Apron Vinyl & CDs

Review: Funkineven's Apron label has long since had its own unique sound world where nostalgic keys, crunchy melodies and raw, lo-fi beats all coalesce into something both futuristic yet familiar. The latest to step up with a whole album of such sounds is Jarren, the LA artist who can do it all. His debut record is a late-night love affair that follows up his 2020 EP Mina with plenty of romantic beats. The sundown sounds have a real sense of swagger and the keys glow like the neons of a distant metropolis. There are strutting pool party jams like 'Zaiah', boogie bombs like Deja-Vu' and low slung Cali-tinged joints like 'Whittier Blvd.' It's a gorgeous collection.

Review: The latest audio missive from Funkineven's Apron camp has been receiving a lot of heat, and it's easy to see why. In typical style, both tracks take classic boogie and '80s soul jams, impressively mangling them in distinctly different ways. Mighty Baron III's "Screwed" is a "chopped and screwed" masterpiece - a fusion of sludgy, slowed-down electrfunk loops, pitched-down vocals and wonky beatbox rhythms. It's distinctively odd, but really rather special. Flip for the Sun Runners' "The Finest", a smart and melodious S.O.S Band re-edit that's been pepped up with additional drum machine hits and special effects. It will do the business on both boogie and R&B dancefloors.

Review: Brazilian duo My Girlfriend managed to get more than a few people hot under the collar with their eponymous 2018 debut EP, which delivered a dizzying array of wild, analogue-fired dancefloor workouts with an unashamedly retro-futurist feel. This follow-up is similarly impressive, even if it does draw far more influence from '80s synth-funk and lo-fi electronic jazz-funk. Highlights are plentiful, from the warm and spacey ambient sparkle of "Piercing" and the dusty '80s electrofunk of "Modal", to the freestyle synthesizer solos of "Gidi" and the restless, sample-heavy heat of closing set "Fingers". In other words, it's another fine collection of high-grade lo-fi jams.

Review: If you're unfamiliar with the Ratgrave name, you're not alone: this this bustling, future funk LP marks the first time collaborators Max Graef and Julius Conrad have released anything under the alias. The set was apparently recorded at different times, and in different places, over a three-year period. Musically, it draws much inspiration from intergalactic jazz-funk, P-funk and otherworldly '80s boogie, but also feels instinctively loose, carefree and improvised. The result is a set of lo-fi cuts that sound like they were recorded straight to tape during improvisational jam sessions, but were probably far more polished and thought-out than you might expect. Either way, it's the kind of LP that gets better with each successive listen.