Safe Trip Holland Vinyl & CDs

Review: According to the unusual press release accompanying Safe Trip's latest release, Ben Penn's second EP for Young Marco's imprint was the result of vivid hallucinations brought on by the ingestion of an experimental drug provided by agents from a "shadowy" secret organization. "Not Very Important EP" is actually pretty darn trippy. Opener "Nix" is a gently psychedelic, delay-laden trip into outer space with just a clutch of synthesizers for company, while "Not Important" layers alien melody lines over polyrhythmic electro drums and rubbery synth-bass. Elsewhere, "Ben" is a trippy chunk of sleepy alien funk smothered in quirky synth samples and madcap electronics, while "People" is as warm, woozy and as loved-up as they come.

Review: Astonishingly, nearly seven years have passed since the last 12" single from Young Marco hit stores. While he's kept himself busy co-curating two volumes of proto-trance anthology series Planet Love and recording a tropical-tinged album (2019's hazy and home listening-focused Bahasa), it's still nice to see him refocus on delivering future dancefloor anthems. 'I'm Still Mellow' is a wholehearted tribute to a psychedelic, sample-heavy Dutch style of the early '90s known as Mellow, which was a kind colourful and loved-up take on British hardcore and European techno. Young Marco's interpretation is simple but devastatingly effective, with fluttering synth sounds and gorgeous electronics tumbling down over a booming bassline and heavyweight breakbeats. Turn to the flip and you'll find a fully psychedelic backwards version. Trippy!