CCO Vinyl & CDs

Review: Florin Buchel's work as Contra Communem Opinionem has bridged the gap between seemingly disparate labels like Lux Rec, Mathematics, Drumpoet Community and Photic Fields without missing a beat. More recently, he's funnelled the CCO output through his own label Silum to bring us some EPs of dazzling hardware tech house with ample melodic content to keep the dark clouds at bay. 'Atmospheric Inversion' toys with jazzy discord, but the vibe is primarily soulful and synth-driven, while 'Atmospheric Extinction' heads wholeheartedly towards uplifting chord sequences to get your hair standing on end. 'Atmospheric Pressure' takes a snappier, techier approach but the tools and signal chains are the same, so the pervading warmth of the tracks maintains. This is house music which instinctively connects back to the gritty strain of machine soul pioneered in Detroit - if you're always searching for that quality in your club tracks you won't want to overlook this one.

Review: Music producers do tend to be rare breeds, so it's not a surprise to hear of a label series exploring the theme. 'Uncommon Species II' is the second installment of the series from the Swiss label Phantom Island, bringing together various artists for five curios centring on oddball future disco, nu-disco, and re-edits. Highlights include the dream-pop-Balearic Kejeblos Remix of Moreeats' 'Forever Fun' - in which a rogue male vocal seductively implores us to light his fire - and CCO's 'Cyanea' - a standout acid disco number. Frankly, though, all the tracks here are unusual bangers, packed with extra additions that only a rare breed of artist could add.

Review: Oceanic Zones is a brand new album on a brand new label. CCO is the artist and the fledgling label is Silum which is brought to us from the Liechtenstein Alps via Zurich. This is a stylish electro outing with elastic chords and silky pads that all, we are told, explore 'the layers of the sea.' The A-side is the more cheerful and represents the light-flowed upper regions of the ocean while the flip side is where things get darker and more menacing, as you would expect as you head down to the ocean floor.