The fastest cut arrives third: 'Anlecta', 126 BPM in G-flat minor, and from there the album only descends — an eighteen-BPM slide down to the 108 of 'Snow'. Anyone playing 'Higher Note' front to back will notice it right away: this is not a sequenced set but a toolbox, better read in tempo blocks than in track order.
The peak-time material lives in the first five numbers. 'Desire' with Hensho and 'Arcade' with M.O.S. roll at 124; 'Anlecta' with Braxton is the energy punch, sharpened breaks and the only cut past 125; and 'With You', carried by Lily Denning's vocal at 125, works as the melodic climax. To open a session, look to the back stretch instead: 'Lost In Time' at 112 and 'Our Own Island' at 114 — with Liz Cass and Tailor, the album's longest cut at 6:31 — warm the floor without burning stages.
The keys, on top of that, leave several transitions ready to go:
- 'Desire' (C minor) resolves naturally into 'With You' (E-flat major), its relative major: an energy lift with no harmonic clash.
- 'Freefall' and 'Our Own Island' share A minor; a long, clean blend to drop from 120 to 114 without showing the seam.
- 'Susurrus' and 'Snow' both sit in D major: the warm-up piece and the album's indie dance closer shake hands, handy for circular sets.
Behind the project is Russian producer Valery Lebedev, who had already signed the albums 'Trait' and 'Tarazed' to Colorize and put 'Sunshine' into circulation as a release of its own on the label before folding it in here. The orange vinyl edition suggests it is also meant for home listening, but its natural habitat is the booth: rarely does an album hand over its harmonic homework this thoroughly done.
Sources: Beatportal · FindYourSounds · Horizons Music