The best new singles this week

New year, new singles…

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Jeff Mills – Mosainga Re Visited (Psycho Thrill Recordings)

Techno stalwarts Psycho Thrill pulled out all the stops to celebrate an impressive 30 years in the game, revisiting a no-nonsense classic from one of Detroit techno’s true pioneers. Jeff Mills originally released ‘Mosainga’ back in 1996 during the halcyon days of the fiercest forms of Motor City techno. The track has made a few appearances over the year, landing on DJ mixes from the likes of Claude Young as well as popping up on Psycho Thrill compilations — first as part of a ’96 sampler on Essence Records, and decades later on the ‘Motor City Dayz’ series. As the title of this EP suggests, the record was scheduled for release in 2021 for the label’s 30th anniversary, but the party poppers had to remain un-popped (presumably while the pressing plant cleared its Covid-related backlog).

Nevertheless, here we are at the top of 2023, and the music sounds just as impactful as it did all those years ago, thanks, in part, to the newly invigorated versions in which the track is presented here. The ‘Turn It Up 2 Space edit’ features an endlessly lopped refrain bounding over hard as nails kick and modulating hats, with the ‘BKNR Boys Somewhere In Cologne edit’ ploughing a similar furrow to fist-pumping effect. The ’96 Loop’ locked groove is a stripped-all-the-way-back DJ tool, useful for the three deck wizards amongst us. Things get a degree or two less sparse with Milton Bradley’s ‘AR-303 remix part 1’, with the seasoned artist adding undulating acid overdubs to the minimal topography. Here, the 303 line adds renewed vigour to the groove, helping to introduce the music to anyone who finds themselves terrified by the ferocity of the original version. Finally, Bradley’s ‘AR-303 remix part 2’ re-imagines the cut through a psychedelic viewfinder, the acid licks this time steeped in hallucinatory effects as they echo over the driving rhythms hurtling below. 

PC

Fred P – Forward Motion Equals Progression EP (Cyber)

Fred P has been in sensational form of late, his long career operating in house music’s deepest depths continuing to blossom as his journey unfolds. For the last 15 years or so, Fred Peterkin has stayed remarkably true to his artistic intention, the NYC native serving spiritually charged house, primal techno and future jazz soundscapes that are routinely embodied with heart and soul. Releases on the likes of Underground Quality, Mule Musiq, Ibadan, and his own Private Society have continued to inspire awe among his peers, while his finely tuned DJ sets have helped his name ring out far and wide. Last summer’s ‘Abstract Soul’ LP was entirely spellbinding, a glorious fusion of forward-facing jazz and soul-stirring electronica that arguably represents a career highlight for the Berlin-based creator. His latest work sees him return to long-running French label, Sychrophone, and is once again imbued with a profound spirituality that very few electronic music producers are equipped to deliver.

The opening track ‘Forward’ is epically immersive. Unfurling over stripped rhythms, emotions arrive in waves as evocative refrains and grainy harmonies elegantly evolve. The beat is rousing, the synth-led instrumentation lush and powerful, as the 12-plus minute arrangement mystically ebbs and flows. Next, ‘Motion’ maintains a similar trajectory, with melancholic motifs gliding over thick pads and shuffling drums as the heads-down vibrations gently captivate the soul. Completing a stunning set, ‘Equals Progression’ sees celestial strings cascade over misty chords and sub-rooted bass while dusty drums propel the groove, the orchestration deep and sumptuous as the music undulates. As expected, this is immaculate work from Peterkin, cosmically-charmed but deeply rooted, this is one for lovers of deep house in its purest form.

PC

Cousin – Second Message (NAFF)

It’s been a strong showing for Cousin lately, having landed some impressive wares on Nummer Music with the Hudson 12” in 2022, building on a steady stream of output via his own Moonshoe label. The Australian artist otherwise known as Jackson Fenster is hitting a sweet spot somewhere between dubby downtempo and crooked techno-not-techno, appealing to our appreciation for delicacy in club music without slipping into forgetful beanbag reveries. If you’ve recently dug on the likes of Ura or even the more glitchy work of Howes and the Cong Burn set, you’re sure to savour the mood transmitted out of Second Message. 

The title track lays the premise out in crisp clarity, using a snaking but purposefully punchy rhythm section to carry a suite of atmospheric hums and echo chamber impulses with plenty of heavy-lidded warmth in tow. ‘Disting’ is a sharper cut with the dancefloor in mind, but even if the tempo is raised the same attitude towards spatial processing and texture over melody applies. This is the kind of cut which bridges a gap between the deep techno adventures of Varuna et al and the more piquant sounds found on Livity and the like. ‘The River’ is where a little more overt synthesis comes through in shimmering forms that will no doubt draw in more melodically minded DJs, with a delightfully detailed and dexterous beat to match. 

OW

Ela Minus / DJ Python – Corazon (Smugglers Way)

Something of a ‘My Favourite Things’ for the dance music world, Ela Minus and DJ Python’s latest EP ‘Corazon’ (aka. ‘Heart’) is a cutesy meander through dancehall, reggaeton and glitch, locking in something of a post-lockdown stress-reliever and a reminder that there is still love in the world. 

Building on DJ Python’s ‘deep reggaeton’ boom, and breaking from Minus’ usual work in the realm of uptempo bangers, this is the most ‘colourful’ set of tracks either artist has made to date. That would make sense, as opener ‘Pajaros en Verano’ is lyrically an imperfect list about things Minus loves, Big Hard Excellent Fish-style: “clouds, fruit, cheap looks… nights that didn’t exist… air, rest, quietness, light, text… crickets, trees, a view.” Further instrumental favourites make up the instrumental, from synth marimba to experimental bursts of noise. The simple things clearly come all at once for Minus; or perhaps they’re just easier to appreciate now that she’s found love, post-lockdown style.

Lockdown love is characterised by extra keenness, so it’s not surprising there’s an extra dose of romantic enthusiasm on the tracks that don’t take centre stage. ‘Kiss U’ is an ambient braindance piece that containes fewer vocal lies, evoking a sense of physicality over whispered sweet nothings, and hears a clever array of tweety tops abound like birdsong (in reality, they were probably made in Ableton). ‘Abril Lluvias Mil’, a vinyl-textural track,   slow-mover and the best of the bunch, achieves a similar effect. All three tracks are dancehall dreams, giving the hypnotic sense of losing oneself in a lover.  

JIJ

Valentina Magaletti & Fanny Chiarello – Permanent Draft (Horn Of Plenty)

The unstoppable stride of Valentina Magaletti continues apace as she presents something of a manifesto for a new all-female label entitled Permanent Draft, which manifests in a physical edition in conjunction with Horn Of Plenty. While the prominent percussionist has been gifting us reams of extended musical moments over the past few years, now is the time for something more concise, with a specific and distinctive intention. 

The clue is in the name, in fact, as Permanent Draft seeks to celebrate a more natural and less laboured kind of sound. There is no escaping the ideas and intentions we place on the sound-making process, whether in an improvised performance or a protracted composition, but Magaletti and her collaborators want to shrug off the baggage of ideas and capture the fleeting honesty of moments in between. Fragments of accidents, boundless experiments or unconscious sketches, this new endeavour is intended to show us something more honest and instinctive. 

That begins in earnest with ‘Migraine’, a thrilling and fleeting drum adventure with all the expression and play we’ve come to expect from Magaletti, shot through with scattershot samples that dart across the sound field with a disruption akin to musique concrete. ‘The Bitter Truth’ is a patient piece in contrast, populated with simple touches of piano and voluminous atmospheric noise behind it, navigated by Fanny Chiallero’s French phrasing. Presented as a flex disc with a booklet of poetry and pictures centred on the prime number 13, it’s a piece of art as much as a compelling music release.

OW

King Sporty – Safari (Lexx Mix) (Emotional Rescue)

Emotional Rescue have resurrected a fair few tantalising King Sporty titles, but their latest package is surely among the most desirable re-issues they’ve presented from the revered Jamaican artist. Though King Sporty had been releasing singles since the ‘60s, his debut album ‘Deep Reggae Roots’ didn’t appear until 1976 via his Konduko label. It’s from here that ‘Safari’ is lifted, with the original version presented on this tidy 10” alongside a typically deft remix from Balearic maestro, Lexx.

Real name Noel George Williams, King Sporty was a bona fide Jamaican icon, celebrated DJ, musician and producer who recorded scores of solo releases as well as working as in-house producer for the Konduko and Tashamba labels he founded. Commercially speaking, he’s perhaps best-known for co-writing the Bob Marley & The Wailers hit, ‘Buffalo Solider’, but his catalogue extends far deeper than that, and the best of his music has long inspired fervour among in-the-now diggers.

His evolving sound drifted through stylistic realms, a reggae core variously augmented by elements of soul, electro, disco, boogie and more. ‘Safari’ blends tropical melodies and feel-good refrains with atmospheric chants and exotic animal sounds, gliding over hypnotic percussion as loose-limbed bass and infectious guitar licks help carry the groove. Over on the flip, Swiss artist Lexx shows his class with a delightful ‘Discomix’, stretching out the music on a meandering extended version. While he retains the key instrumentation, his mesmerising version feels ripe for rear-room adventuring, the tropical textures lending themselves supremely well to the newly-formed peaks and troughs of Lexx’s gorgeously off-road arrangement. Timeless, playful and gently evocative, this is an example of Sporty at his brilliant best, with the magnificent remix sweetening an already enticing re-issue. 

PC

Kannoushiki – Magic Hour (Takashimahuzo)

A hefty slice of Japanese Balearic from the head(s) over at Takashimashuzo, a new(ish) imprint whose music so far has been sold exclusively through us – as far as we know. Headquartered in a sake brewery in Numazu City (nestled in the easternmost tip of the Pacific’s Suruga Bay), Kannoushiki are a three-piece band doing what artists do best: shacking up in someone else’s annex and recording the next best thing their entire city has to offer. 

‘Magic Hour’ and ‘Nakanaide’ are a pair of simple, lo-fi, charming ‘balearic’ cuts (we’d contest the term, since the B-side is more of a pop slow jam if anything). Officially, the band also work dub disco into their music, which we can hear all-encompassingly on the A side – it has rimshots (recorded by band member Yama Ganga Yuji), nodding FM basses, midnight whistle-synths, and rhythm funk guitar, all tempered by a skipping vinyl effect and a midrange tempo.  

The B (which is the real curiosity) has more than enough to virtualize our most coveted balearic desires, such as martinis at gloaming, salty air, and uncovered midriffs – things we are deeply, sadly deprived of here in the UK. Directly drawing inspiration from Steve Hillage’s ‘Palm Trees’, though sounding quite far removed from it, the track’s got everything: a talkbox (“oh baby, don’t cry!”) gloomy organs, and a janky solo guitar. Forget the midwinter festival or new years’ day; it’s straight back to summer sundowns for us.

JIJ

Amedee O Suriam – Tension Hot Shot (Chineurs De House) 

French label Chineurs De House sashay in with something a little different from the bulk of their inventory, presenting Amedee O Surinam’s esoteric party jam, ‘Tension Hot Shot’. The zouk sound has been enjoying unprecedented international attention in the last few years, but it’s probably fair to say Suriam isn’t one of the movement’s most recognisable figures. An author, stylist, percussionist, singer, composer and sculptor, his creative drive extended far beyond musical confines, and his untimely death in 1982 — while still in his thirties — surely deprived the world of more music from the Martiniquan artist.

‘Tension Hot Shot’ was his solitary solo release, though his name is credited on releases from compatriot Gratien Midonet as well as the sought-after Les King compilation album. Originally released in 1989, ‘Tension Hot Shot’ must surely be one of the first releases to feature the term ‘Afro House’, which appeared in brackets after the A-side ‘Part 1’ mix. The track appears in two equally charming versions alongside versions of the slightly subtler cuts ‘Laissez Yo’ and ‘Roule’. Each cut is primed for the floor, with steamy equatorial charm to spare as sultry refrains dance over sturdy four/four rhythms. Lively, floor-focused and bursting with positivity, the music feels ahead of its time, and the release is sure to appeal to the more discerning diggers out there. 

PC

Innovations – Seabird (Munster)

Occasionally, a record comes along that has enough strength in the dimension of songwriting – be it in the genre of punk, soul, or pop – that every other aspect from mixing to recording can get away with being rather crude – almost charmingly so. 

First released in 1977, ‘Seabird / Put A Little Away’ was the only ever 7” released by Innovations, a Limeño band consisting of instrumentalists Javier Guerrero and Ernesto Samamé. The latter artist was known for his many contributions to the Peruvian psychedelic rock landscape at the time, such as the bands Laghonia ad We All Together. These two tracks are something of a pick n’ mix. The A-side is a cover of the Alessi Brothers’ original. ‘Put A Little Away’, meanwhile, is the real star of the show – a lo-fi, mixed-for-the-car-stereo ditty made up of a simple collection of instruments: drums, bass, vocals, piano and mono-synth.

The melody of the track is ineffably catchy, and ostensibly it sounds like an ode to saving money (“put a little away / it’s going to take some time”). A little bit of exercising the left brain, though, might read a deeper meaning into the lyrics, such as perhaps having to put a relationship on hold. Its main draw, though, is its scratchy quality. We can still make out the faint hiss of Samamé’s guitar input, the high-pitched hum of the song’s restoration from tape, and the slightly out-of-key bass notes. The pair’s doubled-up vocals sometimes also sound low-passed, as if to suggest further processing and degradation through time. That only lends it more meaning; this is a pure, rough-n’-ready gem, which could have only been made in Peru, back then.

JIJ

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