LEX Vinyl & CDs

Review: No prizes for guessing the motivation behind this new EP, 5 Years Of B2 Recordings. It is a tidy and tasteful celebration of half a decade of top quality deep house from a range of key players. This one opens with Frenchman Brawther getting dubbed out and deep as ever with some nice lounge chords and blissed-out pads. Bengoa's 'Neftina Dub' has a subtle US garage shuffle to it that harks back to the 90s and Lex & Locke then bring rich paint chords and withering synth motifs to 'Atenas Blues' before Zaq's 'Make A Wish' shuts down with some cosmic rays of positivity. A fantastic EP so here's to the next five years.

Review: A fresh collaborative dance effort from the fine folks over at Leng, centring on reworks of the brilliant debut album Waving by producer Lex (Alex Andrikopolous). Released in 2022, we're now two years ahead, and come met with this fine array. Kicking things off with a glorious Faze Action remix of 'Punta Allen', on which guitars, steel pans and clap-slaps abound, we're soon further into the mid-rave movements of 'Libre De Amor', a new one with Locke, followed by the acidic additives of Ruf Dug's version of 'Prezend'. Finally, another original, 'Super Awake', surfaces as the cascading coda to an all-out suite of neo-Balearic delights.

Review: Bengoa's Athens-based-label B2 Recordings has impressed over its first nine releases. The 10th is another fine one to mark the mini-milestone and it comes from Lex, who was last on the label a couple of years ago. His star has only continued to rise since then with fresh beats on the likes of Samosa and Leng and now his brilliant disco house fusions find more new heights with 'Fast Jags.' This is a cosmic workout that slowly builds on nice loose drums with astral pads circling around you and keys withering in sci-fi fashion. Bengoa offers up a raw edit that brings some deeper jazz keys and tumbling bongos and Felipe Gordon's Deep Funk remix ups the house vibes with a nice thumping groove.

Review: Greek DJ/producer Lex has been part of the scene in his home city of Athens since the dawn of the millennium, though it's only in the last few years that he's focused more on making music. The results of his efforts, which were previously showcased on 12" singles for Leng and Samosa Records, amongst others, have been quietly impressive. His debut album, Waving, continues in the same vein, utilising a pool of musician friends to craft cuts that blur the boundaries between sun-kissed, sofa-friendly Balearic warmth and subtly funk-fuelled, dub disco-framed dancefloor shufflers. The plentiful highlights include the stunning, tropical-tinged opener, 'Punta Allen', the organ-sporting vocal squelch-along 'Window Spells', acid-flecked nu-disco-meets-cosmic disco workout 'Silver Peace' and high-octane number 'Down My Soul'.

Review: Rocksteady Disco welcomes Dennis Liber & Lex for a standout debut here. Their four-tracker captures the magic of musical nights spent down in Mexican hotspot Tulum with organic and airy grooves aplenty. 'Una Sera D'Estate' (feat Max Giovara) exodus late-night warmth and loved-up vibes with its melodic bassline and disco-tinged house drums. 'End Of The Line' is more lively but is no less direct with its big drums and pointed bass phrasings. Liber then goes solo for the dreamy, Italo-tinged yet tropical 'Playa Eden' and wonderfully escapist closer 'Hidden Island' complete with Balearic beats and the sound of singing dolphins.

Review: Here comes the first sampler, all part of Leng Records' 10th Anniversary celebrations. It marks the cultured label's 50th release and precedes a special compilation of overlooked favourites, classics and unreleased material. This one is well worth your attention though, beforehand. Phenomenal Handclap Band founder Quinn Luke with his longtime pal Alexis Georgopoulos combine as Q&A for the first two tracks, with Lex providing the third and fourth, all proving to be seductive, slow motion Balearic groovers for grown up movers. Q&A's 'Pulse' is a future groove, Lex's 'Max Pen' is a cheery number with lush squelchy bass and skyward chords, while the latter's closing offering 'GP Score' brings a little more energy.