FLORIST レコード& CD

Review: Florist is the latest analogue fetishist to roll off the Vancouver deep house/techno production line. This debut 12" has been in the pipeline for some time, and offers a neat summary of his major inspirations. Techno opener "Final Bounce" is as blazed and dubby as you might expect, but surprisingly also boasts clear UK funky and post-dubstep influences amongst the swirling chords and cut-up vocal samples. Fellow Candian Neo Image provides a remix that drags the cut back towards dreamy, Mood Hut style new age deep house territory. Flipside "Marine Drive" is an altogether deeper proposition, coming on like pitched-down dub house crossed with horizontal ambient house and stoned jazz. The accompanying Internal Dub is, if anything, even more spaced out, making it a particularly attractive proposition.

Review: Bristol's Banoffee Pies are back with their 11th edition. But as far it goes musically: this certainty ain't Bristol! Starting out with the smoothly reduced tendencies of local lad Christian Jay's "Rhotic" which sounds inspired by the sounds of Trelik, there's more of the same (albeit much dubbier and smoked out) on "Starry Nite Life" courtesy of Utrecht's Larry de Kat; very paranoid afterhour vibes on this one! On the flip we've got some more dubbed out fare courtesy of Christian Jay, again, who enlists a bit of help from Crump on the rusty and dust coated "GG3". All Caps artist Florist adds a touch of Vancouver to proceedings with the squelchy DJ tool "Blacky."

Review: Given the brilliance of the first Rhythms of the Pacific EP, slipped out some 12 months ago by Vancouver store and party crew-turned record label Pacific Rhythm, hopes are naturally high for this belated follow-up. Happily, it's every bit as magical as its' predecessor. Neo Image kicks things off with "So", a warm, evocative and dreamy blend of broken beat, downtempo and garage influences. He follows this up with the similarly heady "JR East", whose drawn-out ambient chords are accompanies by clattering drum machine hits and tactile electronic melodies. Flip to the B for the typically deep and dusty Vancouver house bliss of Florist's "112712" and the gritty, dubbed out deep house brilliance of D Tiffany's "Orange Crush (Plush Managements Mix)". Like the rest of the EP, it's utterly beguiling.