Macadam Mambo レコード& CD

Review: It's pretty hard not to fall in love with Macadam Mambo at first contact. The French label represents the cream of Lyon's underground, a city that has for some time now been a quiet powerhouse of electronic and dance music, developing a reputation for strange, leftfield floor-filling sounds spanning slow burn chug, experimental tropicalism, Balearic and cosmic house.

Enter Axel Larson to prove our point with real precision. L'Ete Noir is an incredible EP, packing a generous six tracks on its wax, all of which are awesome. From the knife-edge atmosphere of poised and percussive rumbler 'Hygiene Du Squelette', to the downtempo joy of a track that feels like it's built largely on the sounds of dripping water and reversed rave keys ('Le Pyromane Du Chateau Rouge'), there are so many layers here you'll be busy for days.

Review: This cosmic electronic offering comes from Greek musician Yannis Veslemes. Opening track 'The Oracle Freaks' is somewhat reminiscent of the more avant garde side of British glam rock and synth pop - think Pet Shop Boys if they were from the moon. The industrial twinge Veslemes puts on his downtempo electronica gives it a slightly odd, retro futurism feel like on 'Psycho Thermo' that wouldn't be out of place in a dystopian video game - something like F-Zero or, point and click adventure games. His echoing vocals against the liquid bass is intrinsically fantastical, and 'The Well' as a whole just feels like a soundtrack. To what is up to the listeners imagination, and you will need a big one to decode the multi-layered and avant-garde 'The Cure'. In short, 'The Well' is a record that is hard to put in to words and best listened to yourself - an shareable experience.