Tegami, the debut collaboration by Guillamino & Esteban Adame, is far from ordinary, at least for Adame. The Los Angeles producer is affiliated with Underground Resistance acts like Galaxy 2 Galaxy and Los Hermanos, and has released for Jus-Ed’s no-frills house imprint Underground Quality. Together with Barcelona’s Guillamino, though, he appears to put his name to a cooly melancholy, ambient pop tune. But the credit is slightly incorrect. Guillamino actually finished “Tegami” himself and sent it to Adame for a remix. Brooklyn’s Octo Octa also received a copy, but doesn’t get a title credit—maybe he wasn’t in on the hatching of the original idea.

At any rate, “Tegami” is a reasonably solid piece, one pervaded by Guillamino’s drowsy moan and brassy synthesizer. The press release points toward a Prophet synth, which would explain the way it recalls 1980s synth-pop, as the composition is reduced but imposing. Sadly, though, it ends up feeling like a bit of a prelude. Adame’s “BCN2LAX” mix proves his credentials, inserting the vocal into a patented UR-style grid that’s full of interstellar pads, bouncing snares, radar echoes, and filters working overtime. It’s impressively dynamic and evocative. Octo Octa has a lot of experience chopping up and manipulating vocals, but for the most part he lets Guillamino’s ride with minimal effects, other than some looping. Underneath is a tin-pan gallop that makes a solid case for there currently being a Brooklyn sound, with coarseness as a main feature. It doesn’t gel with the vocal as well as Adame’s, but it will slot better into a contemporary set. Regardless of who gets the title credit, it’s nice to hear such divergent interpretations of an open-ended track.