The best new singles this week
Paradox’s unique and characterful beats earn him our top spot this week
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
Paradox – Streetbeat / Drum Throne (Paradox Music)
Dev Pandya’s percussive lyricism is some of the most articulate across the annals of jungle and D&B history. The other titans – the likes of Photek, Source Direct et al – have their own styles, but Pandya has always displayed a certain deference to the drum even as he’s diced it according to his creative intentions. The sound has always retained a certain acoustic grounding, as though the drummer were there in the studio, jerking in incomprehensible ways to Pandya’s wild conducting. Instead it’s his trusty Atari and Akai doing his bidding, and he pays tribute to his weapon of choice with a lovely shot of the S3000XL sampler’s menu screen on the cover of this latest rhythmic exaltation. It’s fair enough really – one shudders to think how many hours Pandya has poured into those menus crafting his weapons, and now we can see the process through his eyes.
What’s most impressive is how Pandya keeps a relatively constrained approach so compelling after all these years. How many ways is there to chop up some drum breaks in a danceable medley? The answer is near infinite, it would seem. ‘Streetbeat’ strides in around the 155 mark on a sparse hard step, almost polite in its restraint until a disgusting snarl of bass comes sliding in underneath. From there on in, the narrative is dictated by the breaks, punctuated with devilishly classy touches like the spinback at the mid-point punctuated with a deadpan, out-of-context ‘”uck the future”.
‘Drum Throne’ sees Pandya shifting down to a lower gear, rolling around 120 and giving the breaks more space to breathe. In some ways the airiness lets you savour every dexterous fill, crafty chop and micro-touch on the production, not least on the decay fluctuations coming off the end of the dread bass. With a breathless pad draped over of the second half, it becomes a curiously mixed affair leaning towards a lighter warm-up scenario with one eye on the darkest depths of the night thanks to that salacious low-end blast. Whenever you choose to play it is elementary really though – such masterful construction tends to cut through and justify its position wherever it shores up.
OW
Atjazz/ Mark De Clive-Lowe/ Mist Works – Yellow Jackets Volume 1 (Yellow Jackets)
The impressive and ever-growing Mother Tongue outfit launch their new Yellow Jackets series with a pair of gems plucked from the Martin Iveson archives. Verona-based Mother Tongue operate a record store and umbrella label and have recently added a pressing plant to their evolving portfolio. Retaining a focus on the refined tip of the deep house spectrum, their latest label offshoot launches by breathing new life into music that may have otherwise slipped under the radar and is certainly deserving of the renewed attention that the release is sure to generate. Both tracks originate from the creative mind of Martin ‘Atjazz’ Iveson, with both first seeing the light of day back in 2010.
The A-side track is a delightful collaboration between Atjazz and keyboard wizard, Mark De Clive-Lowe. Almost unthinkably, this is the first time ‘Sweat No Sleep’ has appeared on wax, having initially been released on a five version CD/digital single. It’s the club mix that appears here, featuring space-age synths and psychedelic sweeps billowing over jerking Afro-house rhythms, rolling through a tripped-out arrangement before being cushioned by the arrival of a dreamy horn section. Turning to the B-side, the curators dig up a lesser-known Iveson side project from deep in the Atjazz Record Company digital archives. Recorded alongside Si Tew under the short-lived Mist Works moniker, ‘Common Question?’ again never received a vinyl pressing up until now, having previously arrived in the form of various Digi-only remixes. Selected here is a scintillating version crafted by Armon ‘Aybee’ Bazile, and thoroughly deserving of being committed to wax it is, too. The German-based producer presents a hypnotic dance into futurist landscapes – soulful and mechanical – the music undulates in the fertile ground between authentic house and techno, as metallic synths combine over precise drums to form an irresistibly magnetic dancefloor force,
PC
Igaxx – Here And There (Macadam Mambo)
If you happened to cop any of the releases on Tokyo-based Igaxx’s Ladybug label, then you already know this is a producer swimming in intriguing pools of sound. The swimming analogy feels appropriate as there’s a consistent theme of aqueous pings and pongs coursing through the music he produces, and even what he released from Mayurashka just recently. Macadam Mambo have picked up on this satisfying new thread of oddball dance music and present a tidy 10” loaded with liquid charm.
The beatless ecosystem of ‘Garden’ might well imply a full EP of ambience, and on the strength of that track it would be a thoroughly pleasant listening experience, but we quickly get a change of course as the springy drum construction of ‘Deep In Fog’ comes to life, carrying plenty of auditory lifeforms with it. As the teeming sound-field fills up with mini beasts, the attendant pads and chord drops lend a woozy, trippy quality to proceedings. It’s not dissimilar to the disorienting feeling Yoshinori Hayashi achieves with his own outside weapons, and that impression continues as the tempo drops and a more synthetic, but no less surreal, creation emerges on ‘Here And There’.
This is music with an open heart and mind, gleefully absorbing a full spectrum of approaches and bending them to an ecologically psychedelic purpose. There’s space for elegance and beauty too, even in the downtempo electro of ‘Space B’, placing Igaxx firmly on the radar as a gifted exponent of exquisite, transcendental music without the trance.
OW
Daniel Monaco / MC Matsui – Swimming (Periodica):
Periodica Records is a household name, but their offshoot Periodica International isn’t yet. The Italian mainstay’s new arm celebrates fresh international talents that nevertheless lend a fitting Mediterranean pop feel to their discography. All their artists, at first, were locally sourced via the Neapolitan West Hill Studio; now, they’ve globalized. The first release on the imprint comes by way of producer Daniel Monaco and MC Matsui, who here together deliver a sunsoaked debut 7” spanning the more aquatic edges of Balearic funk and janky electronic disco.
With Monaco hailing from Amsterdam and Matsui from Japan, it’s a true test of legitimacy to not come from the region whose music you’re alluding to (the Balearic Islands). Despite the odds, though, this EP is thematically and sonically on point, with a bare-bones backdrop of drums, live bass and wet synths strangely and crudely hitting on the feel of a casual underwater cruise or deep scuba-dive. ‘Swimming With Turtlea’ is our first ever exposure to Matsui, but we’re already in awe of his modulation between Japanese and English lyrics, sung in a near-out of tune charm that makes the track feel effortless.
We’re more into the B-side, though – ‘Swimming With Dolphins’ – which lifts the feel of the A from the ocean’s watery surface membrane, hair all dark and wet, and transports it to the beachside sauna. It’s here that a proto-electro playfulness peeks through, drums and bass recalling the staccato, clunking charm of Talking Heads or YMO’s albums, but peppered with extra dub echoes and sports whistles. If we were asked to imagine a sonic scene to go along with this track, then we’d at first find it a difficult image to conjure; but as Matsui implores us to “call his name” and echoic bubbles seem to slink past our ears, it’s as though its latter half hears us trawling the halls of an aquatic ice castle, or an Atlantean lair, with mermaids and porpoises flicking past.
JIJ
Fred P – Private Society Volume 3 (Private Society)
Fred P’s limited edition ‘Private Society’ imprint maintains the immaculate standards set previously with its third exquisite instalment. Master of the profound Fred Peterkin launched the label last year as an outlet for (ostensibly, at least) jazz-soaked house grooves constructed with all the elegance and production mastery with which he is so abundantly endowed. Via his always engaging DJ sets and a constant stream of precision releases on go-to labels, New Yorker-in-Berlin has carved out a deserved position standing among the finest purveyors of authentic house and techno. Though his far-reaching sound regularly veers into the haze of driving techno and stripped dancefloor matter, it’s the more spiritually led end of his spectrum that has so far made up the Private Society inventory. Commencing proceedings, the meandering keys of ‘Music Is For The People’ glisten with jazz-funk pliability, darting over kinetic drums while glistening pads float over the deepest of basslines.
The floor-focused track unfolds over a patient arrangement, simmering with intent before the synth solo takes centre stage, in the process elevating the music into celestial realms. Next, the track re-emerges as a kick-less reprise, creating a magical tension as the keys ride over drifting percussion before dissipating into the far-off distance. On the reverse, the equally nuanced but very slightly weightier ‘Good Vibration’ adds a generous dose of psychedelia to the freeform synth lead, with gentle delays adding a sense of mystery and space to the gymnastic soloing. Thick house drums, loose-limbed percussion, and rolling funk bass add substance to the interstellar groove, cutting through atmospheric pads and energetic chord stabs to complete a delightfully uplifting sonic experience. Finally, ‘Profound Science’ embroiders a tripped-out vocal into the mesmerising tapestry, with the spoken words echoing over lush chords, tight machine drums, and waves of aquatic pads. Wonderful work, as ever, from Fred P. Warm, dance-ready, and mildly hallucinogenic, this is sure to disappear as quickly as its Private Society predecessors.
PC
buen clima – Transferencia Electrónica (Peach Disc)
Breaking through from the Santiago underground and chiming with label head Shanti Celeste’s own Chilean heritage, buen clima makes a striking impression as he debuts on Peach Discs. There’s always a sense of directness about the releases on Celeste’s label, and it’s no different here, but clima has his own interesting vibe to impart. Across a sizable five-track EP we hear an artist drawn to swirling, misty atmospheres behind the pointed club rhythms, but not in a traditionally dubby way.
Title track ‘Transferencia Electrónica’ has big, billowing clouds of blurry melody with a subtly melancholic tone, but they’re carefully tempered to not drown out the track’s infectious, snappy energy. Tapping up footwork on ‘PensaD cada as’, there’s a giddy tone to the synth parts darting around the skittering drums. ‘Bau House’, for all its keenly focused drum machine thump, has airy pad tones slinking in the background with a distinctive, strung out quality. buen clima maintains a tight grip on these elements though, as if fearful they might bleed out so strongly the EP slips and falls down an ambient wormhole.
The EP’s clubby instincts win out overall, and they’re delivered with a delicate touch. Combined with these more reflective ingredients, the whole EP lands with a refreshing, rejuvenating quality. The kind of gear you want to slide in when the floor is flagging and the sun is breaking through, to bring a sense of joy without overloading the sensitive emotional states in the dance.
OW
Los Shapis – El Juguetito (Rebel Up)
One of the most exciting reissues to hit our shelves in recent years, Los Shapis’ ‘El Juguetito’ hails all the way back from 1984, three years after the not so famous Peruvian Cumbia outfit formed. The band – channeling up to six members at their zenith, including guitarist Jaime Moreyra and Puquiano, their in-house guiro player – nevertheless accrued a whopping 13 albums, and that’s not to mention their various 7” singles, which all came out under the Horoscopo imprint.
None of these singles were quite so impressive as ‘El Juguetito’, though. While most of their original songs were undeniably stellar (check out ‘Mi Cartita’ and the smash song ‘El Aguajal’, both emblematic of the dragged grooves and sunny walls of sound endemic to Peruvian folk from the time), not all had the potential to excite interest for cumbia in the modern day dance music digger.
Freshly reissued and remastered by Rebel Up, this 2022 version of the single, together with the B-side ‘Hombre Casado’, charts a rare collaboration between Jamie Moreyra and the blind singer Nohemi. Here, she replaces and upends the band’s vocal duties, handled normally by Julio Simeon. The eponymous A-side instantly nails a sound that is irreplicable by modern standards; a swung cascade of blooming South American sound, optimistic surf guitar and, most importantly, riffing analog synths.
JIJ
Dusky ‘Life Signs Remixes’ (Running Back)
Prolific London-based outfit Dusky made their debut on Gerd Jansen’s Running Back label in 2019, with the first instalment of their ‘Life Signs’ series. Volume 2 arrived a year later, and here, they’re back in the fold with a three-track EP of remixes spawned from the two thrilling instalments. Kicking things off, Berlin jewel and fellow Aus Music alumnus Cinthie Christl drops in to rework ‘Static’. Built over a rolling, square wave bass, her version shimmers with EBM heritage, bumping over a full-bodied groove as haunting vocals cascade across an ocean of pads and intoxicating synth bleeps.
Next up, hard-hitting techno maverick Strahil ‘Kink’ Velchev ups the energy not inconsiderably on his turbocharged take on ‘Fridge’, with distorted chords charging over big boy drums as grimey vocal effects to create an out and out main room destroyer. Finishing things off with a futuristic flourish, Dusky’s 17 Steps label signing Rumu breaks up the rhythm with an immersive take on ‘Lea Valley’. Here, infinite layers of tightly woven synths envelope the hardcore-inspired vocal as rolling drums add focus to the bustling soundscape. Three varied tracks to suit a range of hyped-up dance floors, lovers of the rave are sure to find plenty to enjoy among these energy-rich tracks.
PC
NTsKi & Takao – On Divination In Sleep (EM)
EM Records’ foray into ‘hyperpop’ centres on NTsKi, the Japanese singer and producer whose approach, in practise, lends a ferociously new approach to the style. Her latest project and debut LP, ‘Orca オルカ’, nails a strange intersection of gloss-pop, indie, new age and sample-heavy musique concrete. While it came out in August, this follow-up allows us to bemusedly scrutinise one of its lead singles and express our love for it in equal measure. The track in question is ‘On Divination In Sleep’, which here gets a remix by Takao, NTsKi’s fellow EM artist, the man behind the 2018 album ‘Stealth’.
Now, if you haven’t watched the film all ‘All About Lily Chou Chou’ yet, you should – maybe even before listening to this song. Both the track’s sonic and visual aesthetics are hilariously influenced by the film (there’s a music video). Lovers embracing in the tall grasses of the Japanese countryside; loner schoolboys staring listlessly at their CD Walkmans; stylised forum text washed out indie instrumentals… we wonder whether director Shunji Iwai would be OK with this. Even so, anyone with such good taste in Y2K film should be worthy of praise when they condense it into song. The track (and the instrumental version that appears as the B-side here) is much dreamier than anything the fictional trip-hop star Lily Chou Chou could achieve. Takao’s remix, on the other hand, completely rehauls its structure and time signature, and wrenches NTsKi and Dove’s original vocals of any wetness. The producer’s clean, metallic and echoic sound palette results in a cuter, more waltzing version, perhaps capturing Chou Chou’s strange, pining nostalgia more easily than their original. A strange exercise in derivation, but someone was bound to do it.
JIJ
This week’s reviewers: Patrizio Cavaliere, Oli Warwick, Jude iago James.