LUCRETIO レコード& CD

Review: According to La Chinerie themselves. after repping their dear home of France on the first volume, they are 'this time enlightening Italy's house scene through an eclectic V/A gathering eight tracks from eight talented macaronis.' Southern Italy represents in the form of Salerno's Giovanni Damico with the funky and dusty soul heaven of "No Al Maltrattamento Dei Samples" while Lecce's finest Marcello Napoletano delivers the goods as always on the gritty house shenanigans of "Insignami". Elsewhere, there's Restoration's Lucretio (via Berlin of course) delivering some muscular, hardware oriented grooves on "I Piu Piccoli" while the north of The Beautiful Country represents too, rest assured, in the from of Bologna's Bassa Clan with the bouncy and swinging NYC circa '94 vibe of "Notte Brava".

Review: Part Analogue Cop and Restoration founder, Lucretio has put out an impressive amount of music over the last five years thanks to collaborations and appearances on everything from Warm Sounds to Technicolour, but it's his own Machines State imprint which has been reserved for most of his personal output. Characterised by a rugged mixture of old-school house and industrial (Detroirian) techno, the series has shown Lucretio's diverse range of styles and influences. This latest instalment, for instance, heads into more discofied territories thanks to a synth-heavy arrangement on both "The Last Dungeon" and "Rise Of The Penguin". It's italo-schooled disco house for the forward-looking mind.

Review: In and amongst the many labels and projects that Analogue Copper Lucretio has immersed himself in over the years, the Machines State operation is a platform for the Berlin-based Italian to express himself fully in a solo capacity. Founded back in 2011, Machines State has lived up to it's stated MO of "all tracks recorded on Hardware Machines, mixed on Analogue Desks, recorded on Tape and released on Vinyl Polymers". If you've indulged in one of the four previous Machines State releases you should have an idea of what to expect from the Ile De La Tour EP as Lucretio plays with Motown samples and classic house rhythms across the three tracks. "Arcade Affair" is positively delightful and light in its execution, which only seems to magnify the frenzied and frazzled sampling of the two B Side tracks with "What We Mean" particularly satisfying.

Review: Lucretio of the Analogue Cops has a work rate comparable to that of a trolling internet gamer. Fortunately for us, Lucretio is not lost in a world of Warcraft, but a studio of drum machines, synthesisers and dusty samplers. It's hard to keep track of who is who in the Italian realm of beat-down house, with the flurry of aliases circulating the Appointment and Restoration camps, but Lucretio makes himself known with the five track Competing Motivations - his first eponymously credited work away from the Machine States label. Lucretio adorns the A-side with his trademark slamming drums, ear-shatter claps and filter melodies with the tracks "Want" and "Tell Me", the latter sounding like a frenetic '90s Laurent Garnier production pitched way down. The B-side's "The Great Fire" and "Quash" are slowed to hip hop tempos, given staggered and lazy beat design which sees improvisation butt up against the edges of awkward but enjoyable musicality. The repetitious "Not The Music" is remit of melodiousness, but a bi-product from a looped sample somehow becomes the tracks focal point

Review: Wicked Bass welcome Lucretio & Omar Akhrif for its 20th release and a fittingly goto one it is too. 'Heartgirls' has a filthy groove with snappy hits and marching drum funk all run through with some wonky synth action. 'We Like Rain' is another full flavour and fleshy cut with rasping bass madness and militant drums. 'Almost Death' is another one with a stiff rhythm and slamming drums, this time with unsettling vocal stabs and wild acid lines. Darren Allen's Crimes Of The Future remix of the same tune is a melon twisting slice of dubbed out afterparty techno.

Review: Tobias Gullberg's Crime City Disco hasn't been flooding the underground market with music since its first release back in 2011, but the Berliner has always put out quality music; from MRSK to Josef Jaktmark, the diversity of the house and techno has been impressive. This week, however, the label goes all out and introduces a selection of producers who we were really not expecting to land on their catalogue: Brenta's (Northern Italy) techno crew are united onto one slab of wax and all the regulars are here - the Analogue Cops feature under their respective names - Lucretio and Marieu - and they're joined by fellow machine enthusiasts, DJ Octopus, Steve Murphy, and Sagats & Madi Grein. Needless to say, the sounds are rough and grainy, dusty and funked-out. The special treat is Lucretio's "Just A Little Bit", a masterful piece of Chicago-leaning house music that's full of power and charisma. Recommended and tipped!