Review: Clock Poets returns with Surrealism, a three-track various artists exploration of minimal techno and micro-house. Dan Andrei's 'Si Un Ecou' is a stripped-back, bass-heavy roller that is simmering with tension before erupting into modulated synths. Root's 'Apophis' delivers swing-heavy micro-house with shuffling drums and growling synth textures which nod to the genre's golden era. Clock Poets' 'Galaxy' on the flip is a sprawling 14-minute live-recorded jam rich in intricate sound design to end with a classy touch. Surrealism masterfully balances moods and textures here and makes for another refined entry in the Clock Poets catalogue for lovers of thoughtful, hypnotic dance sounds.
Review: The fifth slice of wax from Nothing But Nice's 12"s series comes from James Andrew. His new one consequents 2020's 'Thinking Backwards' EP, which established Andrew as both a sonic and titular rib-tickler, with titles like 'Stereomaster 3000' and 'Billy & The Clonosaurus' indicating a fantastic imagination and a complementary jocosity. 'Surfin The Buzz', however, gets relatively serious, at least on the A side. Not pure jovials, this title track and its counterpart 'Definitive Groove' serve wave-riding sureties with a garage house feel. Laser-guided descents and "I wanna" samples fetishise the groove much further; we cannot simply laugh them off. Only the B-side lifts the veil, with 'Fruit Shoot Fandango' and 'Galactic Dubtastic' connoting confectionary E-numbers and sour tannins, though the sound is equally as accomplished: the B2 especially recalls the amazing psycho-dub of Children Of The Bong or Tradition.
Review: Omakase, which is the name of a style of Japanese dining that means literally 'I leave it up to you' and gives full control of a meal to the chef in question, is also now an ever more vital minimal label. This is its third outing and one with Antraum at the helm. It kick off with 'Hyaku' with its bluesy vocal samples and lazy, infectious drum loops, then has 'Shichi' has more silky and spaced out pads and smooth grooves. 'Rei' is a dreamy one with balmy chords making for a trippy late night day dream and is the sort of track that will zoned out dance floors at 5 am. A tasteful EP for sure.
Review: Antraum's latest record is an exemplary case of whispery vocal fry working hand-in-hand with autotune: 'Fukai' serves fullerine-sharp, atomic sheets of vocal sound, set against harder beats, reducing our eardrums to the consistency of butter. It's no wonder that each and every release so far on the self-run outfit Omakase is so raw, so slicing, so cutting. The label is named after a Japanese culinary expression of indifference, "i'll leave it up to you", which, in the context of sushi dining, refers to chefs selecting and preparing dishes for patrons for them, rather than letting them choose. We're sure Claude Levi-Strauss, author of "The Raw & The Cooked", would've had something to say about this release. Because 'Yume' and 'Kemono' are also served as two further itamae's specials, assimilating ideas of music production and food preparation: beats, stabs and vocals are sliced, diced, sampled, mixed, filleted, and rolled into shiso-leaved bites.
Review: This release by two talented French producers delivers a refined blend of deep and soulful house music with two different versions to chose from. 'Ju' on Side-1 is a deep, groove-heavy cut, layering soulful chords with a rolling bassline and a sensual vocal touch. The jazzy inflections and swanky lounge vibe exude sophistication, making it a late-night essential. On Side-2, the Traumer's Sunset version injects more energy into the original, pushing it toward a melodic, instrumental-driven burner. It retains the deep essence but lifts it with fluid rhythms and hypnotic layers. Elegant yet club-ready, both versions show a sleek, polished minimalism rooted in groove.
Review: Jungle Generation is the third release on Outcast Planet, signed by its resident DJ Bakked. All the tracks are dance-floor oriented - characterized by dynamic drums, acid and trancy melodies matched together with a deep soul. Acid meets slap bass on 'Crush9', while 'Zion' describes the Kingdom of the Lamb through the mode of washy, spitty snares and glassy pads. All tunes serve to satiate, leaving you more or less chloro-filled with energy, much like the emblematic sunflower on the inner label.
Review: LEGRAM VG & Rubber Ducky Records have come together for this playful Game of Tunes series, and the third entry in it offers four more wafty tech house delights. Baldov's 'Dance Connection' is a balmy and breezy opener with some warm synth injections to soften the rickety tech beats. Sif B's 'Small World' is a bubbly cut with sci-fi motifs and Buenaguas's 'Music Or Noise?' Marries distant cosmic pads with sparky synth sequences that make for some nice colourful combinations. Alich's 'The Evidence' is the best of the lot - a pent-up, garage-tinged kicker with ass-wiggling beats and acid prickles. Pure heat.
Review: BDK's Tequila EP from Say Namm White delivers four full-powered, disco-tinged house heaters. Side-1 opens with 'Big Disco Banger,' a high-energy, filtered house anthem true to its name, followed by 'I Don't Want It,' which offers a deeper, yet still anthemic, vibe. Side-2 starts with 'Love Coming Over,' leaning into a Euro disco sound with heavy Fire Island influences. The EP closes with 'Please Don't Rush,' the deepest house track of the lot. If you are a disco house enthusiasts then check this record out because its packed with infectious grooves and vibrant energy.
Review: Tobias Bernstrup is a contemporary musician and video artist born 1970 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He received an MFA from Royal College University of Fine Arts Stockholm in 1998. Using the visual language of pop culture, video games, sci-fi, classicism and gothic noir, he has created a stage persona with notorious live performances. Dressed in elaborate costumes of skin-tight rubber suits and fetish gear, Tobias' external appearance is androgynous. He raises questions about representation of identity, the body and physical space in both virtual and non-virtual realities. Between 1997 and 1998 he self-released two limited CD-R EPs. In 2002 his debut album 'Re-Animate Me' was released by Tonight Records followed by two limited 12" singles for the song "27" and the Italian version "Ventisette".
Review: Norm Talley's Upstairs Asylum label approaches its 20th outing with more of that low-key, high-quality house tackle it has long been associated with. Black Eyes is behind the beats and opens up with the nice and lazy, low slung grooves of 'Gerry The Fish Whisperer' then 'Valley Of Sharks' gets more raw and percussive with its energy. 'Soul Fish' lands on heavy, knackered sounding kicks with soft shakers along for the ride and 'The People Want Hydro' closes down with heady pads swirls and wispy motifs that occupy mind and body as one.
Steve O'Sullivan - "Fly Again" (Steve O'Sullivan Bouncing dub) (6:53)
Steve O'Sullivan - "Fly Again" (Steve O'Sullivan Tuff dub) (6:44)
Bluetrain - "Fly Again" (Bluetrain Special edition Loop) (1:17)
Bluetrain - "Fly Again" (Bluetrain Special edition dub) (7:17)
Bluetrain - "Fly Again" (Bluetrain Special edition Loop 2) (1:16)
Review: Keeping firm to the now well-trodden "Scientist meets" formula, this release through Convent once again hears Joseph Alpern aka. J Gabriel absorb the dubbing wiles of Hopeton Brown into his own minimal techno laboratory. 'Fly Again' follows up the first Scientist collab 'Too Far Gone' from 2023 with yet another red snapper, and comes backed by heated reworks from Steve O'Sullivan and Bluetrain, each of whose generosities know few bounds (they offer two and three remixes each!).
Review: French producer Antoine Bourachot returns with his third release, delivering a trio of original tracks that blend his sharp ear for melody with a clear affection for groove-driven pop and club sounds. The warm, percussive edge of his productions hint at late-night sets and sunlit afterhours, bringing a jaunty mutant disco. Myd, Diogo Strausz and Art of Tones each offer their own take on the material, turning in remixes that stretch from laid-back funk touches to punchier zoomings into the floor. Bourachot's ability to sit comfortably between radio-friendly hooks and crate-digging sensibility makes this a record with plenty of replay value, balancing polish and playfulness in equal measure.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Shining Of Life Flutemental (unreleased version) (11:01)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Lambros Jahmans remix) (5:15)
UNDUB (Space Ritual dub) (10:40)
Shining Of Life Flutemental (Space Ritual dub) (11:15)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Some 20 years ago, Japanese producer donned the K.F alias (the initials of his given name, Kiyotaka Fukagawa) and delivered the astonishingly good 'Shining of Life', a sun-soaked Balearic house treat shot through with Japanese nu-jazz musicality, gospel-influenced vocals and expansive, life-affirming piano solos. This EP offers up previously unheard 'Shining of Light Flutemental' takes. Calm's own 'unreleased mix' retains some of the key elements of the 2004 original while adding morning-fresh flute solos and starry sounds seemingly inspired by Detroit techno. The 'Lambros Jahmans Sunset Mix' is a dreamy and immersive interpretation underpinned by an Afro-house style beat, while the 'Space Ritual Dub' is an almost entirely beat-free soundscape. On 'Undub (Space Ritual Dub)', the same producer wraps echoing flute and piano motifs around a tactile, hand percussion-driven rhythm track.
Review: Tom Carruthers takes the baton for Clone Jack For Daze here and in doing so offers up more of his irresistibly jacked-up jams. Each one distils plenty of classic tropes next to a keen eye for futurism with no-nonsense sound designs and hints of bleep techno all colouring the airwaves. 'Analysis' opens with a blend of bristling analogue beats and smooth chords, 'Confidential' has warped synth bass adding a dark edge and 'Lurk' is another menacing sound with eerie pads. 'Optic 2X' is a thumping closer with mystic atmospheres encouraging deep thought.
Review: Jackies Music Records celebrates a successful first year with a new special edition vinyl record, featuring five iconic numbers from the back catalogue. Retrospectively looking back, we're met with five still-fresh ones from their ambitious 2024, includeing handpicks from Todd Terry, Piem, CASSIMM, Angelo Ferreri, and DJ W!ld. Embodying the mood of mid-dance tension, at which point we're likely well into the mix and sweating our glands off (such paradoxes are not impossible), the best of this pick have got to be Terry's 'Heartbeat', a swarthily knocking groove complete with an angelic, cardiovascular vocal, and W!ld's lo-fi hip slip, 'Underdog', the lyrics on which we'll be spending at least a good week trying to decipher.
Review: Synchrophone proudly present the latest Gerard Hanson aka. Convextion release; a head-turner moment, since the last proper EP by the 2845 artist was over seven years ago, with Vectorvision for the EP 'Zy Clone'. Since then, Convextion has been hard at work, eschewing all concavities for a purely thermal, fluid sonic exercise. 'Torc' and 'Andas' are unsettling, looming techno visions, confecting a hypothetical world in which the hard sciences have taken total precedent over the human, resulting in a rapid dissipation of heat. The only energy that remains is that which is fed through the machine, as further evidenced on the sinister murk-movements on ERP's version, its two-tone Reese stab suggesting utter indefatigability when begged for mercy.
Review: Bass Culture founder, Rex Club legend and standard bearer for the Parisian underground, Julien Veniel shows fine form with his latest effort landing on Phonogramme. Featuring four tracks that each veer toward the techier ends of the house spectrum, 'The Game of Life' is sure to find plenty of admirers of floor-focused subterranean club tackle. Launching via the bumping rhythms and bouncy bass of X-Calibur, it starts as it means to go on. Upping the energy a couple of notches, the wonky bass and paranoid vocals of 'Narcissistic Scratch' power over chunky drums for a strobe-lit, late-night workout. Scene stalwart Satoshi Tomiie keeps things looped and driving on his pumped version of 'Deadbeat', before the dubbed-out original sees the record home in deliciously heady style.
Review: Legofunk's 12" series is back in action with this fantastic two-track EP from Da Lukas and Massimilliano Troiani. Extending outwards from Afrobeat and into sunny house dance-realms, 'Voodoo Bongos' comprises 'Bad Duna' and 'Afro Panda', the first of which exorcises any traces of bad juju with a righteous, shimmying shindig, through hand-drummed ascensions and chanted revelations against solid kicks. The sax line over and above predominates, though at times it blends back into the ensconcing euphony, at which point a retrofusion of white noise fallers and jaunty male verses displace the limelight. 'Afro Panda' moves similarly, unveiling another carnivorous piebald prance.
Review: Markus "Delfonic" Lindner is well-schooled in decades of house and disco music. He brings all of that knowledge to everything he does and for this outing on Germany's Disco Disco he combines both of those influences. 'Flesh To Flesh' has a brilliant retro energy with lots of instrumental funk, live-sounding drums and horn stabs effervescing with real warmth. 'Kiss Kiss' is a big old-school vocal disco anthem with an exuberant glow and 'Set Me Free' gets more deep and dark with more house swing in the kicks. 'You Like It We Love It' is the final disco flame to ignite any party of people who really know what's up.
Review: La Nota Del Diablo welcomes Lugano's rising talent Matthew Dexter with a diabolical two-tracker, showcasing the producer's extensive skills in balancing rich synthesis, intricate construction, drive and ethereal atmospheres, leaning towards the darkened dancefloor. From the opening sonic droughts and glitching judders of 'Arid Land', to the B-side's mendicant mirage, 'Sands Of The Nomad', this is a highly spirited oasis of an EP, despite the name.
Untrodden Path (Fixon & Gene Richards Jr remix) (5:55)
Review: Rudderless techno from Mexico, with saloon-door-swinging establishment ANAOH pulling the secret strings on a sand-caked standoff between producers Dig-it, Bailey Ibbs, Fixon and Gene Richards Jr. Each artist remixing one of three "Paths" outlaid by producer Dig-it, said to be one of the toughest productive techno sharpshooters in Mexico, we find ourselves sizing up and refereeing a mean faceoff here. The remixes are as soiled as the snout of a intelligence-issue mechanical mole, but Dig-it's original 'Untrodden Path' is itself wickedly textured and dextrous, with no end of classic 808s worked between percy knocks and suspended chordwork. Is there any apprehending this outlaw?
Review: First released way back in 1994 on Kevin Saunderson's KMS label, Dionne Warren's Brian Hall-produced deep house gem 'Feel Da Rain' gets a new lease of life thanks to Windsor, Ontario imprint Collective Rhythm Network (CRN). While the original 12" also featured rubs from Alton Miller and Stacey Pullen, it's D'Pac Patel's dub . a warm, rolling, US garage influenced deep house workout rich in tactile organ stabs, superb grooves and short samples of Warren's vocals - that has become the most sought-after version. On this 12", we get Patel's full-length dub (it was edited down on the original 12") and a previously unreleased 'Rhodes Dub' that adds extra electric piano action for added warmth and flavour.
Review: DJ Deep and Traumer hatch their collaborative new project, Get-Rooted, merging their own labels Deeply Rooted and getitraum. Their new cross-pollination, Get-Rooted, re-conceives existing tracks in either artists' catalogues, with 'Open Your Eyes' merging into 'Close Your Eyes' hearing DJ Deep abrade raw hypnogrooves, while Traumer opts for a lush, refined production. DJ Deep's 'Insss', meanwhile, graces the B-side as a spruce revisitation of a beloved vocal sample, paired with a drum-driven progression.
Review: These two classy producers, the former Norwegian and the latter from Switzerland, team up for a raw, heartfelt slab of underground house on Sex Tags UFO. Fuelled by weekly live jam sessions and arranged with pure instinct at Casa de Fett, this four-tracker feels organic, impulsive and gloriously unpolished i house music as a feeling, indeed. The opening cut hits immediately with a heavy bass presence, a jacking 909, swirling pads and an irresistibly uplifting melody. It's simple, efficient and laser-focused on the dancefloor's emotional core. Track two eases the vibe into a sunrise groove, weaving a classic Ibiza guitar into its dusty hardware pulse i loose, warm and full of promise. Flipping over, the third track dips even deeper. It's sentimental yet driven, with shuffling percussion and dreamy pads creating a bittersweet late-night atmosphere. The final track is the EP's toughest i a rough-edged acid house burner that brings grit and urgency without losing the duo's charmingly off-kilter touch. Throughout, DJ Sommer's slick studio craft and Burger Man's wonky sensibility merge into something greater than the sum of their parts.
Review: Im In Love is a German label that says bonjour to DJ Merci who serves up a dynamic four-tracker for their limited series. These DJ tools are crafted for the dance floor so while driven by effective house kicks, they are not mere tools. Each one brings some character, starting with 'In The Middle' with its nice finger clicks and bouncy drums and bass. 'Bouncing Back' is infused with dusty synth chords that hark back to classic US house and on the B-side, 'Deux Trois' pens with smooth, deep chords layered over a rolling conga rhythm. 'Swing My Baby' wraps things up with bouncy drums and stripped-back minimal house. Merci indeed.
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