The best new singles this week
The top layer of the singles cake
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
In the melee of the contemporary club sphere, it’s easy to forget how hyped the early self-released 12”s from Objekt were at the point of inception. Some 10 years ago, these mutant releases absolutely fed into the Hessle-oid zeitgeist of dubstep experimentation, but there was a vital spark in TJ Hertz’s constructions which made them unanimously adored. The Berlin-based but UK-rooted producer has an exacting approach which leans on detailed, digitally-driven sound design, but there’s always a wild-eyed hook to land even the edgiest of tracks. His two albums, Flatland and Cocoon Crush, have provided safe passage for his experimental tendencies without the pressure of the floor, but in tandem with his prowess as a DJ, his club releases have always been the true jewels in the Objekt crown.
As a loudly self-proclaimed slowcoach in the studio, everyone’s quite accepting of not getting bombarded with new Objekt material every few months or so, but even so it feels like this first new release in four years quietly slips out to join the swamp of mutant dance music where once it might have been deemed a seismic shock. Any sense of expectation is quickly dispatched once the needle hits the platter though, as Hertz casually reminds us why he takes his time to gift us something from his lab.
In the interests of balance, Objekt isn’t the first to be exploring the sub-100 bpm range – in the wake of artists like DJ Python there’s been a strong wave of artists finding inspiration in the spacious climes of low tempos and the crooked groove of dembow, but of course there’s a flair at work here which is unlike anyone other than Objekt. As ‘Bad Apples’ progresses the cybernetic production really starts to take flight, but there’s always the grungy, prowling rhythm section under-pinning everything. The bass in particular is deadly, taking on a clicky quality more readily associated with nu-metal than techno. Another reference point for such sonic interest would be Commodo, whose recent drops have equally relished such rockist sounds.
‘Ballast’ maintains the slow and snarling pressure, bringing in a tougher snap to the drums and working a simple bleep line which is inescapably fated to be twisted and contorted beyond recognition. Yet again the skill lies in taking things far out without losing focus, and this remains a fierce club banger first and a hyper-futuristic exercise in manipulation second. It’s head melting, face melting and ass melting like we demand from an Objekt 12”, but once again he’s also managed to deliver something wholly different to what we might have expected.
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Simone De Kunovich – Addio Mondo Nuovo (Mule Musiq)
Japan’s venerable Mule Musiq welcome back Simone De Kunovich with the final instalment of his ‘Mondo Nuovo’ series. ‘Addio Mondo Nuovo’ (Italian for ‘goodbye new world’) contains six charming tracks each embodied with the alluring idiosyncrasies that have been a recurring thread through each of De Kunovich’s previous outings. Aside from being a producer and self-styled “Avant-garde Conservative,” Venice-born De Kunovich is apparently a diligent student of film and the arts in general.
Each edition of ‘Mondo Nuovo’ saw him burrow deep into the archives of the mondo and exploitation film genres, sampling peculiar soundbites before pitching them alongside his delightfully off-kilter musical beds. His engaging soundscapes morph from immersive ambient textures to mind-melting psychedelia, with each imaginatively-spun track pleasingly stubborn to neatly categorise. The title track here is arguably the pick of the bunch, with marimba melodies skipping across loose and limber drums as birdsong and evocative chants glide across the sun-mottled panorama. The percussion builds as an exotic horn solo rises in, the music gently dissipating into the misty forest landscape.
Elsewhere, the rush-inducing pads and abstract bursts of ‘Path To Eternity’ prove rather striking, and the soul-soothing ambience of ‘See You On The Other Side Of The River’ is no-less atmospheric. The joyful acid thrust of ‘Inverno Verde’ is another contender for dancefloor standout, with its lively vocal chops and proto-house rhythms, while the propulsive percussion of ‘Primal Dream’ is another floor-focused heater. The first instalment of the three-part series arrived in 2019 on Fantastic Man and Francis Inferno Orchestra’s Superconscious label, while part two followed earlier this year on Mule Musiq. The final instalment neatly completes the set, hopefully setting the scene for more sonic maneouvres in store from the intriguing artist.
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Royal Mirrorball – (Earth In) Blue) (Rush Hour)
Maverick Japanese producer Hiroshi Matsui is something of an enigma. Any attempts to pin him down stylistically are futile, operating, as he has done throughout his career, with a flagrant disregard of generic compliance. Here the ‘(Earth In) Blue’ track he composed under his Royal Mirrorball moniker is on the receiving end of a worthy re-issue, courtesy of the ever-reliable gang over at Rush Hour.
Matsui began studying synth-based composition and multi-track recording while still in school. His fascination for electronic music evolved into an obsession and his stock rose rapidly when, in 1985, the then 18-year-old artist took part in the celebrated Organ-Zaka competition. He ended up beating the likes of Towa Tei (Deee-Lite) and Zabadak to snag the grand prize, marking the beginning of a wildly varied music career. Operating from within the core of the underground as well as in the commercial stratosphere Matsui’s music has routinely transcended genres and styles. Subterranean club material sits perched alongside jingles and advertisement scores in his expansive repertoire, but it’s for his early forays into deep house that he’s best remembered among the digging community.
In 1992, his ‘Samba de Howa Howa’ was released as a Japan-only promo, and, despite its limited release, the track caught the attention of house pioneer Tony Humphries. The track became a Kiss FM fixture, eventually appearing on the first volume of King Street’s famous ‘Sounds of Far East Dance Music’ compilation. In the late ‘90s, Matsui established his own Royal Mirrorball production company and label, launching with an EP that featured the gorgeous ‘(Earth in) Blue’ that’s given new life here. The sought-after original arrives alongside a previously unreleased instrumental, with the acid-soaked music sounding entirely alluring all these years after it was composed. The vinyl is neatly embellished with a traditional obi strip, and, considering both the quality of the music and the scarcity of the self-released original copies, is a thoroughly desirable package.
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The Ganges Orchestra – The Dream (Emotional Rescue)
The Ganges Orchestra is the work of Steve Coe, a British producer and songwriter whose career reached through the 70s, 80s and 90s up to his death in 2013. In the 1980s he started to focus on Indian-inspired music through his Monsoon project and extensive collaborations with singer Sheila Chandra. The Ganges Orchestra came from the same well of inspiration, and continued to be a vessel for more atmospheric or experimental work from Coe’s studio throughout the rest of his life. There was one 12” in particular which heralded the start of the latter project in 1983, released on Coe’s Indipop label and relatively obscure, but of course Emotional Rescue are always keyed into such curios and know exactly what to do with them.
‘The Dream’ is every inch a holy grail item – rare, well-produced, in a field of its own and sounding remarkably relevant to the insatiable appetite of the eclectic DJ culture where Balearic once stood. There’s a trippy, extended excursion into tabla drumming from Pandit Dinesh which would get any jockey excited about the effect it might have on an audience, and a strong melodic theme which anchors the track on its return. The legend is that Daniele Baldelli adopted the track as a natural fit for his take on the ‘Afro Cosmic’ sound prevalent in early 80s Italy, and it’s not hard to see why.
‘The Calling’ didn’t originally appear on the same 12” as ‘The Dream’, but its inclusion here feels wholly necessary as an extension of the theme laid out on the A side. Here, the drums are largely forgone and instead we’re treated to a beatless inversion of ‘The Dream’ which will undoubtedly appeal to those who prefer a new age ambient experience. ‘Meditasian’ upholds the mood in a spellbding suite of delicately processed sitar work which in its original form stretched out for a good 24 minutes, here succinctly edited down to just four. It’s clear Coe was wholeheartedly invested in the culture he was engaging with, and while there’s always a degree of hesitation around Western approaches to non-Western music, there’s sophistication, sensitivity and originality at the heart of this work which more than validates it.
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Yet more impeccably curated sonic stylings from the Melodies International gang here, as revered selector and champion digger Hunee steps in to set the mood on the latest edition of the ‘Melodies Record Club series. Previous iterations arrived from Ben UFO and Four Tet, and there isn’t even the merest hint of the guest selector bar being lowered here. Inspired by magical moments behind the platters in the Houghton Woods and on the Brilliant Corners dancefloor, memory and imagination form the thread behind his chosen titles.
Music from Digital Justice, Dorothy Ashby and Frantz Tuernal made the cut, and, considering the quality of the Korean artist’s collection, it comes as no surprise that his picks are immaculate. On the A-side, the sprawling, beatless ecstasy of ‘Theme From “It’s All Gone Pearshaped”’ launches proceedings in the most mesmerising of fashions, with waves of blissful melodies and celestial harmonies lapping at the shores of the subconscious. On the reverse, spiritual Koto swells arrive via the bewitching allure of Dorothy Ashby’s ‘For Some We Loved’. Taken from the harpist’s 1970 classic, ‘The Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby’, the music captivates as it unfurls, rich with imagery and devotional mystique. Finally, the bittersweet tones of Frantz Tuernal’s ‘Koultans’ continue the evocative mood, pitching zouk alongside hypnotic flamenco guitar for a poignant end-of-summer serenade.
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Of the bygone club sounds yet to be revived in earnest, mid-00s minimal-skirting tech house is right up there. There’s a brash, boxy, digital quality to that particular era which yielded some great tunes amongst all the trite, throwaway stuff. More typically associated with elegant bassweight club gear and fluttering melodious electronica, Facta has been vocal in the past about his love of minimal but no one expected him to drop a single heading in that direction, least of all on Bristol bassnik Lurka’s Fringe White label.
Lurka himself bills ‘Ditto’ as “50% UK funky, 50% Ibiza terrace,” but I’d argue there’s a healthy dose of wonky tech house business as you might have heard from Switch, Tiefschwarz or perhaps dropped on Poker Flat or Spectral Sound. It’s got a compressed, metallic quality not a million miles from Paul Woolford’s ‘Erotic Discourse’, and it sounds like a tonne of fun from a less po-faced era. As if confirming the connections, two contrasting remixes are included from Dorisburg, an artist who embodies the more adventurous end of the contemporary minimal scene. There’s one snappy broken version which adds some needlepoint sophistication to the Facta’s brash hooks, and a leaner alternative version which lets Dorisburg’s fantastic beat construction shine through on its own terms.
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Italian label Polifonic has offered much to enjoy in its short-but-productive existence. The third iteration of the imprint’s ‘Itria’ series beautifully maintains the impetus, adding a gently psychedelic charge to the Balearic-minded soundscapes on display.
Blending cosmic sensibilities with pitched-down techno thrust, the five-track mini compilation revels in hallucinatory charm, with each track aimed at soundtracking saucer-eyed sunrises and sessions of a similar nature. The record launches via the kaleidoscopic swirls of ‘Jupiter’s Arpeggio’ from Interstellar Funk, the Dutch artist presenting an off-piste adventure into tripped-out synth textures and trance-inducing rhythms.
The captivating pulse of Tamburi Neri’s ‘Oceano Irazionale’ arrives next, with mesmerising jaw harp endlessly driving over throbbing rhythms for a tension-building roller. Salamanda’s ‘Morning Magic’ provides a mystical interlude, with atmospheric chants and flute motifs echoing over bewitching percussion and smokey pads, before Hiver’s Night Heron blends new wave energy with progged-out synthesis on the mind-expanding harmonics of ‘Thunder’. Completing a thoroughly engaging set, Claudio PRC and Zippo dive deep into dawn seduction, with evocative pads gliding over rolling toms and alien synth refrains. This is quite a trip from the Polifonic camp, this balanced EP intelligently curated to enthrall sonic seekers and seasoned psychonauts alike.
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Staunchly independent and true to his focus on soundsystem traditions, Ossia mints a self-steered label with some liberally dubbed inversions of his work. The whole idea of the dub version is to explore the space and time potential locked away in a track – the other darkened corridors hidden in an arrangement, accessed through secret doors which can only be kicked down by lashings of delay and reverb.
In the case of ‘Red X’, he’s actually spliced together his Peter Tosh -sampling debut single on Blackest Ever Black with a closing track from his Devil’s Dance LP, teasing out a skeletal rhythm until blooming outwards in a straining cloud of mournful strings previously reserved for live settings. ‘Information’ originally appeared in a couple of forms on a Berceuse Heroique EP, and here becomes a skin and bones stepper communicating from the outer rim. The textural work feels like unstable radio interference, the beat prone to dissolution at any minute in a twisted inversion of the tension and release principle.
‘Drum Tangle’, recently aired on a compilation courtesy of Noods, becomes a fierce, functional percussion mantra draped in delay impulses stumbling out into the void. It’s forbidding in a style now generally associated with Ossia’s wider approach, holding a unique appeal for those in thrall to the art of the dub version and the different possibilities it proposes to a piece of music.
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Donald’s House – Bassian Plain (Touch From A Distance)
The Donald’s House brother’s certainly seem to be enjoying their ongoing studio explorations. Returning to Berlin’s Touch From A Distance label, their latest effort sees them veer into slightly wiggier territory than they’re best known for charting, combining their undeniable knack for constructing magnetic hooks with a deliciously deviant flourish.
‘Bassian Plain’ is aimed squarely at the rave, with freaky sirens gyrating over bubbling acid and throbbing bass as crisp machine drums keep the tempo. Proudly pumping and buckets of fun, this is unfettered dancefloor material beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Maintaining a similar trajectory and possibly a touch more distinct, growling 303 licks combine with atmospheric marimbas on ‘The Isthmus Of Kra’, the altered state melodies galvanised by a sturdy rhythm track over an effortless arrangement. Over on the b-side, Alex Kassian once again demonstrates his creative scope, occupying the club-ready corners of his production mind with a breathless remix of the title track. Just as adept at orchestrating lump-in-throat-inducing sundown textures, he strikes the dance jugular here, threading key motifs amidst complimentary overdubs, all served over a quick-fire rhythm of fizzing hats and driving snare rolls. Big room bangers, one and all.
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For those of you keeping track of the output from the Workshop camp, you’ll have no doubt picked up on the Kolorit LP released in 2018. A collaboration between Kassem Mosse and Lowtec, the typically low-key album found the two outsider house operators exploring sometimes chaotic abstractions of their already obfuscated takes on the hardware tradition. Now the pair have doubled down on their leftfield tendencies for a short and sweet 7” which takes us further away from established structures without losing that dusty patina which comes as standard with a Workshop release.
Without being overtly drenched in echo, there’s a sense of dubwise experimentation which guides their hands as Kolorit seemingly hand tweak parameters, calling to mind clandestine lab experiments guided on instinct far away from any perceived expectations. The first cut ripples and quivers, all the while flooded with the kind of gauche melodic touches which so often lend Lowtec releases that otherworldly quality. There’s a wobbly unease to the second, which capitalises on minimalism to create a purgatorial atmosphere while leaving space for blooms of interference as the track stumbles forth. For a parting shot, the final missive seems to deconstruct before your ears, percussive shots cartwheeling through metallic delays with miniscule feedbacks like the careless abandon at the end of a jam.
If it all sounds highly esoteric, then it is. This is a record which celebrates those moments where clear-sighted intention gives way to fearless abandon, where any core ideas have been captured and all that’s left is to have some fun messing around with sonic manipulation. It’s awkward, but there’s a strange beauty and sincerity in that awkwardness which encourages repeat visits to try and make out the form of these misfit studio transmissions.
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It’d already been a great year for proper acid house when French spinner Tatie Dee decided to drop her five track debut EP, and this certainly seals the deal. All four originals here – the fifth is a stark, slowburning mix of ‘Take Me Up’ from Mr G – utilise the gift that Chicago gave us in the mid 80s, but each in a different way and with enough freshness and exuberance to truly carry them along.
It’s not hard to see why ‘Take Me Up’ has been pushed to the front of the pack, it’s a total corker, all strutting drum machine beats, old skool pianos and a female vocal for a hook, meaning it’s destined to fill even the slightest acid-orientated of floors. It’s a bit more of a trad sound than, say, fellow contemporary acid pioneers Paranoid London or Decius, but in fusing acid with other ancient house tricks it does re-write the rulebook somewhat and offer a new slant on some well worn sounds. The TB-303 reigns over the other selection too, from the headrushing synths of the more rave flavoured ‘Sierra Nevada’ to the techno thump of the Beltram-esuqe ‘OMZ’, but that’ll garner no complaints from this bandana clad, dummy sucking Juno Daily writer. Big thumbs up – roll on EP number two from Tatie.
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Gen Y – Earth Experience (Clone West Coast Series)
In early 2021 Gen Y popped up on Clone’s West Coast Series with Saturn Flow, a 12” of thrilling, charged electro which instantly demanded attention. It was fast and colourful, imbued with a rough and expressive approach to production which aligned with the rawest Detroit techno, instantly getting us wondering who this new talent was and where they came from. If the record was something of a surprise through the sheer quality contained within, then there are also new reasons to get excited on this six-track EP which serves as a sort of follow-up.
The main point of intrigue is the opening track ‘Dreamboy’, which features a highly unexpected appearance from Maryn E Coote. Otherwise known as Marju Kuut, the Estonian singer, who sadly passed away earlier this year, came to light through an album on Peoples Potential Unlimited in 2018 which documented just some of her wonderfully unusual synth-pop variations. To find her working with Gen Y was highly unexpected, but the resulting track is a blissful slice of electro pop with Coote’s dreamy vocal riding high over a machine funk backbone and dreamy key chops. Elsewhere, Gen Y takes us far and wide across grubby beat tracks and sweet, acid-speckled diversions, retaining the flair and flavour which marked Gen Y out in the first place. There’s plenty of soul packed into the compositions when it’s required, but wherever Gen Y transmits from, they throw their tracks down with a ravey impulse which feels wholly connected, or at least indebted, to that distinctive Midwestern way of doing machine music.
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This week’s reviewers: Patrizio Cavaliere, Oli Warwick, Ben Willmott.