[ava.]

When Murat Tepeli puts out a new record, it’s hard not to be interested. It’s not that his missives are that much better than everyone else’s; they’re just a hell of a lot rarer. You see, LWE’s 145th podcaster works as a surgeon by day, so getting to the studio to assemble his peppy house cuts can be somewhat of a struggle. No matter. When it does happen, the results are usually memorable. On his second record for 2013, the Fee Fi Foe Funk For Me EP, that proves true once again, with the Turkish-born German displaying a typically deft grasp of hooks.

You’ve probably already heard the record’s big hit, “The Jazz Funk.” Apart from the fact that it’s been doing the rounds in many DJ bags, it’s one of those things you hear once and don’t easily forget. “The jaaazz…FUNK, the jaaazz…FUNK,” intones its main loop. Over and over and over. Just try and ignore it; the perfect timing of the syllables and the hefty analog beat/bass combo which surges below will thwart you every time. Tepeli’s second original, “Forever,” has less obvious appeal. But as its silvery, gossamer chords slip over sparse bass, they prove surprisingly powerful, perhaps just because of how much room they’ve been given to breathe. Only a diva-like vocal really competes for the top end.

Highlighting Damiano von Erckert’s off-kilter tendencies and Prosumer’s penchant for sheer rapture, the record’s two remixes are equally as strong. The former melds “The Jazz Funk” into a rippling deep-house beauty, one underpinned by deep, sloshing drums and just the barest hints of the original’s vital vocal. Prosumer, on the other hand, beefs up “Forever” into a sonorous bit of piano house, spreading the diva vocals liberally around. While these two efforts are vastly different than Tepeli’s, there’s no feeling that any essential qualities have been lost — a coherence which seems borne by shared songwriting ability.