INDEX: レコード& CD

Review: The enigmatic, Berlin-based outfit Downstairs People is an unlikely collaborative project to be birthed from 2020 - the year of isolation. Underground Pop is a collection of synthpop, house and neo-R&B. Led by INDEX:Record's chief Jorge Camacho, who brought together a group of Berlin-based artists, they collaborated over many late night sessions, resulting in this collection of 'left-field pop hits' just in time for summer. From the blunted futurist beats of 'Some Music', to the chilled vibes of 'Gateway', there's a nice slo-mo groove to be heard on 'Slow It' while 'Tell Me Your Name' goes for a boogie-down vibe.

Review: Trip-hop meets modern digital ambience on Gi Gi's latest for INDEX:Records. Nothing but the music meets the ear here, plunging us into ricochety sonic hotwirings from the jump. Allusions to dancehall ('Maiolica'), dub ('Palm Slick') and illbient ('Lilted Song') ring true here, while a vocal feature on the track 'Sinews' - from fellow mic-caresser and expert moniker-coiner Hysterical Love Project - yields a sound that recalls something like the combined sonics of HTRK and 3XL. A not-to-miss EP for anyone who loves it textural.

Review: Index 007 gets shaken and stirred with this high grade broken techno right here from young Ike Zwanikken. Freeform, uptempo, icier than a lockdown doghouse, each cut rattles away with a sense of mischief that could easily be compared to Si Begg. "Seven & Seventeen" lights the first with glacial ripples and skittering drums. "Kiwami Formed" errs more on the trad electro side with its pneumatic beats, staccato riff and liberal amounts of lasers. For a final spicy chaser GOD69 provides a powerful remix climax. Woozy.

Review: The clandestine Xenia Reaper comes forth with their debut LP proper, a sprawling anthology of pulsating, sensual neu-ambient beatdowns for club and spa play. Across nine tracks, they traverse terrain from pensive, windswept chordscapes underpinned by resonant carpets of sub, to pummelling, stroboscopic workouts a la Basic Channel. It's a super accomplished tripp, full of pleasure centre-probing sonic shrapnel, waterlogged voices, saccharine synthwork and skittering percussion. A perfect soundtrack for the advent of longer evenings and resurgence of chlorophyll.