galore. For once, the bonus beat (or “Bónusz Beat,” as it is here) is more than just a DJ tool; if the original version feels like jacking into the sunrise, the remix is like dancing ’til you sweat drops of pure moonlight.
“Szikra” and “Szikra (Bónusz Beat)” are out March 24 on Studio Barnhus, accompanied by a remix by Abdulla Rashim. Listen to the “Bónusz Beat” in full below. And keep an eye out for the debut album from Man Tear, out later this year on DFA.
