The best new singles this week

The singles our critics think you need to hear

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Caldera – Loslassen (Kimochi Sound) 

There’s a good chance anyone into the deeper end of the broken techno scene will have come across Caldera’s work before. Since 2016 Malte Schumann has been slipping out elegant wares under the alias and also as Loop LF, exploring dub-informed soundscapes on the likes of WNCL, Boogie Box and Bokhari Records. Now linking up with Kimochi Sound, he’s able to take his music further into subliminal back room spaces, what with Area’s label being well-versed in platforming crossover points where pronounced rhythms and ambient abstraction collide and co-exist.  

Spread across a 12” and a 7”, these six pieces feel wholly at home on Kimochi, dealing in the wispy pad tones, distinctive percussive tones and half-hidden melodies we’ve come to expect, but within this style there’s still space for the individual to come through. In Schumann’s case, it’s the likes of ‘Gone’ which catch the ear with a swing beat not commonly heard in these environs. Conversely, ‘Years’ offers up a highly workable tool kit of straight-down-the-line house drums and misty, melancholic impressions for those rainy day mixes when you still need the drums to kick even if the mood is downcast. It’s ‘When’ that offers the most striking surprises with its languid guitar cast adrift in beatless surrounds, guided by a pitched down vocal lament. 

The 7” carries two collaborations between Caldera and Yung Zesty, a hitherto unknown entity who may or may not even exist. These are in fact the standout pieces of the whole release, with the first being a submerged dub-out with an insistent groove that might well envelop you fully given the right soundsystem, and the second being a hand-drum focused affair with the most minimal of embellishments which sounds like it could tumble to the floor and splinter at any moment. It’s loose and irreverent, and yet somehow sincere as well, and it adds a richness to Caldera’s offerings on this tidy double pack. 
OW

Acid Synthesis – State Of Being (Planet 303)

Keith Farruggia dons his lesser-used Acid Synthesis moniker for more late-night adventures in electro-acid abandon. The Maltese producer is best known for his production formed under the Sound Synthesis tag, under which he’s released a prolific amount of material over the past few years. His work on the likes of Infiltrate, Further Electronix, Orbital Mechanics and Electro Records brims with atmosphere. In keeping with the rest of his output, the handful of EPs he’s carved as Acid Synthesis is embodied with analogue allure in abundance, with the added element of (as the chosen alias strongly hints at) a good dose of the trust TB-303 or, at the very least, a similarly modelled sound box. ‘State Of Being’ very much fits this mould, featuring four mood-altering tracks characterised by bubbling acid lines, brooding pads and throbbing rhythms.

While much of his music is firmly planted in electro territory, here he jettisons broken drum patterns in favour of a four-to-the-floor framework, steering the music into techno territory across soundscapes reminiscent of the early trance textures of Harthouse Records and the like. The title track is a case in point, with acid providing the bass as well as interwoven towlines as sparse drums drive the rhythm through haunting pads as the melodies gently undulate. ‘303 Dreams’ is simultaneously celestial and sinister, with choral pads floating over thick acid as the heavyweight kick drum thumps through the mist. The energy ramps up a touch on ‘Down The Line’, with hyperactive acid licks darting over foggy synths and steady drums. Finally, the closing track ‘Functional’ is perhaps the snappiest of the set, with crisp machine drum snares adding dynamism as the familiar sound palette of liquid acid and hovering pads are neatly combined. An EP that never strays too far from a distinct path, if you’re a fan of stripped acid and/or deep techno, you’ll find much to enjoy here.

PC

Springtime – The Night Raver EP (Joyful Noise)

When Gareth Liddiard (originally of The Drones and more recently, the mind-bending Tropical Fuck Storm), enlisted the help of drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White) and pianist Chris Abrahams (The Necks, Laughing Clowns), to form Springtime, many were unsure of what to expect from the newfound avant-garde post-jazz trio.

2021’s self-titled debut served as a surprisingly restrained, meandering sojourn into everything from free form improvisation to muted, psych-blues despondency, with enough twinkling folk balladry and exuberant vulnerability to garner ample attention. Now that they have it, their follow up EP, ‘The Night Raver’, seeks to decimate all of that alluring good will with a trio of challenging audible monuments, running the gamut from noise-jazz bedlam to ethereal chamber-folk, all whilst shrouded in Liddiard’s atypical poetics.

Character studies at heart, the three-act structure is brought to life with the sprawling, quarter-of-an-hour length, ‘The Names Of The Plague’; a slow-burning wall of avant-jazz turned squall-rock, falling somewhere between the nexus of Frank Zappa and Nick Cave with its claustrophobic, psychedelic machinations building towards a macabre crescendo of frightening sonic despair, akin to falling headfirst out of a bad trip onto solid concrete.

‘The Radicalisation Of D’, slows proceedings to a crawl with its 18-minute, spoken word, country-prog pace, constantly swelling with flourishes of percussion while the repetitive twang of Liddiard’s battered Fender maintains its hypnotic grasp throughout, but it’s the melodious closer, ‘Penumbra’, that weaves a live improvised formula around a more ballad-focused form of composition, allowing only slight remnants of malevolent sonics to interfere over the course of its 8 minutes.

With three pieces of such sprawling length and musical dexterity, Springtime have crafted a follow-up EP that boasts a runtime almost equal to its full-length predecessor, while managing to mutate and reshape their already established formula into more cavernous, intense and ultimately rewarding territory. 

ZB

SIRS – Sirs Cuts EP 5 (Sirsounds)

Edit specialist Daniel SIRS Klein is back in scalpel action, carefully reworking a selection of lesser-known gems on the fifth latest instalment of his ongoing Sirs Cuts series. Berlin-based Klein’s edit aptitude is matched by some formidable digging chops, often delivering reworks of source material that leave even the most seasoned of collectors at a loss to identify. With a DJ career that runs decades deep, Klein has made plenty of friends thanks to far-reaching sets performed the world over, with a residency at Ibiza’s legendary Space one of many career highlights. Alongside Kiko Navaro, Klein ran the relatively short-lived but no-less prolific Flamingo Discos label, while he counts the quasi-mythical DJ Harvey as one of his most fervent admirers. Short for Sounds In Real Stereo, the bulk of his SIRS productions have arrived via the Sirsounds imprint he launched back in 2016, with 2021’s ‘Arrived’ release on Live At Robert Johnson a notable exception.

His edits display a flair for floor-focused arrangement and a knack for spotting compelling hooks, and his latest work is no exception. Opening track ‘Maybe No’ is a high-energy disco affair, with sensual strings, snarling guitars and slap bass formed over a fist-pumping tempo as intelligent looping adds tension to the groove. Drifting into prog territory, the agile melodies and heartfelt German vocals of ‘Der Blaue Planet’ combine over mesmerising synth bass, before we return to the dripping sweat of the discotheque via the Euro swells of ‘Seventeen’. Here, sugar-coated vocals soar over synth-laden disco licks, the stirring conga rhythms and quick-fire tempo enough to ignite even the most demanding of floors. Finally, AOR meets disco thanks to the yearning vocals of ‘Tennis’, with melancholic chords, screeching guitar solos and glassy-eyed synths interwoven over crisp drums over a ten-plus minute arrangement. 

PC

Traxx / Turtle Bugg – Fight 4 <3 (Basement Floor) 

There’s a conviction to Chicago jakbeat maestro Melvin Oliphant III’s music, an uncompromising approach carries on the legacy of Ron Hardy and joins the dots between disparate strains of edgy club material. He’s just as likely to wreak havoc with post-punk annihilation as he is to slam down some tweaking acid, and the looming influence of Wax Trax-style industrial isn’t far out of earshot either. It’s not a dissimilar contrarian spirit to that of Jamal Moss, but Oliphant keeps a sharper focus on the pulse of his tracks while Moss is happy to jettison the hand-holds in pursuit of outer space. 

On this release for Basement Floor, Oliphant has linked up with Detroit’s Turtle Bugg for a two-pronged attack on the senses that demands the grubbiest nightspot you can find. No matter if the soundsystem is blown out, this is the kind of dark and dirty material which can handle a bit of red lining. ‘Tuning Circuits For A Revolution’ has a political bent through its speech sampling, while the arrangement of the track remains raw and punchy as though it were still the mid 80s. Oliphant’s aforementioned conviction is right there in that arrangement – his intent is so sharp you never once think about the familiarity of the approach. The insistent urgency of the track and its punky attitude are more than enough to carry it, and the slightly altered version on the flip entitled ‘The Vast Abyss (Spoken From Turtle Bugg)’. If you’re always on a quest for the real deal, then drop your linen and start your grinning because this is it right here.  
OW

Joan Bibiloni – Ray Mang Edits (Gouranga Music)

Now here’s an intriguing proposition from the relatively new but promising Gouranga Records camp, who once again enlist the tried and tested production prowess of Ray Mang to work his magic into some seriously inspired source material. This time out, it’s Balearic icon Joan Bibiloni whose music is given the Mang treatment, with a pair of the Mallorcan guitarist’s vintage pearls respectfully reformed with contemporary systems in mind. With a pair of protagonists as gifted as these, it almost goes without saying that the net result is the striking of Balearic Gold. The first revision is of Bibiloni’s 1986 track ‘The Boogie’, an aptly titled number that is among the Spanish artist’s most floor-friendly and disco-fused compositions.

Maintaining the feel-good thrust of the original, Mang stretches the duration with the help of dubbed-out groove sections, allowing the instrumentation added breathing space as Bibiloni’s dextrous guitar motifs combine with rousing vocals and funk-flecked bass. If the A-side is ripe for the club, the B-side is altogether more meditative, with the soul-stirring harmonies of ‘Val, Vuw Ya’ providing the source material. Here, gorgeous guitar refrains glide over warm bass notes as gentle vocals, sumptuous strings and harmonica burst across the discreetly psychedelic horizon. Elegant and profoundly beautiful, this blissfully immersive sundown accompaniment is about as Balearic as it gets. Simply stunning. 

PC

David Grubbs / Mats Gustafsson – Off Road (Improved Sequence)

Loopy folkage and lo-fi ephemera waft our way from Improved Sequence this week, courtesy of the artists David Grubbs and Mats Gustafsson, from Chicago. After butting heads as part of the experimental electronic trio The Underflow (with Grubbs on guitar and Gustafsson on fluteophonic-electronic tinkerings, and which continues to this day), ‘Off Road’ sounds to be the logical continuation of their craft – but it actually came about much earlier in 2002.

Fans of Sun Araw, Endlings or Allon Dilloway will be impressed by this one. Containing such manic sonic oddities as: a sped-up saxophone being, from what we can tell, yelled into; icy exhalations blown through some kind of pipe; and “glass-topped table full of bottles being dragged along a concrete floor”; this a free-improvised caterwaul, designed for disruptive listening. Just in case your day was shaping up to be too peaceful for your own liking, tracks like ‘Rendezvous Up North’ probably sum up the duo’s noisy oeuvre; metal machine music tempered by guitar feedback and refractive slowdowns, with shrill scrapy sounds settling into rhythms that suggest some kind of organic movement, like a robot horse trudging across a barren landscape. ‘Pumpkin Creek’, meanwhile, is the most digestible of the lot, with a steady shaker rhythm and an emo guitar progression interrupted by the sound of what could only be described in sane terms as an engine revving.

JIJ

 Giant Swan – Fantasy Food (Keck)

In the wake of their breakthrough album and a trail of delightful devastation where their live powerhouse has trodden, Giant Swan have pitched themselves with patience rather than that fame-hungry pitfall of over-saturation which catches out so many up and comers. They last released something new in 2019 – a 12” which came two years after their self-titled debut LP. Now it’s four years later and we get another EP, and thanks to their measured approach it feels like a proper occasion. 

Well, if there’s a certain reserved quality to their release schedule, the Swan don’t go soft in the actual content of their wares. ‘Sugar and Air’ is as instantly energising and boisterous as anything they’ve put out, riding forthright techno drums, playfully mashing them up without losing that immediate impact and having lots of fun warping vocal samples around in the mix. There’s a proper shutdown of a pause in the mid-section, but really this is no-nonsense gear with all the right elements for those who like their techno rowdy without veering into the harder strains du jour. 

Elsewhere on the record there’s space for some more nuanced synthesis on ‘Abacuses’ while ‘Fantasy Food’ ditches the drums for a dynamic, dramatic mood piece. When it comes to sound design, Giant Swan are adept at wringing the neck of their synths with the same intent they apply to the drum sequencing, bringing a twisted snarl into each and every pattern. ‘RRR+1’ might well be the track which nods to the wider zeitgeist around fast techno, with a tempo fit for a licensed megarave in a warehouse, but fortunately these two have enough imagination to bring their own playful but always-deadly sound set into the framework of this nu hard dance tempo.

OW

Ghost / Pinchers / Outlaw Candy – Roses Are Red (Must Bust)

Must Bust are renowned for their snappy dancehall – their catalogue first came up in the late 1990s, but they’re now undertaking a big reissue campaign for retroactive ears. Founded by Outlaw Candy (Sean Bailey) as a vanity arm of the prolific Harlesden label Dynamic Sounds, every one of their 7”s were credited to an individual artist. However, each was also in effect a compilation, containing contributions from two or three affiliated artists, whose modus operandi was to toast the A1 track’s beat – one of the many tricks of the dancehall trade.

In this case – ‘Roses Are Red’ – the star of the show is Ghost aka. Carlton Hylton, famous for his distinctive brand of singjaying. Ghost’s technique is evident here on the title track, with high-register harmonies gliding across a serene yet skeletal backing beat. This is dancehall dipping into r&b, with the artist seguing in and out of dry and reverby vocals, producing a ghostly effect, tempering Ghost’s hymnal takes on the object of his affections. He’s never known anyone “as sweet as you.” Much of this sweetness is dashed, however, on the ensuing remix by longtime reggae player Pinchers, who stays in harmony but offers a different perspective: “some girls nuh want a man / only a one night stand”. The B side, finally, rounds off on a further banger by Outlaw Candy himself, laying down another minimal vibe similar to the A, but with a slightly different feel.

JIJ

Midnight Runners – Nusantara Tropic Disco Vol 1 (Star Creature)

Indonesian scalpel specialist Midnight Runners rides in with another selection of retro-leaning edits, serving six nostalgic grooves on volume one of ‘Nusantara Tropic Disco’. The man behind the music, Harry ‘Munir’ Septiandry, has made a habit of digging deep into the Indonesian disco-funk archives for inspiration, routinely delivering tasteful and club-primed revisions of the vast archipelago’s esoteric musical pearls. At the time that much of the source material was originally recorded, it was illegal to play Indonesian music in the country’s bars and clubs, meaning much of the music produced wasn’t crafted with club systems in mind. Keen to remedy this while priming the sounds for modern floors, Septiandry lovingly edits and rebalances cuts from vaults, rendering the music suitable for DJ use while introducing the bygone sounds to all-new audiences.

Meandering through varying shades of feel-good nostalgia, the EP drifts through disco, jazz-funk and rare groove, Septiandry’s scalpel skills are primed to perfection as he respectfully reframes the dusty-fingered digs. From the psychedelic synth solos of opener ‘Kaliuga’ to the soothing vibrations of closing track ‘Cinta Senada’, the free-flowing collection brims with vintage charm throughout. The EP effectively amounts to a series of highlights, with memorable moments including the irrepressible optimism of dancefloor favourite ‘Kasih Bersemi’ and the hallucinatory swells of ‘Mega Mega Biru’.

PC

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