YUKU レコード& CD

Review: Strap in for more rickety breakbeat workouts here from Imaginary Number on a limited edition heavyweight white label. Opener 'Push' is crunchy as you like with raw drum work and frayed edges to the synths. 'Grv' pairs a lively breakbeat drum loop with bleeping synths and the sort of pent up late night energy that gets any floor going. 'Somebody' is a more macho and texture techno wobbler built on ramshackle drums with wild vocals and last of all is another physical and prickly drum workout 'Fools' that is pure heat, especially with the pitched up and snatched vocal that cuts in.

Review: The artist himself admits that The Glory Days EP marks a new era for Alan Johnson after a decade of sporadic releases. Building on last year's Stillness EP, this release features entirely new music which has been made over the past two years as the creative process has been refined and moved towards a simpler storytelling approach. Assembled for the YUKU label, the EP showcases a shift in sound that blends past influences with new experimentation and danceable, glossy playfulness. Divided into two distinct moods, it reflects both a nod to a chaotic past and a glimpse into the future with earthed low ends and kinetic rhythms run through with fizzy electronics and menacing moods.

Review: Le Motel, le hotel, les Holiday Inns. Wherever you choose to stay after your raving trip, be sure to pack this wonderful collection from the innovative Belgian craftsman Le Motel. Delivered by the ever-impressive Yuku collective, the whole EP flexes the spectrum in terms of tempos and influences. From the deep ploughman techno swing of 'Raving Crew' to the electroid funk and percussive fire of 'Helix' via the cumbia-inspired and turns of the minimal head-bender '429 Too Many Requests', this is an exceptional journey into the more esoteric side of breaks and club music. Essential.

Review: Time to stare right in the eye of Jupiter again as the legendary and un-accidental hero Sonic rolls out his fourth solo studio album Embers on wax. Previously dropping LPs on the likes of Western Lore and Sneaker Social Club, this one comes courtesy of check-on-sight fringe fusionists Yuku and it draws heavily on his roots in the jungle / hardcore primordial soup in the most exciting creative ways. Big synth blasts and steamroller drums ('The Holy Breaks'), ominous tension and rising drama ('Fatal Crash Test') and the all-essential de-climatising end-of-journey meltdown ('The Shadow & The Light') A stunning Sonic trip in all the right ways.

Review: Yuku come correct with this special blue vinyl remix 12". Two vibes per side, both Traka and Granul go under the knife. On one side we have Serbian crew Traka under scrutiny as Commodo flips 'Yosai' into a menacing slab of tension while Muqata takes the Killa P-fronted 'Start Taking Note' into a brutalist sonic rainbow. Flip for two remixes of Turkish maverick Granul; Jtamul turns two-step inside out with stacks of eerie space on 'Deformity' while Iskeletor turns 'Interconnected' into the twisted, halftime heaver of your dreams. Stark sermons!