Review: While there's no doubt the Middle East has stepped into the electronic music limelight in recent years, catalysed by good (a rebalancing of media focus within dance culture) and bad (controversy surrounding events like MDL Beast and the media's desperation to keep 'breaking new territory' in a world growing smaller by the day), Fatima Al Qadri is not part of this wave. A Senegal-born Kuwaiti, the US-based artist has been doing very good things for well over a decade (2010's 'Muslim Trance' mix is a must hear), creating everything from music exploring meeting points between Arabic traditions and contemporary synth work, to sound installations for renowned galleries. No stranger to Kode 9's Hyperdub, her third outing on the imprint since 2014 puts dark, atmospheric ambient out on the streets of Dakar after dark. Or something like that.
Aquasky & The Breakfastaz - "Good Sound" (instrumental)
Review: Passenger have embarked on a limited edition run of instrumental 10" releases. These will be issued in strictly low quantity for the DJs who prefer their tracks without vocals. First, we strip down the first two tracks from the Teamplayers series which did global damage on original release. Grab them while you can because there will never be another chance.
Review: There is a reason Mark Broom is still so revered in techno circles after all these years. He has a knack for sound design and crafting such powerful kicks that his tunes are always irresistible to both DJs and dancers. He offers up two more high grade weapons here for the second release on Beard Man. First is the maximal minimalism of the bendy 'Loop 132' with its glitchy hits and undulating synths, then comes the more driving and uplifting dub techno banger 'Loop 131.' The titles of these tunes make you wonder just how many of these this man has sitting on his computer ready to go.
Review: R&S Records warmed up on what was another fruitful year with the first full release from recent addition Bullion, and what a revelation it is! There's always been a craft and ingenuity to whatever the London producer has released, be it that Beach Boys meets Dilla debut or the stunningly inventive and psychedelic almost-album for Young Turks, but Say Arr Ee fully reveal's Bullion's new found confidence in his singing voice. This addition to Bullion's arsenal was first revealed on "Ralph", his contribution to the R&S compilation IOTDXI, and is explored fully on the two tracks here. On the title track Bullion chooses to mask it amidst a typically sumptuous pop arrangement built around oven warm synths, it is however overshadowed by the B Side. "What Does She Know" combines Bullion's undeniable craft for hazy electronic psychedelia with an actual song and deserves to be appreciated on a level equal to sometime label mate James Blake.
Review: Jurgen Paape has a brilliantly characterful sound and wrote one of our favourite silly records in 'Ofterschwang' some 13 years ago (go check it out, it's brilliant.) We're glad to hear some new music from the long time Kompakt legend and co-founder and once again it's not what you would expect. 'Allein' is a downbeat piece with oriental melodies and gently plucked strings over warm bass. It's not for the club, that is for sure, but the flip side version 'Allein In Italien' sure is. This one is a chugging and brit Italo disco number with retro 80s synth sounds and plenty of joyous grooves.
Review: CosTafari is Everald Collins and he has been churning out crucial dub and reggae since the turn of the millennium. He's voiced four albums to date and plenty of EPs on labels like Roots Injection, Ark Music and I Negus Records, as well as working under tens of different aliases. 'Freedom' is a happy dub with jangling drums and perc and his cries for freedom up top. It's well-versed in the classic sound but has a fresh contemporary production twist. It comes as a dub, of course, with the rousing 'Get Up An' Fight' on the flip. This one is more laidback and spare but packs no less of a punch, not least with the charged vocals up top.
Review: Acquit is a super under-the-radar label that has been making some great moves in recent times. DX 9's 'Incoming Signal' is further proof of that. It's a Detroit-referencing techno outing with the sort of chord work that gets you lost deep in through while the bulky drums lock you into an intergalactic trip. The G-Prod remix brings prickly and kinetic electro beats, while the Taho remix is awash with celestial synth work and cosmic melody. 'Decoded Signal 1' is a final original that has more kick and but still plenty of machine soul. This sweet 10" is limited to 200 copies so move fast.
Review: Dial 81 and tell them it's an emergency... Blair French has dropped his second single this year and there are only 300 copies in existence! Following "Standing Still Is An Illusion" on Rocksteady Disco come two more sublime Balearic affairs that fit Claremont 56 like a snug pair of speedos; "Sandbar Caviar" wafts and sways with island waves as gentle arpeggios ebb and flow creating harmonies and cosmic textures while "Inland Island" adjusts our seats to a horizontal position with its snaking bassline and spacious percussion gradually opening into a heavenly vocal and guitar lead that's tantamount to transcendental.
Review: After some great releases by the likes of Butch and BB, Hot Chip's Joe Goddard arrives on Kornel Kovacs and HNNY's Puss imprint with a, well, 'loved-up' anthem called "Love LUV". This is trippy and sensual mood music if we have ever heard it. Label co-head Kovacs gets onboard for a couple of remixes on the flip: the KK Beat Tool reaches near tribal moments on this moody backroom dub, while for the more adventurous selectors out there the KK Vox Tool is a handy acapella strictly for DJ use only.
Review: Greyscale unveils its latest endeavour, the Spectrum Series, as a way to continue to evolve its offerings and this time it is with something that makes a vibrant departure from its traditional black-and-white aesthetic. The inaugural release features the iconic Lithuanian dub track 'Kasdienybes Sventykla' by grad_u & Eazystyle MC as a way of commemorating its 15th anniversary. It came as a double CD in 2011 but now gets a first vinyl pressing on a nice 10" slab of wax. The track itself taps into the earliest roots of dub in the 70s and traces a line through the 80s with its heavyweight drums and endlessly echoing bass topped by great mic work. A pared-back instrumental features on the flip of this latest crucial drop from the dub dons at Greyscale
Review: Sleeper man Alex Fox debuted the GRAMZ alias earlier in the year via a two-track 12" on Sentry Records built around paranoid sonic textures, serious bass-weight and rolling 140 BPM beats. For this 10" outing on Crucial, Fox has taken a deeper approach, ratcheting up the smoky atmosphere while retaining sizeable low-end pressure. "Joken" and flipside "Get Them Bags" are hazy, ultra-deep dubstep workouts, with both doffing a cap towards hip-hop and grime (check out the manipulated MC vocal samples on the latter, in particular), as well as the crackling sonic textures of Burial. "Joken" rolls along nicely while remaining pleasingly subdued, while "Get Them Bags" has a little more sonic strut. Both, though, are excellent.
Review: Back once again, it's Ill Behaviour with yet another two pantherine jungle steamers to top up their eponymous series of black labels. With purring associative moods of a melanistic leopard on wax, 'Side A' crafts knockout jungle from mutedly distant, longing r&b samples and rampant drum snaffles, wafting a prowly energy not too far from the voracious ravishing of prey. 'Side B' goes speedier jungle techno, proving that this is no alley cat; the piano breakdown is particularly impressive, weaving successfully controlled, empirically tested vocal science chops around a well-controlled mallet melody line, one we could only too easily assume was played in by a feline philanderer.
Review: Italian house producer JazzyFunk makes an appearance on Samosa Records with this strident, colourful slice of disco house which positively bursts out of the confines of the 10" grooves. "All Night Love" is all slick licks, MIDI brass parps and a classic diva vocal turn over the top. It builds up nicely and it drops in style, making all the moves you want to set the place alight. "Sexy Thing" has a more romantic lilt to it thanks to swooning strings and sassy sax, but peak time good times are still the order of the day so you can be sure this one pumps where it counts.
Review: Emotional Rescue closes out another brilliant year with one final hot drop. This sorting 7" Safari by King Sporty was the artist's first ever single back in 1976. It comes after the label has served up plenty of reissues of the man known as Noel Wiliam's tackle but this one might be the best. It's from his album Deep Reggae Roots and is nice tropical excursion with steamy hits, wooden percussive sounds and funky bass over a low-slung groove and chanting vocals. This one is backed with a special disco mix by Lexx that reworks the tune for more lively moments.
Review: This Record Store Day 2019 exclusive finds Mumford and Sons at work in the famous Electric Lady Studios in New York. It was there that they decided to serve up four carefully reimagined versions of tracks from their acclaimed Delta album. Each one shows a different, incredibly tender side. 'Woman' is first with its gentle piano keys and closely mic-ed vocals soothing the soul, while 'Guiding Light' has more upbeat but still lo-fi guitar riffs and 'Wild Heart' is another showcase of the beautifully raw and emotive vocals of lead singer Marcus Oliver Johnston Mumford. 'If I Say' is a rousing, heart swelling closer.
Review: Niney The Observer's Set Dub Free vinyl delivers two exceptional dubs straight from the heart of the 1975 dub scene, a period when the genre was reaching its peak. On the Side-1, 'Set Dub Free' presents an unreleased dub cut of Michael Rose's 'Freedom.' This track showcases Niney's mastery in crafting deep, resonant dub that captures the essence of the era. The production is rich, with heavy basslines and echo-laden effects that transport listeners to the golden age of dub. On Side-2, 'Dub Born Free', features a rare King Tubby dub cut to 'Rasta No Born Yah,' originally voiced by Sang Hugh. This track is a true gem, blending Tubby's innovative mixing techniques with Niney's powerful rhythms, creating a sound that's both timeless and deeply rooted in reggae history. This 10" is ideal for any dub enthusiast looking into the creative forces that shaped the genre.
Review: Global Essence Sampler is a new series from Deep Inspiration Show Records that calls upon a fine roster of international producer talent to serve up one track each and reflect on what deep house is today. For Allstarr Motomusic the answer is smooth and cruising house grooves with elastic basslines and distant vocal wails. Barce explores classic Larry Heard-style cosmic melodic territory with plenty of star-gazing potential, and Zarenzeit's 'Zahara' is another one that floats amongst the stars with lush ambient pads. Jank offers a more dusty, rhythmic house sound for cosy backroom parties, and then come the jazzy melodies and soulful bass noodling of Jan Kincl's '3300 Gratiot Ave.' Magic stuff.
Review: Parade's 'Parade 004' bursts with high-energy, classic breakbeat vibes, perfectly crafted for fans of rave anthems. Side-1 kicks off with 'Austria', a high-octane track that fuses uplifting piano riffs with a driving beat, embodying peak 90s rave energy. It's the kind of track that fills a dancefloor, blending nostalgia with fresh, invigorating production. Side-2 dives deeper with 'Heartbeat' and 'Higher', both loaded with feel-good, jungle-tinged piano lines that bring a pure, euphoric lift. These tracks capture the essence of breakbeat's roots, while infusing it with a modern twist that keeps things exciting. Parade manages to be both a celebration of breakbeat's legacy and a re-energised take for today's dance sceneiideal for anyone looking to relive or discover that classic sound.
Review: Norwegian pop heavyweight Sigrid has gone from strength to strength since breaking through in 2017 with 'Don't Kill My Vibe'. Her talents have reached to songwriting credits for the likes of Paloma Faith and Rudimental, but it's in her own work where you can hear the precocious singer in full flight. In the wake of 2022 sophomore album How To Let Go, she points to the future with this dazzling, succinct EP. As the title suggests, this release is a reflection on the impact of her meteoric rise and what it means to be on the receiving end of worldwide attention, but naturally Sigrid takes the rollercoaster ride in her stride and sounds more empowered than ever.
Review: Suburban Architecture share the fourth in their 'Architecture Dubs' series of limited edition 10" vinyl releases, which hears some of the most revered names in mid-90s golden-era drum & bass deliver remixes of newer Suburban Architecture material, in homage to that most innovative of periods. It's an impressive feat, not least since most of the time, it's the newcomers remixing the works of the veterans, and not the other way round; and that's what makes this record such a great flex. 'The Drifter', from SA's 'Turning Point' EP, first hears a dedicated, flauting remix from Ray Keith on the A, while Moving Shadow favourite DJ Harmony brings a thoroughly filterpassed amen-packed version to the B1.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.