Dj Tennis And M-High Find New Wave Tension On ‘Cold Hands’
The Life and Death founder provides his own vocals on a new collaboration with M-High, presented across three distinct versions spanning Italo, electro and house.
DJ Tennis and M-High have joined forces on ‘Cold Hands’, a new collaborative single out now via Life and Death.
Rather than settling on a definitive version, the pair approach the track from three different directions. Across the Italo Mix, Electro Mix and House Flip, the same central idea is reshaped for different corners of the dancefloor, with new wave influences providing a thread between them.
Perhaps the most unexpected element comes from DJ Tennis himself. The Italian artist, born Manfredi Romano, steps behind the microphone to provide the track’s vocals, placing his own voice at the centre of the collaboration.
The Italo Mix is the most hazy and melodic of the three. Glowing synths, understated vocals and a loose sense of euphoria give it a deeply nostalgic quality, carrying an unmistakable Depeche Mode-like feeling in the way melancholy and electronic warmth sit alongside one another. It is a reference point that fits remarkably well. Rather than feeling like imitation or straightforward revivalism, that familiar new wave atmosphere gives the track an emotional weight that feels surprisingly natural within DJ Tennis and M-High’s club-focused world.
The Electro Mix takes that same melancholic core and gives it considerably more weight. The drums become tougher, the low end more pronounced and the entire arrangement feels designed for a larger room, without sacrificing the vocal character that makes the original idea so distinctive.
The House Flip, meanwhile, strips the idea back towards the club. Tighter drums and a more direct groove bring it closer to tech house territory, offering the most functional interpretation of the release while preserving enough of the original’s personality to avoid becoming simply another dancefloor tool.
For M-High, ‘Cold Hands’ continues a relationship with Life and Death that began earlier this year with his four-track ‘Dark Web Pinger’ EP. The Dutch producer has steadily built momentum around a groove-led approach to house music, with his releases appearing across Beatport charts and receiving support from BBC Radio 1 alongside DJs including Chris Stussy, Marlon Hoffstadt and KETTAMA.
The collaboration also arrives during a significant year for DJ Tennis and his label. Life and Death is currently celebrating its 15th anniversary, marking a decade and a half since Romano founded the imprint.
Throughout that period, the label has resisted being confined to a single interpretation of underground electronic music. Melody, vocals and movement between genres have remained recurring elements of its catalogue, making ‘Cold Hands’ feel particularly aligned with that philosophy.
The release follows DJ Tennis’ June single ‘Misbehave’, while bringing the label’s founder together with one of the newer artists in its orbit.
More importantly, the three versions reveal how differently one musical idea can behave depending on its surroundings. Rather than treating the alternate mixes as secondary additions, DJ Tennis and M-High give each one its own identity, moving from the nostalgic, almost new wave romanticism of the Italo Mix through electro and into the physical immediacy of house.
And it is that slightly unexpected emotional quality that makes ‘Cold Hands’ work. Beneath its club functionality sits something distinctly melancholic and familiar, with Tennis’ vocals and those Depeche Mode-adjacent textures giving the record a sense of nostalgia that feels unusually convincing rather than forced.
‘Cold Hands’ by DJ Tennis and M-High is out now via Life and Death.
Tracklist
- Cold Hands (Italo Mix)
- Cold Hands (Electro Mix)
- Cold Hands (House Flip)
Buy/Stream: DJ Tennis, M-High - Cold Hands
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