Mancini France レコード& CD

Review: Mancini's Bang Bang EP earlier this year had us impressed. The veteran Parisian producer and DJ now returns with a bunch of wicked remixes from his recent discography - and he's honed in the finest local talents to help get the job done right. First up is Joule chief Janeret, who delivers a dubby and hypnotic rendition of "Slap" that's fuelled by some powerful 303 attitude. Ibiza's Michael James (Constant Sound/Mulen Records) gets into deeper and swing-fuelled territory that's perfectly suited to the afterhours on his version of "Just Music" and finally on the flip we have got Swoy (Politics Of Dancing/Djebali) with the some sublime minimal boompty business displayed finely on his rework of "Rara".

Review: Veteran Parisian producer and DJ Mancini is back. He has been running his eponymous imprint in addition to headz up (with Wlad) and he has released on Signatune and Bit Music over the years. The boss serves up some truly bumpin' minimal tech house jams on the Bang Bang EP. Bleepy shuffle funk in the vein of legends DBX or Hardtrax on the awesome title track, sexy and hypnotic late night deepness on "The Mermaid's Sound" and then something a bit tougher on the B side - with the slinky and dubbed-out tripper "Clap" making it worth buying this fine EP alone.

Review: Mancini may not be one of the more prolific members of Paris's rapidly expanding tech-house family, but his sporadic releases are rarely less than rock solid. This self-released 12" - his third, in total - is every bit as essential as its predecessors, with the Swag style swinging drums, bubbly electronics and intergalactic acid lines of title track "Rara" brilliantly setting the tone. Flipside cut "Just Music" explores similar sonic territory - albeit with the addition of a more bustling and ballsy bassline - while "Gone" sees the producer opt for a deeper and altogether more dub-fuelled vibe. If that's nit enough to persuade you to part with your cash, check the chunky deep house/tech-house fusion of closer "In Place".

Review: Paris native Mancini is one of those artists who dips and dives in and out the shadows as he pleases. Since his first EP surfaced way, way back in 1996, the producer has delivered sporadic EPs here and there, offering some serious killers before returning to the shadows once again. He's been a little more consistent as of late, with his previous release having come out last year, and it feels like he may be gaining a little traction through his self-titled Mancini imprint. "Cascais", the title tune on here, showcases a masterfully subtle and alluring shade of deep house that steers ever so closely to the Villalobos strain of minimal, with the same going for the comparatively more lively and percussion-driven swings of "Sh My Ass". Over on the B-side, "No Nothing" slithers its way through a medley of swinging, glitchy drums, dubby bass tones, and masterful vocal samples, while "Testify" is the one tune to bring the groove out to major dance levels, leaving its siblings back in the shade. Top notch deepness.