ROMY Vinyl & CDs

Review: Romy Madley Croft continues to explore her solo career - as seems to be the inevitable prophesied path of of The xx member trifecta - with Mid Air. Collabs with Fred Again and Beverly Glenn-Copeland here thematically match Romy's implicit vision: to exploring the ever-thinning dividing line between heartfelt rave music and sounds for personal, teary-eyed catharsis moments. Edging ever-more into a more party-pop direction (contrastion to her prior projects' enduring indie tinge), Romy gets far trancier with things on the likes of 'Strong' and 'The Sea', even verging on Eurodance in short bursts. Other moments of downtime further express the many angles of Romy's personal ecstasy, citing the project as a dedication to queer clubbing and a mitigation of loneliness.

Review: It feels like Romy's debut album has been a long time coming, but it's absolutely worth the wait. Stepping to one side of the imposing shadow of her band The xx, the world-famous singer-songwriter has taken her time to deliver something sincere and vulnerable which opens up her world and celebrates the places she's found sanctuary. Having worked extensively with production wonder boy Fred Again, writing for other artists, the two finally funnelled their creative chemistry into songs for Romy which now result in a perfect nugget of pop-club with aeons of space for all the feelings to swirl. It's immediate and catchy, but elegant in equal measure, and certain to lodge Romy in the pantheon of modern pop titans for sensitive souls.

Review: Indica Dubs and Kai Dub link up here for their second collaboration, which is the first release of the year for the label. It features the full flavour and futuristic stepper that is 'Elevation Dub', complete with wooden hits and Digital pads, warrior chords and a nice sleek aesthetic. 'Higher Dub' then flip sit into a more heady affair with plenty of mad studio effects and endless reverb, floating toms and sizzled pads. These triumphant tunes are primed and ready for big plays on huge sound systems.

Review: The latest single from Jamie Smith's 2015 album In Colour, featuring The xx bandmate Romy Madley Croft, gets the remix treatment from a pretty stellar cast. Starting off, Hivern Discs boss John Talabot gets on board with his "Loud Synths Reconstruction" which definitely lives up to its name on this driving proggy take on the track. Ed Russell aka West Country bass techno auteur Tessela steps up and delivers a typically thumping and funked up rendition which is a real highlight on here. On the flip, Cologne's Barnt delivers yet another dark journey through the cosmic hole and the legendary Matthew Herbert offers us his take; sublime deep house and yet again; sampling everything but the kitchen sink!