TAKUYA MATSUMOTO Vinyl & CDs

Review: Short Attention Records makes a welcome return here with a new drop of wax that fits the label head into its roots in deep techno sound worlds. This one takes the form of a various artists' EP crafted with an intake feel for cosy floors and who better to kick off in that vibe than the revered Lawrence whose 'Hawser' is a groovy and melodious track. Next, New Jersey don Joey Anderson sets a slow and deep tone with 'Human Kind' which has moody vocals and Japanese artist Takuya Matsumoto follows with 'Three Flowers', a more potent and driving cut with a fine acid bassline. Rounding off the EP is 'Desired Spring' by R/K, a loop-driven deep house gem designed for both listening and dancing.

Review: With recent missives for Royal Oak and Clone under his belt, Takuya Matsumoto makes his way to Vibes & Pepper with this sure shot grip of five gritty deep house joints crafted the classic way. The flanging hats on 'The City' tell you this is raw gear for the heads, but there's plenty of heart-warming goodness in the wandering basslines and lingering chords to ensure universal appeal. The floatier 'Sky' and Trax-ready '1989' keep up the vintage sound Matsumoto has perfected, but as the likes of deep and stripped-back 'Willow Green' demonstrate, he's also able to reach across a range of moods with his chosen studio approach and the results are golden every time.

Review: On-point Japanese producer Takuya Matsumoto returns to Clone's Jack For Daze label with a follow-up to his brilliantly executed 85-88 EP. He's not discovered a shoe-box of DATs under the bed, but rather is purposefully paying tribute to the early days of house and techno with specific explorations of particular eras and their attendant sounds. This time around we're taken to the early 90s, with some wonderful, varied results. There's lush, FM-embellished deep house on '01 90' and edgy, jackin' techno wormholes opening up on '02 91'. Meanwhile '03 92' retains a healthy bounce and some lush washes of synth, and '04 93' tips towards the kind of garage house you'd find on a Strictly Rhythm record 30 years ago. Crucially, it's all shot through with tonnes more personality than most 90s soundalike records, so full credit to Matsumoto for spelling his intentions out and delivering the goods.