SAKRO レコード& CD

Review: Bon Vivant is a freshly minted record label and party series from pals Andrade and Sakro. To kick things off, EP1 features two tracks each from the young producers. Their aim is apparently to release "timeless music", and there's something certainly ageless about Andrade's two contributions. Opener "Get Away From The Pressure" sounds like an unlikely hook-up between Paperclip People, Chez Damier and DJ Sneak, while the breezier - but similarly loopy - "In The Waiting Line" offers a European take on early 2000s Chicago deep house. Speaking of Chi-town, there's much swing and bump to Sakro's hazy and bass-heavy "You Are Gonna Die Anyway", while "Soulafly" adds a touch of sun-kissed humidity amidst the shuffling beats and jazzy keys.

Review: Sakro has been delivering grade A minimal pumpers for some time now, appearing on labels as respected as Visionquest, Raum...musik, Karlovak and Pleasure Zone, and now he's landing on venerable London institution Half Baked with another salvo of upfront party delights. "Whispered Story" is infectious, funky and precision engineered for peak time action, while "Millions Of Stars" strips things back to a more mystical house shimmer adorned with gorgeous sweeps of pads. "Echoes" nudges things into woozy after hours territory with pitch-wobbling tones and a steady shuffling beat that will serve the minimal house crowd very well indeed.

Review: 2016 was a successful year for Sakro, who offered up some seriously good house music via releases on Houseworx and Bon Vivant. Here he helps Raum Musik celebrate a century of releases with another strong three-track missive. The title track - a brilliantly judged fusion of crunchy, swinging house drums, bustling bass and trippy electronics - has already caused something of a stir online, after being championed by Ricardo Villalobos over the last six months. Elsewhere, opener "Nyctophilia" is a smooth, bass-heavy deep house bumper blessed with ghostly chords and quirky spoken word samples, and "Life's Too Short" fixes swirling string samples to a typically groovy rhythm track.