Review: OHM is quickly becoming a quality imprint you can count on for techno and dub techno. The ninth addition in the series, it calls for an excellent blend of composers to balance this EP out. Veteran Jamie Anderson collabs with the brilliant Owain K on opener. The 'Aqua Dub' builds a euphoria for late night smiles. Smooth is an understatement on this linear gem. One artist on here that's been making strong appearances on many dub techno labels is the ever-talented Francisco Aguado. 'Balance' is a great tribal transition track for any DJ who can it creatively to build the means to an end. On the second side, Star Dub offers the very addictive and techy 'Forst'. Ending on a high note, the brisk and flighty 'Ever Growing' by Volpe completes the ninth edition in a rapturous mood. If you like deep techno, the OHM series is a must to collect.
Curtis Baker & The Bravehearts - "By Hook Or By Crook" (2:55)
Floyd James & The GTs - "The Switchback" (3:01)
Review: Original Gravity serve up yet two more contemporary soul tracks; sides A and B on this latest 7" are shared by Curtis Baker & The Bravehearts and Floyd James & The GTs respectively. The A's 'By Hook Or By Crook' recounts the all-to-relatable feeling of stopping at nothing to get what one wants, while 'The Switchback' ups the big beats and big halls for a roomy guit-funk come mod romp. Yet another delight to add to the OG Newtonians' pile.
Review: The second various artists EP from the Merkwurdig label is another tasteful collection of up front sounds from a clutch of inquisitive underground names. Body opens up with some nice cosmic tech powered by rasping bass and reverberating synths. Nate SU's 'Neutrino' is a busy jam with hooky synths and splashy cymbals that takes on a twisted sense of cyborg funk. OBG very much smooths things out with the heady house roller that is 'With The Wave' and Fabiano Jose shuts down with the rock solid kick patterns and subtly rising joy of his diffuse piano chords on 'Discotale.'
Review: ***B-STOCK: Warped, otherwise plays fine***
The second various artists EP from the Merkwurdig label is another tasteful collection of up front sounds from a clutch of inquisitive underground names. Body opens up with some nice cosmic tech powered by rasping bass and reverberating synths. Nate SU's 'Neutrino' is a busy jam with hooky synths and splashy cymbals that takes on a twisted sense of cyborg funk. OBG very much smooths things out with the heady house roller that is 'With The Wave' and Fabiano Jose shuts down with the rock solid kick patterns and subtly rising joy of his diffuse piano chords on 'Discotale.'
Review: The wonderful Er + Er imprint has a knack for getting some of the biggest names in electronic music together and jamming the hell out! Some of the works by Ricardo Villalobos for the label have been simply sublime. This time, we got legend Carl Craig going head-to-head with the supremely talented Francesco Tristano in a sort of classical techno vibe. "Luder Pre" combines a mid-tempo percussive beat with some seriously twisted piano work, twisting and contorting into a right old spin. It's a one-sided gem, it's 300 copies limited, so you better get yourself one quick!
Review: Sure Thing presents Well of Sand, its second compilation. Six tracks from the label's friends and favourites, each new to the roster, offer bold, untempered explorations of tempo and weight, a concise yet expansive collection recalling the deliberate cadence of rippling sand and the sheen of shimmering oases. From Command D's subtly groundswelling, but snappy 'Half Blue (Violet Mix)', to Foreign Material's alarmingly alien 'The Living Planet' and Third Space's supremely stereoized, lowercase opus 'Push (Part 2)', this is a release for that large intersection of audiophiles and techno-philes.
Music Saved My Life (The extended Discomix) (8:21)
Music Saved My Life (The Full take) (6:11)
Music Saved My Life (The club dub) (7:47)
Music Saved My Life (The acappella) (5:21)
Review: Disco don Dimitri From Paris and the always glossy Glitterbox label is a perfect coming together as this new single proves. It has a cliched title but the music excuses that - it's pure timeless joy, with feel good vocals, big shiny strings and a knotted, funky bassline that cannot fail but ignore the floor. The musicianship is second to none on the extended disco mix and that areas on through all versions. There's the big full take, the more paired back club dub and a cappella, and all are dynamite.
Soundboy Killa (feat Natty Campbell - The Allergies remix)
Jump On It (feat Top Cat - Guadi & Don Letts dub remix)
Review: The proverbial 'Soundboy Killa' is an enduring trope in soundsystem culture at large, referring to the apparently inherent enmity and villainy of the turntablist. Said to have originated in the days of system clashes, the assassin in question presumably refers to the opposing MC, whose barraging verbiage may pack enough semiotic punch to K.O. the opposition through mere utterances alone. Here Natty Campbell and the Freestylers pay tribute to the theme as progeny of the 90s big beat scene; having come up in the age of Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers, the supergroup first faced off in a whirl of tricky dub and armour-plated cold cuttage, dispatching two honorary tracks in the style of each artists' respective greatest scene-hitters: Dub Pistols' 'Cyclone' and Freestylers' 'Roughneck'. Now 'Soundboy Killa' and 'Jump On It' in turn hear a remix from Allergies and Guadi & Don Letts, the latter of which is especially experimental in its use of a peaky, 2-step shuffle.
Review: FOXBAM INC is back to build on the momentum of their first EP with a second one that packs a mighty punch. This one kicks off with EBY, who this year has been cooking up acid for 40 years and here offers the warped low ends and garage-techno power of 'Goldtooth'. Foxtrot vs Ma Bla then mashes up old school samples with earth-shattering bass on 'Deep Down Inside' and bRz vs Stije is a double-time hard techno stomper with warped synths and twisted bass that is inspired by and named after ISCO, a concept from Einstein's general theory of relativity that makes predictions about the dynamics of black holes.
Review: Mushroom Pillow is on a proud and so far successful mission to bring back Latin American music from the 60s-80s via its Relatin project. it's all about mixing up the traditional and the modern and putting fresh spins on what went before. Many of the originals they look to have gone unnoticed the first time round and that's the case here as Franc Moody adds his own twist to Elia & Elizabeth's 'Alegria.' His remix is a sympathetic one that gets the hips swinging over fat and funky disco bass and beneath the sunny Latin vocals. He strips them away on the instrumental version on the flip.
Review: Fabulous Performers are a golden age Philadelphia group with a distinctive take on heart aching blue-eyed soul. Never was that more evident that on the two subtle and super sweet sounds offered up on this new double sider from Blackjack. It is a limited edition 45rpm that has artwork made to look like it came from the original era and has been made in cooperation with Reggie Marshall, brother of the late Fabulous man James Marshall. 'Oh How You Hurt Me' is a real heart wrencher with lush falsettos and frankly the flipside 'There She Goes' is just as good.
Review: Belgian DJ and producer FAiG has been making techno for decades under several different aliases for plenty of top labels. His latest on Planet Rhythm is another hefty slab of subversive sonics with 'South West' layering up streamlined drums and bass with rickety percussion that pans about the mix as distant synths flesh things out further without ever detracting from the rhythm. 'Logg' is more unhinged and urgent with manic synth loops and alarming sirens getting your hackles up as the drums bump on. 'Deep Within' is stylish 90s techno with funky claps skating over the pumping drums and silky bass. 'Taro' runs out with sub-aquatic and dubbed out loopy deepness. It's simple but done well and impossibly effective.
Review: Expansion have been busy recently with a wealth of superb releases all dropping in relatively quick succession. This one comes from 70s and 80s Us soul family, Family Brown. They put out just one album in 1978 and a couple of singles with these two tunes now pressed onto 45rpm some of the best. On the a-side is the slow motion stepper 'Never Had A Love' which has pirouetting strings and male and female vocals playing off in seductive fashion. On the flip is the more groovy but just as melodically lush 'Listen.'
Review: Working with its sister label OST Recordings, Acid Jazz releases a new version of 'Family Tree' by Family Tree, on a smart-looking label based on the look of the original's Ananda label. For the first time since 1975, this new reissue comes with the Kevin Beamish Disco version and a shorter disco mix, as was initially compiled. Handcrafted by 'I Specialize In Love' hitmaker Sharon Brown and her group Family Tree, this eponymous disco-funk sheller is an unpolished study of musicianship above overproduction; the drums are dynamic and dry, lending ample space to Sharon's nostalgic familial reminiscences.
Hooked On Your Love (John Morales unreleased edit) (8:13)
Review: Serious Philly boogie business: In 1979 the Aleem brothers teamed up with serial hit maker Leroy Burgess for this outstanding bass slapping floor burner. Listen closely and you'll hear a young Luther Vandross on backing vocals as the twins bounce off each other with their signature high ranges. Meanwhile on the B we have a previously unreleased edit from one of the most vital, direction shaping remixers of the time; John Morales. Expect nothing but 8 minutes of pure disco bliss. We're hooked on this!
Review: Kiss Klassics have been producing some high-quality promo double singles for a while now, this double headliner of Nelly and Fat Joe being the eighth instalment in their archival series. Side A was the runaway standout from New York rap legend Fat Joe's 2001 titanic-sized album 'Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.)', 'Whats Luv' with the one and only Ashanti. This marked Ashanti's debut year as an artist, the Tina Turner sample hook becoming the soundtrack of the block party and becoming one of the biggest songs of 2002. Side B needs no introduction. "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes". No matter what you think of Nelly, 'Hot in Herre' continues to have the world in a chokehold over 20 years later.
Review: Fazack, Not Even Noticed, NairLess and Henrik Villard battle it out on the fourth Terrazzo disc, unleashing a contagious arsenal of acid and proggy tech house in the process. From the opening hip-swangs and filter-pinched laserblasts of 'Slung Low' to the more ecstatic midi-synth plucking ends of 'Zuzswang'; and last but not least, the more overt acidifications of 'Reflective Tears' and 'S11'; there's something on here for every raver.
Review: Is A Feeling ensures that their new 12" very much is with some classically inclined but not overly nostalgic deep house from Scott Featherstone. 'Plan B' is a bulky, wonky deep house cut for the pumping after party hours, then 'We Played House' taps into the early Chicago sound with Peach Boys style synths and dubbed-out vocals. 'Bad Mother Fucker's a raw, sleazy looper that DJ Sneak would love not least because of the rude-boy vocals and filtered synths, then 'Badass Breaks' spins out on just that. 'Journey' might be the best off the lot with its soulful xylophone melodies and smooth-cruising deep house beats. An eclectic and excellent EP.
Review: Italian DJ and producer and Afrotemplum co-founder, Feel Fly, revisits the sunned, balearic mood of his childhood on this early-stage career definer of an EP. As a series, 'Mediterranean Dreams' lets the light in on only the haziest of sonic visions, letting in island stenches and coconut skitters between the palms. Everything from dub, ambient, balearic and kraut is here channelled into a realised smattering of deep trance, tittilating the senses with an echoic foray into navel-gazing reverie.
Review: International Feel kicks off what is presumably a new series given its title, Mediterranean Dreams - Part 1. For it, they turn to Perugia synth obsessive, underground mainstay and fine producer Feel Fly for four tracks of breezy and sunny disco-house chuggers. 'Onironauta' brings retro Italo chords and nice chunky drums, 'Grace In Space' is a leggy cosmic wonder with far-sighted chords and muted acid magic, then 'Mediterranean Dreams' is pure 80s dream house bliss. 'Becalmed' is the most rough edged and analogue house jack track of the lot.
Review: The connection between ZamZam and Feel Free Hi Fi was sparked by Bristolian Neek out in Portland and lead to an immediate bond forged over a shared sound and DIY ethos. Inspired by early digi-era dancehall and UK dub, the duo crafts a sound here that honours tradition while venturing into bold, idiosyncratic territory. It comes on their own Digital Sting label and opens with 'Voyageur' which is a mix of cinematic atmospherics with haunting synths that evoke wild and mythic landscapes. 'Underground' pays tribute to the spirit of DIY underground music and captures the struggle to preserve both nature and the essence of basement gigs in today's shifting cultural landscape.
Review: Watery and washy techno tracks from Vernon Felicity aka. Borris Bunnik aka. Versalife, conjuring an array of sci-fi vistas on this four-track fantasy. 'Contemplation' hears synth organ and detuned saw-synth imagine a heady stew of soniquatics, while 'Alternate' rounds things off with a light and breezy kaleidoscope of kicks, claps and breath sounds.
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.