Leng レコード& CD

Review: After an absence of a few years, 40 Thieves return to Leng Records with one of their most special releases to date: a hook-up with long-time Patrick Adams collaborator Gary Davis and long serving soulstress Cinammon Jones. What's on offer is a re-make of one of Jones' songs, 'The Gift', whose sweet lyrics celebrate the arrival of a new day. 40 Thieves take, explored first in the A-side 'Disco Mix', sounds like it was designed to be danced to during a San Francisco sunrise - think dub disco delays, hypnotic grooves, bubbly electronics, languid guitar licks and gentle melodies. Over on the flip, they take the track further into 'woozy 6am open air dancing territory' on a superb, stretched out 'Disco Dub' mix, before peppering a killer drum track with spaced-out electronics on the 'Beats' version.

Review: Andrew 'Emperor Machine' Meecham and French vocalist Severine Moultin enjoyed working on their first collaborative single, 2021's 'Dance Par Amour', so last year reunited in the studio to record a follow-up. 'Your Own Style' follows a similar sonic template, with Mouletin singing in accented English atop a typically analogue-heavy Meecham backing track laden with bubbly bass, delay-laden electric piano motifs, layered percussion and the producer's trademark synth squiggles (a feature of his work since the days he was working with Dean Meredith as Chicken Lips). The song is presented in three variations: the stretched-out and pleasingly loose 'Alternative Mix'; the sparse, effects-laden and mid-80s influenced 'Dub Vocal'; and the warmer, subtly funkier 'Fun Dub'.

Review: The deep house maestro that is Ron Trent has been tapped up for some of his remix expertise by the good folk at Leng. He is charged with tackling Harks & Mudd's 'Susta' and turns out two versions. His opening remix is all grown up Balearic sounds. Gentle percussion is scattered over the leggy house drums, noodling Rhodes chords bring colour and a breathy female vocal layers in the sun kissed soul. It's an immediate classic. On the flip comes his dub, which is more fleshy and elastic, but with just as much soul and warmth.

Review: Cole Odin debuted on Leng in 2020 when he served up the super 'Numbers Game' tune as part of the label's 10th anniversary compilation. He now makes a welcome return, this time with the go-slow king that is Eddie C. Between them they cook up a perfectly low-slung tune in 'Little Boxes.' It has effects-laden guitars and kaleidoscopic electronics that lock you into a chugging yet cosmic groove and take you on a real trip to the stars. On the flip is an epic 10 minute-plus version from 40 Thieves that really ups the starry eyed vibes and expansive chords.