VICARI レコード& CD

Review: Birmingham's Quitter teams up with Sheffield's Tommy Vicari Jr on LTD01 for new imprint Les Temps Difficiles. "Just Like It Is" sees them throw down a cyclical and functional groove with just the right amount of thump while "Serious Doubts" gets a lot funkier with its onslaught of modular blips and blurbs creating oddly hypnotic aesthetic. Finally Vicari Jnr goes solo on "Levels" and rough and ready analogue house jam covered in just the right amounts of dust and rust and getting some real soul out of the machines.

Review: Vicari brings some superb machine funk to this new EP on OGE. 'Angela' opens up with wobbly low ends that, to our ears, pay little tribute to a classic Mylo vs Miami Sound Machine riff, that are offset by snappy drums and some lush swirling melodies. After the fleshy and deeper dub comes 'My Spell' which is more bubbly, trippy and loose with its glistening sci-fi- pads and squelchy bass. The third and final original is a third different sound - 'Isolated From My Self'. This one is a jumbled of off-grid hits and detuned keys that brings great unbalance to the dance floor.

Review: Sheffield's man of many aliases Tommy Vicari Jnr unleashes his debut LP as V.I.C.A.R.I on new Aussie vinyl-only imprint established by Mantra Collective's Jack Fuller. If you've followed Tommy for more than a minute you'll know what's in store here: lucid machine funk that bumps, grinds and spaces the dickens out of you. Key highlights include the molten warped bass on "Moy Lally In D", the juddering clipped funk of "Various Small Flames" and the Detroitian soul hurricane that is "Youereve" but these are just three of the twelve stunning synthetic spells he's cast right here. Essential.

Review: It has been two years since Jay Bliss presented the last installment of his respected Stomping Grounds imprint, and now he's back with a third various artists EP. Bliss certainly has selected some of the scene's very best for contributions on SG 005: the ever impressive VICARI serves up the deep and dubby afterhours stomp of "Uncalminginfluence", before the label boss teams up with fellow Club Guesthouse resident Dragos Ilici for some quirky and glitchin' minimal funk on "Oobleck". Label staple Discret Popescu (aka Crihan) makes an appearance too, serving up the rolling and hypnotic "Lose Touch".

Review: Rowle inaugurate their imprint with an impressive selection of tough, tool-oriented tech house. Rising talent Jack Wickham from Leeds follows up a great release on Eastenderz earlier this year with the loopy and hypnotic groove of "Aiol" while Montreal success story Paolo Rocco follows up some great releases on Taverna Tracks and Hot Creations with the smooth and sexy boompty business of "Vieux Velo". On the flip, the quality keeps on coming in the form of the always impressive Tommy Vicari Jr - delivering some bold and downright sleek acid house style on "Kah Styi" while Bobby O'Donnell (One Records) closes this fine release out with the infectious and swingin' groove futurism of "Cipher" which will appeal to fans of iO (Mulen) or odD. This one is being supported by the likes of Raresh, Dan Andrei and Petre Inspirescu to name but a few: so don't sleep on this one. Tip!