CD Album Recommendations February 2015

Review: Ukranian house mystic Mikhaylo Vityk returns with a suitably epic new Vakula LP, A Voyage To Arcturus, issued through his own Leleka label. Those with a more considered grasp of literary matters will no doubt recognise that Vityk has taken titular inspiration from A Voyage To Arcturus, the 1920 novel penned by Scottish writer David Lindsay with each of the sixteen tracks also named after chapters from the book too. By his own admission, this is more of an imaginary soundtrack than outright album, and as a result there is little here one could call deep house. Spending some time with it does however confirm what a singular talent the Ukrainian is!

Review: Having introduced a whole new generation to the obscure (but brilliant) ambient productions of Gigi Masin, Music From Memory turns its' attention to another overlooked hero of the Balearic scene: Spanish guitarist Joan Biblioni. El Sur is the first attempt at a career retrospective, and predictably it's very good. It includes early forays into disco-tinged jazz-funk, decidedly Balearic mood pieces (see the shimmering "Nits De La Suntana"), immersive ambient and new age ("Sa Fosca", "La Espanola"), and humid, sticky fare laden with complex rhythms and sweet marimba melodies - all accompanied, of course, by Biblioni's immaculate guitar playing.

Review: Having changed tack with last year's folksy Acoustic set, progressive trance veterans Above & Beyond return to their trademark style on We Are All What We Need. Since first gate crashing the scene back in 2000, the Anjunabeats founders have become flag-bearers for the more melodious, musically expansive side of trance. There's plenty of that here, of course, from the spine-tingling beauty of "Blue Sky Action" and sparkling "Counting Down The Days", to the gorgeous builds of "Hello". Pleasingly, the album is also peppered with superb downtempo tracks, with yearning vocals smothered in sinewy strings and twinkling pianos.

Review: Signs Under Test is the 12th album released by John Tejada since his emergence in the late '90s, putting aside the various other projects he's been involved with, this alone is the kind of fact you have to applaud. Arriving some 2 and a bit years on from The Predicting Machine, this new album naturally surfaces via Kompakt and it's 11 tracks suggest Tejada's creative powers remain undimmed despite his vintage. Apparently built from the ground up using hardware synths, Signs Under Test succeeds as Tejada doesn't feel the need to cater to any particular musical trend, instead relying on his tools and his talent to deliver a rich and rewarding listen.

Review: Having built their reputation through 12" singles for the likes of Crosstown Rebels and Poker Flat, Dan Berkson and James What deliver their debut album, on their freshly minted imprint Modelmaker. Interestingly, Keep Up Appearances is an altogether warmer, melodious and more evocative set than you'd perhaps expect, with a smattering of rich downtempo cuts joining a solid selection of dancefloor-friendly deep house. You can hear a classic dub techno influence in cuts such as "Keep Up Appearances" and "Shadow Theory", while the acid-flecked, soul-soaked "Make It True" sounds like classic Osunlade. Best of all, though, are the more forthright efforts, with the ragged "Seraphim" standing out.

Review: Carl Craig's More Songs About Food & Revolutionary Art was first released back in 1997, sandwiched between two other acclaimed albums - Paperclip People's The Secret Tapes of Doctor Eich (1996), and 1999's Innerzone Orchestra set, Programmed. It remains one of Craig's most alluring sets, as this re-mastered reissue so adeptly proves. Warm, rich and evocative, it sits somewhere between the stargazing ambience of Larry Heard's Alien set (released a year earlier) and the pulsating, dancefloor-focused thump of Craig's own work as Paperclip people. As a result, it's packed with both imaginative, colourful downtempo gear, and classic Motor City techno grooves.

Review: Before finding success in the disco/boogie era under the One Way alias, Al Hudson & The Soul Partners produced a string of brilliant soul jams for Atco Records. While these have long been popular amongst soul collectors, they've remained strangely under-celebrated in the dance music world at large. This collection from Expansion attempts to change that by gathering together every track from the seven singles they released for Atco between 1975 and 1976. Featuring a mix of sensual floor fillers, seductive slow jams and grandiose, horn-heavy, Philadelphia International style anthems, The Atco Years is packed with A-grade material, including underground soul anthems "I'm About Loving You" and "When You're Gone".

Review: Given the strong links between the Super Discount series and the undulating fortunes of the French house scene, it could be argued that this third volume - appearing 11 years after the second edition - is long overdue. Whereas the first edition showcased the "French touch" style at the height of its pomp, and the second had a noisy, Ed Banger-ish approach, this third installment is an altogether smoother and more radio-friendly effort. With the assistance of friends and guest vocalists, De Crecy lays down ten tracks that offer a cheery, synth-heavy approach to dance-pop, with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek disco and electrofunk influences to keep Daft Punk fans happy.

Review: Stephen Hitchell is something of a veteran when it comes to creating spacious, occasionally claustrophobic dub techno soundscapes, having begun his career at the turn of the millennium. Here, the Eschospace and CV313 member dons the underused Phase90 guise - last seen remixing one of his own Intrusion productions - for a first full-length under the pseudonym. Those familiar with Hitchell's work should know what to expect, namely the sort of hypnotic, gently pulsing dub techno that makes great use of fuzzy textures, spooky field recordings, white noise and disconnected melodies. Typically, it's a hugely evocative and spaced-out set, with tracks like "Ango", "Dolor" and "Passus" - the heaviest track on the album - recalling Echospace's most blissful moments.

Review: It's been 10 years since Italian junglist collective Numa Crew first got together. This debut album, then, is long overdue. Those who've followed their progress will know what to expect - a heavily dub and reggae influenced fusion of classic jungle, jump-up and Ganja Kru style dancefloor anthems, often with plenty of references to 'erb. Of course, it's not all vintage drum & bass riddims and ital vocals, and there are a few tracks that doff a snapback cap to trap, dubstep and grime. Interestingly, there are also a handful of straight-up dub and reggae cuts. Making New Underground Music Alliance a pleasingly varied and entertaining debut.

Review: Thirty three seminal Robert Hood productions all in the one download: The M-Plant Mother lode has landed. Even if you're well up to date on the Detroit legend's storied career there's no stopping the joy at what material has been included here - including - the best minimal techno production of all time: Monobox's "Realm". For something funkier there's the "The Pace", "The Greatest Dancer", the all praising "We Magnify His Name" and "Monkey". But wait: there's more! "Alpha" and "The Family" from his Omega Man LP makes the cut as do the epic James Brown and Aretha Franklin samples from newer school Floorplan material "Baby Baby" and "Never Grow Old". There's also the legendary stuff like "Who Taught You Math" and "Minus" to "Protein Valve" and much, much more. Dig in.

Review: Move D and Jonah "Spacetime Continuum" Sharp's Reagenz project has proved a popular draw on the underground festival circuit since they decided to give it a reboot in 2009, 15 years after delivering their first album. While their comeback album for Workshop, Playtime, was a fine set, it's the live shows - extended, club-friendly affairs that join the dots between Sharp's stargazing ambient work, Detroit-influenced techno and Moufang's immersive deep house rhythms - that really resonate. Happily, The Periodic Table was edited down to a six-track CD from a 180-minute live performance at The Bunker in New York back in 2013. With the duo utilizing the same equipment as they used back in 1994, it's a woozy, intergalactic and thoroughly involving blast from the past.

Review: Diagonal has been one of 2014's standout labels, bringing innovation and most importantly a sense of humour to techno across a series of releases from the Russell Haswell, Bronze Teeth and more. It is however label founder Powell's own music that set the tone for the label, and on this retrospective collection the producer collects all of his music from the past three years released on labels including Diagonal, Liberation Technologies and The Death Of Rave. If you're yet to indulge in the gristly, skewed, off-centre brand of techno Powell has been blessing us with recently, this is the ideal place to get involved with one of techno's most exciting producers.

Review: Six years after making his debut with the blistering "Electric Rain" single on Subculture Recordings, Maztek has finally got round to producing his debut album. Those who've followed the Italian producer's career will feel right at home, for Three Point Zero touches on many of his usual themes. So, while the bulk of the album is made up winding, twisted, techno-influenced D&B, the Rome-based studio don also doffs his cap to dubstep, half-step hip-hop/D&B hybrids, and experimental, hard-to-define dancefloor rinse-outs. Occasionally intense and regularly dark, Three Point Zero's greatest calling card is Maztek's impeccable beat programming. Even the straight-up D&B rollers feature an imaginative variety of rhythms.

Review: Four years ago, globetrotting Argentine producer Ernesto Ferreya impressed with his debut album, El Paraiso De Las Tortugas, a vibrant shimmy through lucid minimal techno territory that made great use of his South American influences. This belated follow-up is similarly fluid, with tactile grooves and tumbling melodies taking centre stage. While there are occasional nods to his roots - so the tango-flecked "Copina II" and "Beluga Dance" - and some muted celebrations (see "Forever Loop"), for the most part it's a melancholic affair tinged with just the right amount of sadness. It's these moments that really stand out, from the string-laden beauty of opener "Still Waiting" and enveloping chords of "Underwater Lies", to the heart-aching pianos and tear-jerking strings of "The Friend I've Lost".

Review: Prior to its' release, many critics were talking about Afrikan Sciences' Circuitous set - Eric Douglas Porter's third solo effort, following a brilliant collaborative effort with Aybee earlier this year - as one of the best albums of 2014. It's certainly a magical concoction - a uniquely mesmerising, otherworldly affair that joins the dots between Sun Ra, ambient, African rhythms, off-kilter glitch-hop, lo-fi IDM and the stargazing depth of the greatest Detroit techno. It's offbeat and - at times - off-key, but that only adds to the album's wonky, off-this-planet charms. One day, we may speak of Porter in hushed tones; certainly, there are few producers around able to conjure this kind of inventive, impossible-to-pigeonhole magic.