SAKRO Vinyl & CDs

Review: Mexican producer Sakro inaugurates his new label with four versatile house tracks that subtly reflect both his roots and his reach. The A-side opens with ‘Midnight Talking (Deeper Mix)’, a smoky revision of a prior digital cut that stretches out into dubbed, late-night territory. It’s followed by ‘The Basement’, a tougher affair with low-slung drums and clipped vocal fragments—a heads-down roller in contrast to the opener’s warmth. Over on the B-side, Sakro teams up with Baja California’s Louie Fresco on ‘Dance2’, a minimal house groove with a shuffling swing and sharp percussive detail. The closer, ‘Aquior Aline’, produced with Chklte, glides effortlessly with bubbling synths and broken beats. A low-key but confident first step.

Review: Sakro has long been turning out his expertly designed and highlight impactful minimal house and tech cuts, so it's about time we finally heard a full length from him. Psychophonies is the name of his debut and it arrives on his own label Bon Vivant with a signature palette of dark grooves and ghostly synth atmospheres. 'Unicos' soon draws you in with just that sort of vibe before the hurried drum funk of 'Loneliness' and freaky minimal-jazz-house stylings of 'Psychophony'. This is pure dancefloor music that is both perfectly functional but also full of delightful forms.

Review: Sakro's sound has always been expertly designed a perfect blend of form and function. Now in collaboration with Max Jacobson the same can still be said on the evidence of this new three-track offering on Germany's constantly excellent Raw imprint. It kicks off with 'Walking Into Mirrors' which is a full-throttle tech house cut with nice rubbery kicks and busy melodic patterns swirling about the mix. 'Planet Arium' sinks into a deeper, more heady atmosphere with the kicks still driving but the synth work here is more muted and late night. 'Chapter 16 - Remember To Go Home' is an almost ten minute B-side trip to the stars.