ILIJA RUDMAN Vinyl & CDs

Review: Croatian producer and DJ Ilija Rudman, is among the leaders in Balearic style of deep house and downtempo and has released on a who's who of some of the strongest labels in the genre like Is It Balearic? Recordings, International Feel Recordings and NuNorthernSoul. For the Retrospective EP, Ilija steps up to produce a bit more dancefloor focused works for the Maze label. 'Foolish Way's has an 80s electro pop funky feel that we really appreciate while the Grem edit of 'Where Do We Go' is great late-night driving music. For the B-side, 'How Many Ways' is almost like a mix of German and Chicago house music. 'The Last Action Hero' is perhaps out favourite on here for being the deeper and more melodic cut of the bunch. A strong dance EP.

Review: Ilija Rudman has made some magical music over the years, with the Croatian producer frequently blurring the boundaries between dusty synth-disco, Balearic nu-disco and colourful downtempo synth-funk. On 'What Am I Gonna Do', he investigates the lo-fi and Street Soul-soaked end of the boogie spectrum, laying Tafuri's sweet lead vocals over unfussy drum machine beats, elastic synth-bass, tactile chords and chiming synthesiser lead lines. Over on side B, Rudman strips out most of Tafuri's vocals on a more skeletal but no less impactful 'dub' mix. It's good, but the superb full vocal version is our pick of a predictably strong pair of tracks.