PLOY Vinyl & CDs

Review: Ploy aka UK artist Sam Smith lands on tastemaking Dutch label Dekmantel with Unlit Signals, a double 12" of raw dancefloor power that reconnects him with his house roots. Known for his twisted and percussive techno on Hessle Audio and Timedance, this time he looks back over a ten-year career of crafting club-rocking sounds that mix solid house grooves with his signature percussive flair. Across eight tracks there are plenty of well-honed DJ tools with a mischievous edge that comes from his knack for off-kilter synths, weird samples and razor-sharp rhythms. It's a versatile, high-impact tackle that works for the peak of the night but also the headier times.

Review: Fresh from a surprise - but no less surprisingly sublime - appearance on Timedance, Ploy returns home to the Deaf Test imprint he set up as a vehicle for his productions back in 2022. As usual, what's on offer is a fresh-but-nostalgic set of cuts full of audible nods to heavyweight dancefloor styles of the 90s. The A-side boasts two top-notch takes on 'Vortex': the bleep-and-breaks style sub-heavy shuffle of the 'Stripped Mix' and the early 90s UK techno heaviness of the more expansive 'Busy Mix'. Over on side B, trippy and energy-packed throb-job 'In Your Head' is followed by the moody bass propelled breakbeat house of 'Eyes On You' and the early Orbital-esque excellence of 'Sending'.

Review: Ploy pays homage to the urban-mythical nightclub Venue MOT Unit 18 with his new EP 'Unit 18', which has seen a home to his equally legendary club night Deaf Test - named after the artist's deaf left ear. Stinky, Ninety One and Unit 18 are "three rave tracks" in the artist's own words, rushing and dragging through system-ready sonics and with undeniable influences from UK drill, to bassy techno, to dubstep.