Owl

Review: The mysterious Owl imprint returns for another round of reduced grooves and thoughtful textures that look beyond dancing concerns to a more arty kind of house music premise. There's definitely a strung-out jazz influence hanging over "Track 1" as typified by the woozy horn samples, but it's matched by subdued strangeness from the additional synth work. "Track 2" is quite a different beast, getting into a tricky electro beat over which to fly a spread of vocal snatches and some oddball bass synth action with an end result that comes on like a modern-day answer to The Art Of Noise.

Review: OWL has previously been spotted on labels such as Anekoic, Circular Limited and Planet Rhythm, but he made quite an impression with the digital release of his Blackstone EP on Silent Season. Now the label have done the right thing and cut the release to vinyl, giving ambient belters such as "Fragment" the chance to sit beside none quieter gems like "Solar Wind" on wax. There are whispers of rhythm to be found tucked away in "Blowing The Light", while "Innominate Horizon" imparts a little warmth with its tender chords, making this a record rich in variation as much as subtlety.