Carl Finlow

Review: Just under 12 months ago, French imprint Arpege launched with a multi-artist EP rich in far-sighted and futuristic takes on tech-house. For the follow-up they've decided to flip the script, instead offering up a quartet of electro-focused cuts. The headline attraction comes from British electro titan Carl Finlow, whose "Fmseq" is a spacey and melodious mixture of body-popping beats, throbbing bass, lilting lead lines and sparkling chords. There's plenty to set the pulse racing elsewhere across the EP though, from the heady deep space bleeps and hybrid electro/tech-house grooves of Harry Wills' "Estren", to the drowsy electronic warmth, bubbly acid bass and skittish beats of A2's "Plonk".

Review: Carl Finlow, aka electro main-man Silicon Scally, originally released the Boot Loop EP on Billy Nasty's Electrix label back in 2013 - an aeon ago in real terms but a blink of an eye to any electro devotee. Such is the quality of the music that it's well deserving of a repress, not least given the fearsome appetite for this kind of electro now compared to seven years ago. "Conduit" and "Hashtag" are quintessential Finlow cuts, wriggling and writhing with snappy sound design riveted to the machine funk rhythm section. On the flip, Volsoc's "Orange Problem" mix of "Conduit" slips a few more melodic elements into the mix, and Radioactive Man flips "Hashtag" into a gnarly, noisy workout bowling in from leftfield.

Review: There's no shortage of great electro around at the moment, but lest we forget Carl Finlow has been dishing out some of the finest for decades now. In many ways 20/20 Vision is his spiritual home too, so it's great to see him imparting his skills for a fresh long player of razor sharp body poppers loaded with robo-funk. From charging opener "Apparatus" to freaky wriggler "Carbon Deposits", restrained creeper "Components" to punchy melodic workout "Ampere", there's a lot to enjoy and so much musical detail to absorb across this record. As if we'd expect any less from Mr. Finlow.

Review: The Craigie Knowes catalogue is full of mighty fine machine music, though it's only in recent times that the Scottish imprint has embraced electro. This 12" comes from one of electro's longest-serving talents, British scene stalwart Carl Finlow. As you'd expect, the quality threshold remains impressively high throughout, with Finlow breakdancing between deep, poignant electro/synth-pop fusion ("Descent"), starburst, ultra-melodious electronic bliss (the body-popping flex of "Undertones"), hard-wired mutant funk ("Cascade") and stretched-out electronic soundscapes that sit somewhere between pitched-down electro and evocative ambient techno. Finlow is a master at squeezing every last drop of emotion from his machines so it's no surprise that this EP is another emotive, mood enhancing treat.