HAKIM MURPHY Vinyl & CDs

Review: Trus'me's Prime Numbers imprint has now got to be one of Manchester's greatest house and techno exports, if not THE greatest! This time it's a tasty little 12" in the form of a collaborative effort from some of the most exciting minds in the game. First up it's Modini, the new project between Sctoland's Hostage and the legend that is Neil Landstrumm! The track carries a slow tempo but without compromising on any of the grit, and the duo create a dense, nasty 4/4 groove complete with loads of hardware fuzz. The label's own Nick Sinna delivers a bleepy, warehouse track as "Come Again", and Chicago's Hakim Murphy delivers some of his trademark wormhole synth trickery on "Synth Work". Last but not least, Detroit badboy Luke Hess remixes Sinna's "Come Again" into a nastier, more broken analogue groove now featuring a new set of metallic snares! Big EP!

Review: Following the excellent instalment from DJ Skull, Mentha continues to gather pace as a house and techno label of note with this sublime offering from Hakim Murphy. While the Chicago native may be known for some bruising hardware house and techno a lot of the time, he's showing his more sensitive side on this release with delicate tracks that head into deep techno waters. The title of the EP says it all, as nimble, expressive beats merge with soothing, aqueous pad tones for a most satisfying of listening experiences. Fans of early deep techno a la B12 and Stasis will find much to enjoy here.

Review: French label D3 Elements returns to Chicago for its next EP, this time looking to the assured house talents of Hakim Murphy for three tracks of raw, dense grooves right from the heart of the Windy City. Opener 'Boxbeat' is a curious, freaky jam with bobbing percussive hits, wonky, pixel thin synth lines and free roaming pads that wrap the whole thing in a nice sense of spaced-out serenity. 'Taste o'Rainbow' has a much more firmly planted kick drum that pounds away uninterrupted below a free flowing brew of modulate synth sounds. It's expertly reduced and masterfully reserved and is sure to send dance floors wild as a result. The flipside cut 'Freshness' has pinging drums and a big, frazzled bass line as slithering chords rain down the face. Musical yet jacking, cosmic yet propulsive, it is a perfectly contemporary Chicago house sound that rounds out a fine EP from one of the best in the game.