Rekids レコード& CD

Review: Matt 'Radio Slave' Smith's Rekids label is always good value when it comes to useful and contemporary club cuts. Katerina provides more great evidence of that with this fresh 12", One. The title cut managed to be both dynamic and driving yet also nice and heady with well-crafted ambient synths floating round up top. Aleksi Perala remixes with a more trippy sense of melody and faster drums, then 'Papu' ups the ante as B-side jams tend to do. Last of all is the majestic 'Look Into My Eyes' with its wispy celestial chords and stripped-back minimal rhythms.

Review: Radio Slave making a record in tribute to the late, great Terry Hall was not on our bingo card for 2024, but the resultant workout - based on the much-loved vocal hook from 1981 workout 'The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum' - is both undeniably dancefloor-ready and fittingly forthright (the original song was, of course, a scathing commentary on Thatcher-era Britain). The EP-opening 'Club Mix' places at the vocal refrain at the heart of the action, surrounding it with hazy vocalisations, thunderous bass, heavyweight tech-house drums and horn sounds that offer knowing nods to the classic 2 Tone sound. The accompanying 'A Clinic Full of Cynics Dub' leans into the ska sound of the original more, placing echoing horns and steel pan sounds atop a deep, dubby bassline and unfussy house beats.