Tech house right now is split between tracks that flex for the algorithm and tracks that still know how to live in a room. “New Past” by II Faces sits firmly in the second camp. It is the kind of groove that does not announce itself with a cheap drop. It walks in, finds the pocket, and stays there until the floor is already moving.
Ben Weiss and Saull built II Faces on that two-sided idea they keep coming back to: two halves of the same vinyl. Ben brings musical culture and feel. Saull brings method and precision. Together they pull from universal house, disco funk, 90s records, and the deep house that defined the early 2000s. The result is not a collage. It is one sound with a clear center: a bass line that does real work, a groovy galloping beat, and vocals that are meant to connect, not just decorate.
That identity is all over “New Past.” The track first landed on the Magic Garden EP via FUNKiMAN, Sem Jacobs’ imprint, and it has been quietly doing what good tech house is supposed to do: travel from DJ to DJ. The pitch that came with this submission is not empty name-dropping. Support from Maga, Sem Jacobs, Nick Curly, Reboot, and Mathias Kaden tells you where this record lives. Those are selectors who care about swing, tension, and whether a track still feels expensive at 4 a.m.
If you have been following the pair, none of this comes out of nowhere. II Faces have already put originals and edits on No Art, Moan, Politics Of Dancing, Wyld, TBX, and Deep Perfect. Their Cafe Con Leche edit with The Mekanism became one of those records people mention when they talk about the duo’s gift for taking a track and adding a little II Faces to it. They are also the type of act that can play an outdoor afterparty with a solar, almost loving vibe and then walk into a closed room and take the roof off. Happy, loving, and still ready to push.
That balance matters in 2026, when a lot of tech house is getting louder and more compressed in the race for playlist real estate. The records that last still treat the low end like a conversation. “New Past” is built that way. It is house first, tech in the attitude: tight drums, a bass line with personality, and just enough space for the groove to breathe. You do not need a manifesto to hear why DJs keep picking it up. It does the job without looking like it is trying too hard.
Paris has been feeding this kind of groove for years, and II Faces sit comfortably in that lineage without sounding like a tribute act. They have their own label energy now, their own nights, and a catalog that keeps circling the same values: coherence, harmony, and a flavor that is theirs. “New Past” is a good entry point if you are late to the story. Play it once as background and you will miss it. Play it on a system and the bass line starts writing the rest of the night for you.
What do you think of this one? Does “New Past” belong in the peak-time tech house stack, or is it more of a warm-up weapon that sneaks up on the room? Drop your take in the comments.
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