French imprint Astro Lab has remained an under appreciated gem of a label despite releases from Hardway Bros and Mr Shake Shakir in recent times. Their latest reason for you to pay more attention comes via the musical mind of Timothy J Fairplay - who you may know as part of the excellent band Battant or via his solo excursions on the Wevver's curated Boardroom comp from a while back. Newly inducted into the Astro Lab familia, Fairplay drops three cuts that pay homage to the OST icon John Carpenter. Whilst Carpenter is a much credited source of inspiration, Fairplay embellishes his productions with enough low slung personality to place them far beyond mere pastiches; the final simmering tension of "General Arrives" is particularly impressive. Echoing previous releases on the label, Astro Lab match the original material with some fine remixes as Sir Weatherall opens the B Side with a typically unique treatment of "Sleigh Ride/Blizzard" which is cloaked in a muggy, druggy languid techno vibe. Complementing this, Astro Lab's London dwelling Portuguese correspondent ZNTN switches up the sounds of "General Arrives" - embellishing the rhythm with an ever changing percussive direction that will delight the more esoteric ears out there!

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