BUSCRATES Vinyl & CDs

Review: Through persistent questioning and doubting, Socrates challenged the norms and mores of his local Athens; through persistent flipping and releasing, BusCrates bucks the established trends and staid sounds of his local Pittsburgh. The synth wonder and beatmaker shares two new ones onto breakout translucent vinyl here, enlisting singer Anda for an embodied song on 'Drift', whilst DJ Epik joins on production duties. Meanwhile, 'Serenity' persists on the inverse side as an instrumental Minimoog meditation session.

Review: Crystal Waters' 'Gypsy Woman' is an enduring object of awe and reinterpretation for house producers and editors. We'd even venture to say that, within the realm of house music, re-editing the track has become an ultra-banal task - yet another feature of what one can expect when first losing oneself in the dance music culture industry. Yet Buscrates - a young favourite on the international lo-fi, funk, beatmaking and synth scene - has breathed new life into the track here, eschewing house for his go-to blend of wonk and electro. Reminiscent of Kaytranada's slower-tempo, lower-slung experiments, Buscrates arms his arsenal of synths to once again demo the art of reinterpretation, this time coming from an ultra-slick, neon-lit and textured rendition of the classic song. A treat lines the B-side, to equally exciting effect: a just-as-cool version of S.O.S. Band's 'Even When You Sleep'.

Review: He may now have ditched the '16 Bit Orchestra' (as his sometime imaginary backing band was called), but Orlando Marshall AKA Buscrates is still a master of revivalist, boogie-influenced synthesiser workouts. For proof, look no further than 'Internal Dialog', a kind of deep house lover's take on the revivalist synth-funk sound of Dam Funk rich in dreamy chords, squelchy synth bass and sun-splashed lead lines. He takes this warming, picturesque, analogue-rich boogie-not-boogie sound further on flip side 'Early Morning', a sunrise-ready slab of laidback Balearic boogie that comes from a similar headspace as Sven Atterton's brilliant 2015 single 'The Cove'. In a word - beguiling!