AREA レコード& CD

Review: Since it was Area that started the Kimochi Sound revolution just under a decade ago, it seems fitting that the publicity-shy artist has delivered the label's first release of a new decade. There are no new Area tracks here though, but rather a quartet of fresh reworks of classic cuts. Natan H kicks off proceedings with a deep, hypnotic, trippy and undeniably wonky revision of "Dare To Be Different", before Leif weighs in with a deliciously melodious, soft-focus revision of picturesque track "The Face Yours Reminds Me Of". Benjamin Brunn takes over on Side B and delivers two contrasting versions on "Effortlessness": the deep, wayward electro-meets-dub house drowsiness of the "Gold Plated Diamonds" mix and the heady ambient techno brilliance of the "Chrome Plated Diamonds" mix.

Review: Area returns to his Kimochi label to deliver a rich musing on ambient approaches from a techno mindset, and he's brought some esteemed friends along for the ride. "Through The Wall" is a magnificent slice of melancholy that leads the A-side in a cloud of billowing chords that undulate through modulation, while "Everything Thrown Away" takes a more intimate approach with quietly drifting synth tones and subtle FX processing. Donato Dozzy's "Genesis Chamber" mix of "Entireless" is a more extravagant affair with layers of noise and feedback working into the beatless space, and Eltron John's guest spot on "Pop Life" adds further aquatic shapes to the fluid tones contained within.

Review: New York's Sequencias label returns with the mysterious Area, an artist who has appeared on everything from Ethereal Sound to Until My Heart Stops. The EP begins with "Circadian", a bass-heavy mind-sweller with subtle nuances of breaks and warm glows of techno. On the B-side, Area teams up with Jack for "One Less Me", a beatless experimentation featuring sci-fi vocal sample and swarms of bass, while "XxeXX (Crushkilled version)" combines drones with lo-fi noise to produce a truly singular piece of abstract sound.