REEKO Vinyl & CDs

Review: Juan Rico, who also known as Reeko and Architectural, presents Urmah, his debut LP at the eye-watering pace of 170 BPM for Samurai Music. Expanding on his two previous EPs with the label, Reeko has become essential to its sonic identity and Urmah embodies this synergy with the label by both its and his artistic boundaries. Across the record, Reeko dives deeper into hypnotic grooves and layers lush textures and subtle breakbeats into an entrancing and meditative work. The producer's deft touch for blending techno's intensity with gentle psychedelia shines through as he demonstrates a mastery of new tempos and evolving sonic landscapes.

Review: Throughout the past few years, there's been a trend of producers in and around the deep techno scene, upping (or downing) tempo and producing tracks heavily influenced by drum & bass. Having previously released experiments from techno royalty Donato Dozzy, Mike Parker & Brendon Moeller, Samurai Music now release Urmah, the first full LP solely focused on this sound by legendary Spanish producer Juan Rico aka Reeko/Architectural. He's explored this sound before, having previously released 2 excellent EPs on Samurai. 'Urmah 1' is a halftime slow burner with whispering vocals throughout. 'Urmah 2' introduces breaks that float in halfway through the track creating a feeling of depth. 'Umrah 3' is a loopy percussive workout that sounds like a far off ritual in an abandoned forest. 'Umrah 4' is the heaviest cut on the LP, with bass stabs reminiscent of the minimal drum & bass sounds of Ruffhouse, Pessimist and the UVB-76 crew. 'Umrah 5' is another fine percussive workout and the LP closes with 'Umrah 6', a nice bit of spacey, aquatic ambient.Recommended for fans of ASC's Auxiliary label, Sam KDC and Spazio Disponibile's more leftfield releases.