Chico Rose (NL) takes His Time on Sound D’Elite

Ilario Alicante built Sound D’Elite for exactly this kind of record: percussive, groove-led, no shortcuts. On 26th June, the label welcomes Chico Rose (NL) for his debut appearance with the ‘Take Our Time’ EP, and it slots right into what the imprint does best.

Chico’s not new to this. Over a decade in the studio has taken him through MOXY MUZIK, Hottrax, and Nervous Records, and his track ‘Pom’ on Deeperfect did real numbers on the Beatport charts. He also runs his own label, Story Starters, which tells you a lot about how he thinks about a record before it even gets to the dancefloor. This is someone who’s spent years learning what a room needs and when to give it.

The title track, Chico Rose’s ‘Take Our Time’, opens with a sultry pulse and vocals that work like a conversation. Call and response, tension building one bar at a time, never rushing the payoff. It’s the kind of groove that rewards patience, the same patience it asks of the listener. By the time it locks in, you’re not thinking about the build anymore, you’re just in it.

Flip it over and ‘Back It Up’ picks up the pace. Swirling synths run through crisp hi-hats and percussion that’s wound tight enough to snap. Where the title track seduces, this one pushes. Together they cover the two moods a good DJ set needs at 1am: the slow burn and the shove forward.

Nothing flashy, everything functional, which on a label like Sound D’Elite is the whole point. Ilario’s imprint has never been about noise. It’s about cuts that do their job on a system that’s been running for six hours straight, in a basement or on a rooftop, doesn’t matter which.

Chico Rose has earned this slot one charting record at a time, and ‘Take Our Time’ proves he’s not coasting on ‘Pom’ or resting on a back catalogue. Two tracks, one clear intention: keep the floor moving without ever announcing itself.

‘Take Our Time’ EP drops via Sound D’Elite on 26th June.

Stream it, grab it on Beatport, and find the spot in your set where it belongs. It won’t take long.