The best new singles this week

The week’s finest 45s

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

DJ Fresh – Dancing In The Dark (feat Buunshin) (Breakbeat Kaos)

Depending on your vintage and the level at which you’ve engaged with the drum & bass scene over the past two decades, your impressions of DJ Fresh will be very different. He is, of course best known to the general public at large as the producer of chart storming anthems like ‘Gold Dust’ and ‘Louder’, tracks that took the energy and vitality of clubland and replanted it in a pop context. The fact those hits were as controversial as they were popular is testament to Fresh’s previous life as one of the scene-dominating collective Bad Company UK, who set about re-shaping d&b in the early 2000s to great success, quite possibly saving the genre from falling into obscurity.

We mention all this because ‘Dancing In The Dark’ is in many ways a return to the days of BC and Fresh’s solo releases that often appeared alongside them – although in this case he’s been assisted in his cause by the fast rising Dutch producer Buunshin. There is an unforgettable vocal hook but it appears at the start of the track mangled and timestretched in what is a nod to the old skool rave of the late 80s/early 90s. And then the mayhem truly begins. Monster sized tech-step bass horror, different sets of beats rolling in and out of the mix, unexpected record deck stops, the whole thing chopping and changing in a glorious rollercoaster ride that leaves you dazed, disorientated and wanting more.

AMC’s remix of ‘Heavyweight’ on the flip is a little more orthodox – see the raging Amen breaks and bass pressure that brings DJ Krust’s massive ‘Warhead’ to mind – but undeniably as heavy as it says on the tin. All on a dazzling picture disc that was the hallmark of the Breakbeat Kaos label from its beginnings- it won’t be long before these, if you excuse the pun, will be like golddust.

BW

Delano Smith – Reconstructed (Carl Craig/Mike Huckaby mixes) (Sushitech)

Sushitech Records revisit a particularly sparkling entry in their not insubstantial archives here, re-issuing a pair of Delano Smith numbers brilliantly remixed by Detroit royalty Carl Craig and Mike Huckaby. Smith made several impressive appearances on Yossi Amoyal’s Sushitech label over the years, with 2012’s ‘An Odyssey’ album one of the coming together’s many memorable moments. Both tracks featured on ‘Reconstructed’ are reworks of standouts from the triple-pack LP, with the original release of the EP closely following that of the album a decade or so ago.

The re-issue feels rather timely, as it’s a little over two years since the world waved goodbye to Mike Huckaby, who sadly passed away in April 2020. The DJ, producer, sound designer and educator left an indelible mark on the underground music communities of not just Detroit, but the planet as a whole, so it’s beyond reassuring to know that his musical flame continues to burn brightly. His remix of ‘What I Do’ is every bit as propulsive as the best of his work, with crunching drums powering deliciously grainy synths as sub-focused bass and dreamy pads envelope the sturdy rhythm. Warm, driving and delicately funky, it’s a tried and tested dancefloor guarantee.

Backtracking to the A-side, we find Carl Craig in typically inspired form, with the Motor City heavyweight serving a gently hallucinogenic remix of ‘Midnight Hours’. Undulating along the fine line between techno and house, his version features crisp drums and thick bass powering subaquatic chords and dubbed-out synth stabs across a floor-focused arrangement. Both versions are marvellous, and each sounds entirely fresh to this day. If deep but unfussy club-primed house music is your game, you’d do well to add this to your collection.

PC

dynArec – Force In The Sum (Central Processing Unit)

It’s been a good couple of years for dynArec releases. Chris Kalera’s run of singles and an LP on Return To Disorder, New Flesh and Superluminal have all landed in the past year, and now he’s making a long overdue appearance on CPU with his own particular brand of machine funk.

Let’s face it, at the moment there is a glut of soundalike electro being churned out at present, but even within the depths of a zeitgeist there will always be particular artists who bring something extra to the sound. What’s interesting about dynArec is that his own slant is towards a kind of poppy sensibility. Even the tougher tracks have a softness to them – ‘Stabilized’ makes no bones about being a nod to early Dopplereffekt, and yet this track comes on like the polished, club structured evolution of that sound.

Elsewhere, ‘Canonical Form’ moves like a finely tuned peak timer, with an insanely catchy lead riff to lock onto. What makes the music special is the way Kalera slips in wild modulation swerves on the synth lines to give everything a twitchy, untethered quality. And there’s absolutely space for a crisp, clean drop at the right moment, too.

‘Classification Of Elements’ calls back to the early 00s in many ways – there’s a nostalgic quality to the extended loop the tune is based around. But despite the vague sense of familiarity, you can’t put your finger on where you’ve heard it before, and the music reveals itself to be simply capturing a feeling, rather than a sound. dynArec’s immediate, maximal approach is more than matched by his deft touch, and that’s what makes a record stand out in times of overabundance.

OW

Jan Kincl / Regis Kattie – It’s Been A While (Save The Groove)

Croatian artist Jan Kincl brings his thoroughly enjoyable take on four/four rhythms to Frole Records offshoot, Save The Groove, joining forces with frequent collaborator Regis Kattie on ‘It’s Been A While’. Add to this a remix from Atlanta-based deep house guru, Kai Alce, and it becomes increasingly apparent that this is an EP entirely deserving of careful consideration. For those not yet initiated, DJ, producer and live performer Kincl has enjoyed a fruitful few years since his releases first began appearing in the racks.

Since emerging in and around 2016, his music has found a home on ultra-credible labels including Sonar Kollektiv, BBE, and Far Out Recordings, while his CYCLE music production company is considered a jewel in the subcultural crown of his native Zagreb. ‘It’s Been A While’ launches via the hyper-infectious throes of the Donald Byrd-inspired ‘Love’s So Far Away’. Here, swirling piano licks endlessly loop and mutate as hypnotic vocal chops saunter over the rugged house groove, ebbing and flowing over a slick arrangement that’s sure to keep the dancers on their collective toes. Next, the altogether gentler ‘Day By Day’ sees melancholy chords floating over a bed of sizzling drums and dreamy bass notes, beautifully combining for a moment of rear-room reflection.

On the reverse, main man Kai Alce steps up to show everyone exactly what time it is, serving a kinetically-charged drum track that powerfully drives the celestial chords and atmospheric horns of ‘Just Stay’ across an exercise in less-is-more production. Finally, completing an emotionally rich EP, we find the dub version of ‘Just Stay’, where the evocative chords are supported by growling bass as the gently distorted drum track steers the tempo. One for the deep house heads, this is yet more tantelising work from the Kincl/Kattie collective.

PC

Lexsoul Dance Machine – Lex On The Beach (Funk Embassy)

Estonian funksters Lexsoul Dance Machine resume their soul-soothing adventuring on their latest seaside trip, summoning their combined love of yacht rock, AOR and city pop on the deliciously decadent ‘Lex On The Beach’. They may be based on the shores of the (beautiful but) less-than-tropical Baltic Sea, but that doesn’t prevent their music from transporting listeners to altogether more sultry climes than those of their Tallinn home. Already four studio albums deep, the six-piece outfit inject a palpable sense of fun into their music that continues to win them a steadily growing fan base, and their latest work is sure to see those numbers gently swell.

The EP features fetching artwork from digital painter, Estookin, who also supplied the goods on the band’s recent ‘Lexplosion II’ album. As well as making the record particularly enticing, the colourful imagery is a fine indicator of the music contained within the handsome sleeve. Sure enough, we dive directly into temperate waters via the opening track, ‘Pigeon Pit’. Here, seductive vocals glide across a head-nodding bed of blissed-out instrumentation, with warm bass, psychedelic synths and sparkling guitars elegantly pulsing over splashing drums.

Next, the mesmerising piano riffs of ‘Lazy Breeze’ continue the summertime abandon, as the honeyed vocal dances amidst funk guitar, rolling bass and dextrous keys. On the reverse, Jim Hart joins the party as the jazz vibraphone does the talking on ‘Relax Your Mind’. Here, sprightly mallet strikes build the energy as they arrive to take a load off the lead vocals, the imaginative solo stealing the show as it harmonically meanders. Finally, ‘Sweet Life’ maintains the feel-good theme, as good-living vocals resume their smooth serenade over a low-slung bed of fuzzed-out instrumentation. The summer holidays are well and truly upon us, and ‘Lex On The Beach’ feels like a worthy soundtrack to usher in the post-work good times.

PC

Jahtari – Loose In Space (Turtle Isle)

Jahtari is the leading light in 8-bitty dub music, but it’s rare that those involved with the label receive their own releases under the name. This one is an exception to that rule. 

The two tunes contained on this new 7” ‘Loose In Space’, actually written by Jan Gleichmar (Disrupt) and the adjacent supergroup Jahtari Riddim Force, have existed since at least 2004, albeit in a different digital-only format. The tracks heard back in a cleaner, more primordial form; the production was sparser and, to put it bluntly, less riveting than this. By contrast, make it to the halfway point of this revisitation of ‘Loose In Space’, and you’ll hear dub rimshots reinterpeted as deep-space lasershots, bass licks reinterpreted as Galactus’ stomps. What’s more, all has been rendered grainy, bitcrushed, as though a pixelated wool has been pulled over the 2004 versions’ eyes.

‘The Stars My Destination’, like before, is a simple ‘version’ of the first side, but with a much drier palette; the GameBoy Color to the A’s Advance. Supposedly, this version has even more bit-reduction going on, with the official Jahtari website claiming it to have yet more “8bit” capacity (“up to 24bit!”), whatever that means. Compellingly straddling the live-toasted feel, and steppers’ button-mashing, this isn’t an asteroid to be dodged, but rather landed on.

JIJ

Mbulelo – Kalibre (Hakuna Kulala)

Capturing the spirit of contemporary techno with a forthright African slant, Mbulelo follows up on releases for Transmat and others with an outstanding drop for the always-essential Hakuna Kulala label. Hailing from Durban in South Africa and sporting a strong gqom strand to his sound, Mbulelo also brings US synth touches to his sound with devastating results.

‘Play The Beat’ in particular draws on some striking boogie licks which offset against the murky atmospherics and jagged rhythmic impulses to create highly original, utterly infectious club magic. At times 26-year-old Mbulelo Mehlomakhulu embraces the stricture of 4/4 as well, but African rhythms are never far behind, and he teases them with a masterful touch on ‘Kalibre’. ‘Uranus’ places greater focus on the melodic dimension of his sound, creating an effect something like Motor City machine soul but absolutely coming from a different world. ‘God’s Groove’ keeps up the orchestrated dramatics with an approach that feels aimed at a soundtrack as much as a dancefloor.

In a release like this, the circle of African-rooted Western dance music and contemporary electronic sounds from Africa closes to form a reciprocal loop, with the best of all the ingredients gelling to create something compelling and utterly fresh.

OW

This week’s reviewers: Oli Warwick, Jude Iago James, Patrizio Cavaliere. Ben Willmott.