Review: DJ Plead & rRoxymore make for a fascinating duo and take aim squarely at the floor on this new outing, Read Round City, for Smalltown Supersound. Opener 'Celestial' is a loose-limbed rhythmic jumble with hand claps, trippy xylophone patterns and deep bass that lulls you into a trance while 'Read Wrong' is a more reggaeton-inspired sound with snappy snares and warped synth sounds. It's gluey and gloopy and subtly colourful. 'Round Echoes' is a third and final cross blend of techno, dub and house that picks up the pace and heads off into the cosmos but retains an organic feel thanks to the marvellous wet hand claps.
Review: Highly curious, difficult-to-pin-down techno/Italo-ish stuff from Prince Of Takicardia and Rifeno, who here jointly assist Backward Futura in its mission to explore the sounds of 1980s and 1990s through the lens of the new Millennium. We find this aim to be something of red herring, since these tracks sound almost entirely new in their composition, and not necessarily of those times, not least since they were made in the 2020s; while taking obvious cues from those eras, the likes of 'Arte Del Sexo' and 'La Casa Del Ritmo' flesh enough out of their respective influences to sound untied from them. Through cinematic breaks and tropical bleep, Rifeno and the Prince portray their wild but no less at easse imaginations, bringing the sunned and stressless feel of the Balearic Isles to the darker worlds of EBM and industrial, making for a complex sonic flavour.
Review: The Paper Cuts label has been doing a fine job in putting out head-tripping club and chill-out styles for a fair stretch now and following the Ivy mixtape released earlier this year they're back with this outstanding split release from Roza Terenzi and Furious Frank. Terenzi takes the A-side with her trademark line in electro-minded machine funk rhythms powering gorgeous back room moods, keeping the mix dubby and with plenty of ambient sparkle on top of the punchy drums. There's even space for a little d&b trippiness on 'Total Recall', which also features Noff. Furious Frank gets busy on the flip with 'Splash', a blissed out beatdowns with more than a little Balearic magic in its bones, while 'Moss Rock' turns the heat up for a distinctly 90s slice of acid trance. 'Dripp' seals the deal with another low slung roller from the chill-out room of your dreams.
Review: Juan Rico, who also known as Reeko and Architectural, presents Urmah, his debut LP at the eye-watering pace of 170 BPM for Samurai Music. Expanding on his two previous EPs with the label, Reeko has become essential to its sonic identity and Urmah embodies this synergy with the label by both its and his artistic boundaries. Across the record, Reeko dives deeper into hypnotic grooves and layers lush textures and subtle breakbeats into an entrancing and meditative work. The producer's deft touch for blending techno's intensity with gentle psychedelia shines through as he demonstrates a mastery of new tempos and evolving sonic landscapes.
Burn Down Babylon (feat Jack Russell & Sonuga) (8:34)
Review: Dublin-based artist Rustal is Peter Sweeney and he has a deep sound that he now brings to New York's renowned BlackCat label. Three of these originals are recorded in one-take performances at BlackCat HQ in the summer of 2024 and one is a dub reggae jam made in collaboration with label boss Jack Russell and Sonuga. 'Angel Of Light' is a widescreen dub techno opener with fuzzy, fizzy synths ripping out to infinity over dynamic drums. 'Flower Brick' is more intense with the oversized hi-hat ringlets and 'Ukiyo' is minimal and sparse in its drums and pads but soon locks you in. 'Burn Down Babylon' is a late-night stoner soundtrack for full mental immersion.
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