JUJU & JORDASH レコード& CD

Review: Juju and Jordash are rather good at making albums. Their last full-length excursion, 2012's brilliant Techno Primitivism, was a gloriously maudlin and evocative affair, as influenced by drowsy ambient and experimental electronica as house and techno. While there are some similarly dark tracks lurking in the shadows of third album Clean Cut (see the creepy "Swamp Things"), for the most part it's a pleasingly dancefloor-centric concoction. That's not to say that they've packed it with jolly moments - the tipsy, melodious "Anywhere" and dub disco-meets-deep house wonk-out "SP Shakes" aside - but rather their leftfield blends of house and techno have a more club-friendly feel. The results are, for the most part, extremely good, with the rave-era revivalism of "Whippersnapper" (a kind of darkroom, Detroit-influenced take on T-Coy's "Carino") standing out.

Review: It's rare these days that you have a spare 90 minutes to focus on an album, but Techno Primitivism is one of those albums that makes you want to change your lifestyle accordingly. Everything about this new album from Juju & Jordash breathes class - released on Dekmantel with three slabs of 180 gram vinyl spread across a gatefold sleeve complemented by killer design from Orpheu De Jong, and brandishing a blend of music that's fully representative of the Amsterdam based duo's styles and influences. At 15 tracks deep, the full beauty of Techno Primitivism will undoubtedly reveal itself slowly, the cheeky misnomer of the title hinting at Gal & Jordan's often revealed humour. Opening in grand style with the triple suite of "Stoplight Loosejaw", "Diatoms" and "Backwash", the duo set a hazy, atmospheric tone that remains throughout, with brief machine funk interludes such as "Slow Boat To Haifa" and "Rogue Wave" in between longer improvised explorations. Favourites on this album change with every listen, but you can't deny the potency of tracks such as "Powwow" or the Magic Mountain High referencing "Track David Would Play" or the superbly titled "Dr Strangepork". One of the albums of this year, without doubt!