The best new singles this week
The top slice of the singles cake
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
Al Cisneros vs The Bug – Rosin (Pressure)
In the realm of outfield dub practitioners, it’s little surprise to find Al Cisneros and Kevin Martin’s winding, single-minded paths crossing. Both come from an adventurous end of the rockist spectrum – Cisneros as the bassist in stoner rock pioneers Sleep and psych-tripping monoliths OM and Martin with his industrial roots in the likes of God, ICE and Techno Animal – and yet both have devoted huge slabs of their creative efforts into a devotional exploration of dub with the foundational, Jamaican tenets of the music intact.
As it happens, the pair met when Martin’s King Midas Sound project was supporting OM in London and the two sparked off their mutual reggae obsessions. In the mean time Cisneros has demonstrated his dedication with the incredible Sinai Sound 7” series while Martin’s avant-dub presence becomes ever more inescapable. Now the two have finally come together on Pressure for a record which hits as heavy as you would expect.
Cisneros lays down original versions on the A-side, bringing a raw, live band sensibility to bear. His trusty bass is front and centre, and it punches with a rock-minded presence which sounds just fine amidst the splashy drum fills and sparse melodica licks. This is not so much dub as an effects-laden excursion but rather an exercise in patient, meditative restraint.
That leaves Martin free to get creative on the B side, whipping up mountainous reverb swells that push beyond straight up versioning into their own wild territory. You can sense the original riddim pulsing away somewhere underneath, but it’s the gargantuan textures which dominate across two intense variations. It’s death dub in The Bug’s well-established style, sparring off Cisneros’ solid foundations to head into blissful obliteration.
OW
Soichi Terada – Asakusa Light Remixes (Rush Hour)
The ever-giving Rush Hour Records camp offer up an inspired set of reworks lifted from Soichi Terada’s acclaimed ‘Asakusa Light’ LP, drafting in Byron The Aquarius and Alex Attias to work their respective magic into the groove. 2022 released ‘Asakusa Light’ was Terada’s reflection on the bygone appeal of the ‘90s Tokyo club scene — the era which provided the halcyon days of his production journey as his feel-good house aesthetic won him admirers like the late, great disco pioneer, Larry Levan.
The collection was his first set of newly recorded productions in over 30 years, and came about, at least in part, due to the popularity of the ‘Sounds Of The Far East’ retrospective he released in 2015. In keeping with the album as a whole, each of the revised versions is rather special. First up, hip-hop-head-turned-ho-ho-don Byron The Aquarius delivers a trademark take on ‘Bamboo Fighter’. Byron has maintained formidable form since his first house productions forged under the tutelage of Kai Alce first appeared on Sound Signature, and this effort sees the Alabama native continue the trend in sublime style. Here, vintage synth bass is enveloped by hallucinatory chords and agile overdubs, the smokey harmonics seductively entwined across shuffling house rhythms.
Next, long-serving Swiss producer Alex Attias shows his instinctive deep house affinity with a genuinely stunning interpretation of ‘Takusambient’, the Visions Inc boss oozing class with his gently psychedelic remix. A touch more urgent, his version unfolds over a brisk tempo, with effervescent synth licks darting over driving chords as throbbing synth bass and grubby drums power the groove. Both mixes brilliantly complement Terada’s masterful originals, with each artist respectfully embellishing the sonic intention with their imaginatively-spun and immaculately-executed interpretations.
PC
PVAS – Somaesthesia (Isla Canada)
PVAS, as far as our skeptical minds can tell, is the sonic brainchild of producer Florian TM Zeisig and his collaborations with / under other aliases, including NUG, Unt & OCA. But as usual with this corner of the dance music world, we could be very mistaken indeed – not least since this kind of wilful obscurity always seems to cause a head-scratching thirst to find out who exactly is behind each project.
Casting that urge aside for a moment, the PVAS alias has only released a few EPs prior to this. ‘Accepting Entropy Loss’ on 3XL heard four glitchy dancehall bits escape from a pressurized airlock vault. Adding to our speculation that Zeisig’s collaborations could just be a front, that EP was confirmed to have been made using a self-made, “sentient”, generative piece of software that was unleashed onto Zeisig’s tunes after the fact, “replacing and layering new sounds as they (it) saw fit”.
Whether it’s completely true that Zeisig possesses such personal wizardry as to code truly sentient music production AI remains to be seen. Besides, the new EP ‘Somaesthesia’ is a far cry from this concept. Through breaks, IDM, and tactile tinkerings, it explores somatics and the body – not highfaluting, top-heavy concepts like AI. Opening with some shivery human inhalations – as our producer protagonist lights up a cigarette or vape – a series of shifty, wave-twisty tunes ensues. Recalling the experience of mentally “scanning down” while meditating, each tune sounds sort like what would happen to our bodies if they were run through the distortion and warping plugins found in Premiere Pro. Constant juddering sounds, and low whispers murmuring something about dilated pupils, evoke a dual sense of stimulation and illness.
It’s as if we were operating at full energetic capacity, but only because we’d taken copious amounts of research drugs – the underlying reality being that we hadn’t slept in days. ‘Schlesi Boat’ is the highlight, daring to ramp up the resonance filter and causing the entire track to occupy an unusually shrill soundzone.
JIJ
Mikal Asher & Gary Davis – Red Gold & Green Remixes (Chocolate Star)
Mikal Asher’s ‘Red Gold & Green’ is treated to a pair of varied remixes here, a roots-imbued track lifted from the singer’s 2021 album, ‘Unchained’. While the name Mikal Asher isn’t among the most recognised of reggae’s long and storied legacy, the man behind this intriguing Gary Davis-produced jam is indeed a fully-fledged member of the movement. Real name Michael Morgan, Mikal is the brother of venerated reggae artist, Denroy Morgan — a key figure in his own right as well as being the father of the five members of the Grammy-winning band, Morgan Heritage. Asher himself contributed much to the Morgan Heritage project, while veteran New Jersey producer and Chocolate Star owner Gary Davis — whose original stems provide the source material here — is himself something of an icon in esoteric boogie, disco and hip-hop circles.
Offering up two entirely distinct takes on Asher’s original, US producer Knoe1 and Futureboogie alumni Warehouse Preservation Society each show inspired form with their imaginatively-spun revisions. First, Knoe1 dives deep into electro-boogie textures with his synth-led ‘Afro-boogie Version’. Layering Asher’s gravelly vocal over thick synth bass and crisp machine drums, dub delays and atmospheric swells add mystery to the groove as the empowering vocal soars over conga rhythms and tripped-out organ licks.
Warehouse Preservation Society are next to the bat, the pairing of west coast producer Tavish Graham and former 40 Thieves member Travis Kirschbaum steering the cut into spacier territory with their stripped ‘Bonus Beat dub’. Here, percussive rhythms hypnotise as dramatic stabs and wildlife samples drift across the vast panorama, with wiggy bass notes and saucer-eyed waves bursting through the tropical mist as the propulsive drums power the groove. Each mix is suited to opposite ends of the meta-disco spectrum, completing a neat but varied little y7-inch that’s sure to disappear from the shelves as quickly as it arrived.
PC
Chris Korda & Andre Baum – Forgive The Night (Foom)
Sometimes electronic music is about marvelling at the seeming impossibility of creation – unfathomable shapes contorted from the interaction between human and machine. At other times, it’s just as thrilling to sense the very essence of the creative process and tangibly understand how the music was made. In presenting their collaborative record, Chris Korda and Andre Baum have laid out exactly how these simple, effective tracks were made.
Simple shouldn’t be conflated with basic in this case, not least because Korda’s own Polymeter sequencer was used to trigger the two instruments used in the production, the ADX1 drum machine and a Nord Lead synth. The unique qualities of Korda’s sequencer (which she first developed in the 90s) give the music its consistently engaging movement, presenting a groove ostensibly based around elegant minimal house but never trapped in the homogenous stricture of four to the floor.
Melodically, there’s an airy, jazzy feel to the synth lines, which stretch from wandering leads to wavy chords – a nimble accompaniment to the light-footed percussive work taking place elsewhere. As well as the central tenet of the title track, there’s also an additional acid-tinted diversion entitled ‘While We Wait’ which takes a more slanted view of the dancefloor, while Korda also adds her own extrapolated rendition ‘Forgive Yourself’ with some richly harmonic vocoder treatments on Baum’s brief sojourn into singing.
The ‘Reprise’ hammers home the overarching idea on this EP, which is not to present four distinct tracks but rather four variations on a shared approach – a set of creative restrictions as the jump off point for varied experiments with cohesive results. Binding everything together is the aforementioned elegance, which manifests in these uncluttered arrangements in which you can sense every little shift of movement as a satisfying quirk outside the tired norms which dominate around minimal house music.
OW
Kero & Steph Copeland – Syndrome (Detroit Underground)
The latest transmission on Detroit Underground comes from just over the border in Canada, as accomplished producer Kero teams up with equally accomplished composer and singer Steph Copeland. The pair have past form, as Kero produced a track for Copeland’s 2011 release Fog Like This, but this collaboration feels like a more concerted dive into a mutual creative space equally defined by Kero’s twitchy electronica and Copeland’s expressive melodic instincts.
Their previous partnership on ‘Who Am I To Complain’ is revisited again as the track gets a fresh airing on this record, while the similarly spirited ‘Syndrome’ opens proceedings in a compelling blend of melancholic songwriting and detailed yet understated production. If Kero’s past form on releases for Shitkatapult, Wild Oats or Blueprint has sometimes edged towards the boisterous, on these traditionally structured pieces he responds to the sensitivity of the situation. ‘Countdown From 7’ is another standout on the release, imagining deconstructed D&B without the drums as a tense backdrop for Copeland’s voice.
Instead it’s the remixes which open up some of the wilder potential hidden in the subtle glitches of the sound. Mtch tackles ‘Syndrome’ and turns it into a twitchy slice of systems music for the Autechre heads to get freaky to. ‘Who Am I To Complain’ and instrumental piece ‘Walk In The Park’ also get remixes from Oberman Knocks, an oft-overlooked producer from the electronica firmament whose own versions deal in crunchy DSP textures and blown out atmospherics.
OW
Awanto 3 – Party Volume 1 (Rush Hour)
Yet more seductive flavours from the Rush Hour stable here, the Amsterdam-based imprint serving three varied deep house cuts from label friend Steven de Peven under his Awanto 3 moniker. ‘Party Volume 1’ follows a series of impressive releases for Rush Hour, Dekmantel and Voyage Direct, and continues the fine work he’s shown on the Klakson imprint he founded alongside Steffi.
On top of his hyper-atmospheric productions, Awanto 3 has performed at some of the esoteric underground’s most revered spaces, with Panorama Bar, Concrete and Dekmantel festival among the many dancefloors he’s served. Imbuing the EP with a deliciously mysterious edge, ‘Party Volume 1’ was recorded during a stint staying in an apparently haunted house (while de Peven was house-sitting and taking care of a peep of chickens, a goat, a dog and a donkey). Surrounded by creepy paraphernalia, he got to work on his MPC, crafting a set of assorted but coherent tracks that each brim with atmosphere.
‘The Lime King’ sees woozy chords evolve over live drums as delicate synth motifs bubble across the perimeter before the throbbing beats of ‘Seeyousoon’ power through off-kilter chords and full-bodied bass. Finally, the broken rhythms of ‘Sawyoulater’ complete an impressive trio, with propulsive drums powering hypnotic synth lines over jazzy chords and rolling congas.
PC
Skee Mask – ISS009 (Ilian Tape)
At this point in time do we need to convince you of the power of Skee Mask’s universally adored post-rave hybrids? His three albums for Ilian Tape artfully folded Germanic techno and UK soundsystem music together with a sweetly melodic sensibility, striking a balance headsy and edgy enough for the critical crowd while offering an emotional impact that reaches past scenester trainspotters to land with much larger crowds. Whatever the secret sauce is, Skee Mask is packing plenty of it, and it continues to yield wonderful fruit on the latest entry in Ilian Tape’s dedicated Skee Series.
‘UWLSD’ is the truest representation of Skee Mask’s overall appeal, tapping into the evergreen pleasure of the hinterland where shuffling garage and diced-up breakbeat cross-breed with each other. The yearning pad blasts and other dewy-eyed melodic impressions offer an opaque emotional hook for the music, not sounding a million miles from Boxcutter’s take on sentimental 140. ‘Studio 626’ however offers something quite different by swerving for the boxy brilliance of the TR-626 as a sound source, chopping up samples and working playful synths that come on like a braindance response to a steady diet of 80s boogie.
On the flip we get some of the spikiest club rhythms on ‘Reviver’, which interestingly doesn’t lean on any obvious kick drum thrust but instead relies own compositional narrative to impart its power, and then the mood cools down with an impeccable slice of dub techno immersion more heavily tilted towards dub than techno. These stylistic summaries of course skim over some of the exquisite micro-details etched in between the dominant elements, such is the wonder of Skee Mask’s vivid sound. He offers up emotions you can carry with you through life, and production flair you’ll keep returning to and discovering something new.
OW
Lukas Urban / Soreab / Sanguine / McGregor / ENA / Will Alfred – My Own Mirror To Stay (Sure Thing)
Behold the maiden opus of Sure Thing’s oeuvre, My Own Mirror To Stay, which brings together six affiliated artists for a lush first-time compilation. Tundric, biosynthetic soundplanes and textural dancehall wet willies are the name of the game here. Each artist was essentially tasked to sacrifice an as yet unreleased track on the label’s altar. They’re six attempts to represent the label’s dancefloor-centric sound, neatly fitting into the nascent buzz around ‘tactile’ electronic music.
Opening with a supple, high-peaking track from Lukas Urban – ‘A Glass Of Empty Rooms’ – we hear earsplitting nibs and tics grate in broken beat fashion against spoken word mutterings in what sounds like Hungarian. Things blossom from there on, with Soreab’s ‘The Boy And The Beast’ jet-propulsing our cochlear dinghy ever further down the sonic Amazon River with wildernessy live drums and technoid pads. A clearing of filter-sweeps and chords ensues, before the beat drops back in. The track is neatly coda’ed by Sanguine’s ‘Fake Leaves’, which sounds like a chillout version of its predecessor.
On the reverse side, one can relish in three more intricately crafted and fastidious techno soundscapes. McGregor immediately ups the stakes with ‘Clean Lines’, Driving to the West of the Forest with a speedy halftime drum n’ bass / techno titillator, easily seguing into a monstrous dancehall scraper at around a minute in. ENA’s ‘Arkadia Blue’ breaks from the beats for a dubbed out, ghost-tropical minimalist exercise, while the comp is impressively rounded off with a surprise tune by Will Alfred, ‘Pattern Static’ – in the unfashionable (yet nicely pulled-off) mode of future garage. Every track here is joined together by a sonic consistency, proving the international scene that Sure Thing represents is brought together by much more than just talent.
JIJ
With a repertoire taking in labels like Italian bass weight experimenters XCPT and rave-ready Forbidden Planet, it’s slightly surprising to find Farron shoring up with Kimochi Sound. The Shaw Cuts label boss is certainly taking some cues in his approach from the soundsystem ethics of dubstep et al, but equally his music has space for melodious synth work and subtle sound design with a more technoid veneer.
Somewhere in between those ethics, Kimochi is certainly sympathetic to dubby excursions within the realms of extra-curricular club dissolutions. Even so, it feels like ‘Sizzup Code’ commences this EP with a heavy-stepping pressure which is welcome but slightly incongruous. It’s a masterful workout crying out for a towering stack in a darkened dancehall, but given the seven-deep mini-album tone of the release, there’s also space for much more. With its punch broken kick line and echo chamber rhythms, ’No Highdea’ has a similar strain of delay-stewed dancefloor pressure but otherwise it’s much more of a home-listening affair.
From aqueous ambient world building to pin-prick techno bubbles, everything is rendered beautifully. Farron roams free on this record while keeping the music consistently sunk into in a subtly moody, hood up, headphones on mode, marking out different flows for Kimochi without muddying the waters.
OW
This week’s reviewers: Oli Warwick, Jude Iago James, Patrizio Cavaliere.