CD Album Recommendations May 2010

Review: Marcel Dettmann drops one of the most anticipated albums of 2010, with his eponymous debut on Ostgut Ton. And it's everything you'd hope for (and expect) from a Berghain resident: dark, cavernous, atmospheric - utterly brilliant. The highlights are numerous, from the thunderous, atmospheric electrical storm that is "Argon" to the Basic Channel-esque hiss and crackle of "Drawing" and the looped percussion on "Reticie" that sounds like Dettmann has been dragging a bag of marbles around one of the unused rooms at Berghain. Techno, welcome to 2010.

Review: Hospital drop the second Sick Music comp upon their incredibly loyal fanbase and the good news is that it's a real stormer with a really tasty range of songs from the mega successful D&B label. Some highlights include Muffler's "Pinball Fantasies", which rocks an interesting glitchcore/Planet Mu-style lead melody, an unusual sound for a Hospital banger. Another surprise is the slinky, tech-inspired vocal tune "Turn Up The Music" by Camo and Krooked, a tune that craftily keeps the listener on tenterhooks as it threatens to spill out into complete mayhem. Every bit as strong as the first time around, this is yet another chance to gorge on 22 unmixed D&B future classics from Hospital. Sick indeed.

Review: Steve Bug's Dessous imprint is one of the best and most consistent deep house and minimal labels going. On Dessous Best Kept Secrets Volume 2, the follow up to 2007's first instalment, they prove it yet again with a compilation that charts both the current and future sound of the label. Full of emotion, warmth and soul, the release serves as a true indication of the label's ethos as a whole and leaves a lasting impression on the listener.



David Durango has been making impressive appearances on Dessous and Poker Flat of late. So much so that the young half Swiss, half Spanish producer was chosen to open this compilation with the first of his three offerings on the release. "Juegos Fantasiticos" opens proceedings with some warm, deep house that sounds as comfortable as it does laid back. "Striptease" showcases Durango's more upbeat side before "Human" delves into a minimal aesthetic courtesy of deft high end percussion, low bass squeezes and acute phaser work.



Alongside smooth, chord-laden house like "Le Groove Rhodes" from Rene Breithbarth and Claire Ripley's "Labyrinth" we get the techno influenced twisted synths of Moodymanc's "Omlette" and the darker more driving sound of "Merise" by Andrade. "New Road FM" by Burnski brings the groove with some cosmic, jacking twists and Graeme Park closes the release with his slo-mo house remix of Ryo Murakami's "Just For This."



Dessous Best Kept Secrets Volume 2 takes you on a delightfully soulful and rhythmic journey of their label. Although the compilation never strays too far away from their signature sound nor breaks any new barriers, it does an expert job of bringing you the vintage and emotive deep house that has made the imprint so special in the first place.

Review: Ron Basejam is the alter ego of keyboardist James Baron of Crazy P and Secret Stealth fame. Here he drops his superb full album for Yam Who's ISM label. Fans of Ron include the likes of Gilles Peterson (who put the charismatic ''Into My Life'' on the recent Brownswood Bubblers 5 compilation), DJ Harvey, Dam Funk, The Revenge and Greg Wilson, and it's easy to see why. The album trips through musical genres effortlessly taking elements of the past and fusing them with modern day production techniques. Ron's influences are all represented here, with touches of deep house, disco and melancholic dreamscapes set against jazzual synth funk-fired treatments and vocal sample snippet production. Definitely one to check.

Review: Having kept fans hooked since her first Hyperdub single Please/Simulacrum, Ikonika graduates with flying colours into the the big league with this stunning debut. Ikonklast (Insert Coin) starts things off in a measured but confident way, with half-step beats and bent Eastern scales vying for your attention. The rollicking funky meets glitchcore of Idiot is a revelation though. A perfectly tempered mix of stacked snares, sub bass and a complex melody picked out of a slew of bleeps and test tones, it's both satisfyingly familiar whilst also sounding totally unique and fresh.


While her early singles were leapt on by dubstep fans everywhere, Ikonika takes the wise decision not to go down any cliched or well-trodden routes on Contact Love Want Have. There's no gratuitous wobble for example on tunes like Millie or Sahara Michael, the basslines are tight and full of bounce rather than showy and over the top. There are also so many influences at work here (all expertly realised through her sharp production) that every listen solicits a different response from the listener. Continue? for example gives off a slow-jam R&B vibe with the beats but quickly picks up the pace and transforms into something else entirely. Heston gives off some serious kwaito vibes too, coming over like a sequel to Township Funk (Mujava's classic which Ikonika remixed for Warp last year) and Psoriasis will be the one that dj's will go crazy for - a seriously banging fusion of funky and swirling melodies. Fans of Zomby, Kode9 and the extended Hyperdub and Planet Mu family will instantly rate this straight away, but there's every chance it's unique edge and all round quality will see it reach a wider audience pretty soon.

Review: Six years on from his last album, Underground Superstardom, German drum and bass madman Mathis Mootz aka The Panacea is back with his sixth full-length set, Chiropteran. Any ideas that this renegade producer might have gone soft over the years are thoroughly dispelled right from the outset, as the sinister opener "Gjallarhorn" launches a horror-core assault on the listener, breaking into a tight drum break right at the end and launching into the furious "Creatch". As the album progresses, Panacea takes it on to new levels. "4/4 FrsTYL" is gabba brilliance, while the equally off the hook "Crypto" keeps a techno-gabba vibe to the intro before breaking off into some genius warped jungle lunacy. Incredibly well crafted with enough ravey power to last the whole summer, Chiropteran is a sick masterpiece that shouldn't be allowed to pass you by.