The best new singles this week
The singles that count in large amounts
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
Move D – Pandemix Live Jams Vol 1 (Source Recor ds)
German label Source Records are ushered back into life with a series of Move D live jams recorded while locked down during the first year of the pandemic. The previously dormant label was initially set up by David ‘Move D’ Moufang and Jonas Grossmann in 1992, releasing an impressive volume of far-reaching, electronically-focused titles from the likes of Baby Ford, YMC, Deep Space Network, and Benjamin Wild. Move D himself made a scattering of solo releases on the imprint, too – notably his 1995 debut album ‘Kunstoff’ – before Source was eventually put out to pasture in around 2005. With a body of material accumulated during the opening throes of the COVID pandemic, it seems Moufang felt the time was ripe for a relaunch, and, as expected, the music presented is entirely fitting for the label’s new dawn. Operating on the vanguard of the electronic underground for decades, Moufang has released exceptional music on labels including Compost, Uzuri, Underground Quality, Philpot, Electric Minds, Workshop, and many more.
Coupled with his production prowess, his reputation as a captivating performer precedes him, so it seems appropriate that the Source Records rebirth is marked with a selection of live recordings from the maestro himself. ‘Pandemix Live Jams Vol 1’ opens with the patiently unfolding ‘Unsocial Distancing’, where sparse keys undulate over stealthily evolving groove, with stripped drums, simmering arpeggios and tension-building pads morphing over the expansive landscape. Upping the energy, we find the deviant bass and jacking drums of ‘Ston’d’, with distant vocals echoing over atmospheric pads and elusive arps. ‘On The Kerrier Line’ introduces a discreet motor city flex, with honeyed harmonics gliding over swung drums and deeply-rooted bass notes. Finally, the EP comes to an emotive close with the searing emotion of ‘F*cked In A Heartbeat’, where soul penetrating synth lines meander over a gentle rhythm, ebbing and flowing like irrepressible ocean tides.
PC
The DBH distribution pool, based in Frankfurt, have their fingers in so many pies that their influence extends far beyond that of your average wax disseminator. Churning out several new records a week, we’re in no state of surprise at their ability to foster the ambitions of any label to reissue whatever they want whenever they want.
As much is at least true for Textures, one of many ‘hidden classic’ 90s dance labels to bubble up in our 20-odd-year memoryspan. Much like PsycheMagik, Chain Reaction, FAX, or Gargoyle Records, latent and niche interest in the imprint has helped foster demand for this old face to churn out newer stuff. Like many labels, it’s a trajectory you can easily chart on their Discogs page; as interest in house and techno on wax waned (get it?) in the noughties, an unfortunate two decade gap opened up, all the way through until 2019 saw the release of Don Gardon’s ‘The Phase’.
A cosmopolitan, international feel was felt on each of Textures’ releases. Aubrey aka. Allen Saei, who came up in Sheffield and later enjoyed shoulder-rubs with everyone from R&S in Belgium to Derrick May in the US, was and still is at its helm. ‘Pool’ is one of his higher-carat gems; the fifth release on the label, it was one of Saei’s few under his own name, and it here gets an era-honouringly noisy reissue.
‘Pool’ is a fittingly slippery track, recalling the classic city-railyard chords of Round One as much as it predicts the new watery sounds of Sweepsculp. And for those after progressive knockers of emotion, ‘Pleased To Meet You’ leans heavy on the organ, while ‘Excess Baggage’ healthily channels surplus weight into plodding kicks and offbeat synth flicks. This release is best for the Avalon Emersons and Finns of the world: the kinds of DJs that are as much enthralled by the old as they are the new.
JIJ
Crackazat – Beacon Of Light (Freerange)
Freerange Records present a tantalising taster of Crackazat’s forthcoming ‘Evergreen’ long-player, sweetening an already enticing EP with a remix from Chicago master, Ron Trent. UK house luminary Ben ‘Crackazat’ Jacobs has been one of the scene’s most reliable protagonists since emerging around a decade ago. Releasing a stream of immaculately-crafted club cuts on labels including Local Talk, Futureboogie, and Z Records, his propulsive sound routinely hits the sweet spot between dancefloor heat and cerebral musicality.
While his bumping back catalogue is delicately infused with a jazz essence reflecting his roots within the form, his latest release is positively soused in authentic jazz-funk virtuosity. The seeds of the soon to arrive album were sown during lockdown when Jacobs began posting IG clips of himself singing his heart out over live bass and Rhodes jams. Alerted to this previously unseen string to the Crackazat bow, Freerange co-founder Jimpster was quick to react, and it wasn’t long before the album project began to manifest.
Drawing on high-grade crossover influences including Thundercat, Jordan Reiki, Jacob Collier and the like, Crackazat’s new material finds him in the form of his life. EP opener ‘Beacon Of Light’ bursts with positivity, with Jacob’s inspired vocal soaring over live instrumentation, blending the purest forms of deep house with unrivalled jazz sensibilities on a heartfelt ode to gratitude. Next, Ron Trent works his spiritual house magic on the jazz ballad, ‘Simple Things’, morphing the Robert Glasper-inspired original into an epic backroom meditation as it seductively meanders through waves of percussion, ethereal keys, and psychedelic sweeps.
On the reverse, the ‘Maritime Dub’ of the title track is vintage Crackazat, as looped vocals filter over thick bass and driving house drums for a heads-down club bump. Finally, ‘Evergreen’ sees Jacobs successfully fuse the dual essences of jazz and house with dusty drums powering carefully orchestrated instrumentation as it joyously dances over improvised bass. Fans of Jacob’s previous work are likely to be blown away by his dazzling metamorphosis, not just because of the scope of the musicianship presented, but also the impassioned quality of his previously latent vocal flair.
PC
Shark Attack – Shark Attack: Unheard Southern Punk (Sweet FA)
Shark Attack first formed in 1990, but in making music as timelessly noisy and raucous as this, it’s hard to say a band like them joined in the punk game late. A three-piece act from Fayetteville, Arkansas, they’re testament to the rude health of US punk back then, reeling off plenty of bands – from Black Flag to the Stooges – as part of their keg of inspirations.
Differing from those acts, though, Shark Attack were much less refined and clear when it came to recording, allowing buzz and saturation to filter to the top before vocals ever could. What’s more, they were from Arkansas, not California, which rendered them truly punk in their status as outsiders from the bulk of punk’s US city centres – a tour of the West Coast was even cut off early, as two of the band members ended up homesick.
That’s not to decry their impact, though. Far from it: this self-titled EP seems to capture the band as you would have heard them in their first incarnation at local dive spot Lily’s; the result of quick, ear-splitting dubbing seshes in Oakland, CA. ‘The Awful Truth’ and ‘Problem’ go above and beyond in their apocalyptic manipulation of noise, wall and wail, seeming to break the natural escape velocity of the verse-chorus structure and convert it into something else altogether. ‘God’ is the real star of the show, though; it sounds like a prototypical incarnation of Swans, curling surround guitars, emotive chords, and impossibly tinny walls of noise, seeming to upend bass entirely. True to the name ‘Shark Attack’, the track is truly the sonic equivalent of a barbed, serrated, hacksawn waterfall – let it rain on us
jij
Sundown – Spaced Outta Place (Sound Signature)
Theo Parrish digs up a freak funk treasure for his latest Sound Signature release, re-issuing the wonderful ‘Spaced Outta Place’ 7” from Amp Fiddler’s one-off project, Sundown. Having performed and recorded as a member of George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic groups, Joseph Anthony ‘Amp’ Fiddler automatically qualifies as a fully-fledged member of funk’s royal family.
Over the course of his decades-long career, he’s worked with a mind-blowing cast of creators, including Prince, Jamiroquai, Moodyman, Omar S, and Brand New Heavies, among many others. If that wasn’t enough to cement his place in the annals of music history, he’s also the man responsible for introducing one J Dilla to the Akai MPC, the tool from which the dearly departed producer would go on to score so many blunted hip hop classics.
While the Amp’s Sundown project may have been short-lived, its solitary fruit – originally released in 1981 on the equally ephemeral Parkside Records – made an indelible mark on the jazz-funk digging community. Rare as proverbial hen’s teeth, original copies change hands for eye-watering sums when they occasionally deign to make marketplace appearances. Parrish is seemingly someone with whom the inflated resale market doesn’t sit right, as his track record of re-issuing his most in-demand Sound Signature releases perfectly illustrates. As such, it should be he who offers a home to his fellow Detroit creator’s enigmatic Sundown pearl.
Appearing in two parts, ‘Spaced Outta Place’ brims with a loose-limbed funk feel, as Amp’s unthinkably dextrous keys lace the infectious backing tracks. ‘Part 1’ sees horns rising over a tightly woven orchestration of strings, guitars, bass and low slung drums, with the landscape periodically permeated by soaring solos and growling Moog bass. The very slightly stripped topography of ‘Part 2’ unfolds over a hyped tempo, adding a glimmer of disco sheen as Amp channels his inner alien via some gloriously expressive synth solos. Definitely don’t sleep on this.
PC
Future Architects – Prophetic Dreams (Solid Wood)
Motivational-spiritual techno bowls our way straight from the heart of Hanover, where the powerhouses that are Angelina Rose and Florian (Charmin Records’ CEO) join forces to produce this four-track orb of might – the musical of equivalent of ball lightning set to explode. Rumbly, pulsing, steamy dance cuts abound, effortlessly straddling the strange interim between techno and house (without sounding remotely tech house), and all coming to Rose’s new imprint Solid Wood.
Building a world of sonic elysium that, while rapturous, is not undiscerning in its ‘teasing’ of emotion, opener ‘Universe’ reveals itself slowly, but with a fast pace. A reflective synth hook works its way in, as squashed claps and offbeat 909s – hallmarks of the new school of nostalgic dance – soon give way to atolls of lapping pads and hisses. In a defiant opening statement of unparalleled samplage, we hear an impassioned rallying cry for self-esteem from motivational speaker and author Suzanne Adams, lifted from a lost TED Talk years ago – “each and very one of you, if you can hear my voice, you have the capability, the capacity, to embody a frequency that matches your dreams, and it’s your job to always engage with the highest vibration available to you.”
The latter three tracks are sonic affirmations of said higher vibrations, proving Rose and Florian practise what they preach. ‘Unseen Realms’ hurtles our way and ignites our ears with unbroken dub and smoke, not to mention its cheeky laser quips and blasts scattered across the top end. ‘Hierophant’ is anything but hierophantic, railing starkly against dance orthodoxy with its broken body womps, bonnet whacks and crumple zones – it’s dadaist future garage, if anything. The name of the closer, ‘Renaissance’, is much more on the money – the broken beat backroad continues to wind as the EP rounds off on a stranger note than it begun on, as dreamworlds unfurl and collide with brutalist reality. Prophetic or not, these ‘Dreams’ are bound to recur – on our turntables, that is!
JIJ
Demuir – The Persistence Of Hope (Selections)
The best house music (especially deep house) shows off the artist’s palette of inspirations from their very first childhood explorations, through to their present-day musings. Demuir was raised on his dad’s Hammond organ, but his lifelong practical study of house music has seen him work in no end of synth twinge, bass lick and sneaky sampler into his work. He channels every influence from funk onwards into his wonky rendition of the 4×4 formula, proving himself a master-creator in the sound. He’s deep into the vibe, as they say.
The Toronto native’s latest EP is lent to Selections, and hears three unbridled groove bits set to an unassuming cream wax. The A-side, ‘The Persistence Of Hope’, weaves a persistent street vocal sample – a man calmly chanting, you guessed it, “persistent” – through integrated, buried kicks, claps and synth swells. Self-confidence brims under its bassy floorboards; bass caresses the sub-300 range of ‘Life Is Simple’, where the affirmative vocal sample theme persists. “Fuck people and their opinions of you”, goes the mantra, as we’re propelled into a more assertive, no-nonsense mode of musical being, uncaring and indifferent to external loci of control.
‘Unto Thee’ is a calm all-rounder; the kind of track that could open, close, or segue the vibe of most parties, so long as they’re fittingly laid back, and not packed out with chin-strokers. Roughly cut “what” samples blip about the mix, as Demuir’s unrivalled, unedited keys chops come squarely into play on a squeaky old synth whistle. We imagine his iced-up wrists gliding effortlessly across the plastic ivories, as he and his entourage get low to much snare slappage and chord burblings.
JIJ
Djebali & Jorge Savoretti – Playacar (Aesthetic)
Aesthetic continue their mesmerising voyage into the more imaginatively spun minimal house realms, serving a joint three-track offering from Djebali and Jorge Savoretti. The Constant Sound sub-label has barely put a foot out of place since arriving in 2018, releasing a flurry of impactful releases from underground disciples including Loy, Tijn, Kepler, and Swoy. Continuing in their now familiar vein, the label call upon a pair of trusted house veterans to supply the goods, namely Parisian stalwart Djebali, and Argentine scene-setter, Jorge Savoretti.
Both players have been making subaquatic waves for the best part of two decades, and here they forge all of their combined mastery into three hugely effective club jams. Opening cut ‘Playacar’ launches over a sprightly deep house shuffle, with its hypnotic bass motif enveloped by glancing flourishes as the floor-focused arrangement unfurls. A touch more robust but no less nuanced, the throbbing bass drum of ‘Tsubasa’ powers the groove while singing acid and gravelly synths intertwine over seductive chords. Finally, the Chi-town shuffle returns on the retro-leaning ‘Seiya’, with galloping toms and sub-heavy bass propping up saucy synth lines and metallic chord strikes.
PC
This week’s reviewers: Patrizio Cavaliere,, Jude Iago James