Balance Alliance France Vinyl & CDs

Review: Tayfun Sarier and Stefan Rijsmus have been delivering consistently dope levels of tech and deep house since 2012, starting with a pair of stormers fro Liebe Detail's digital wing, and now making a debut on Prescription's newer sub-label, Balance. "Visual Basic" is as Chicago as you can get for a dance tune - soulful samples, and wavey chords all-round - while "Righteous" heads a little deeper underground. "Heart 2 Heart" is probably our pick of the lot, thanks to its deep, luscious pads, and "Rotation" ties things off in old-school guise...oh, those keys.

Review: Balance Alliance, the fledgling sub-label fo Balance Alliacne (itself affiliated with Prescription Records) continues to carve its own inimitable sonic niche in the deep end. Following a recent killer 12" from our man in Paris, Brawther, we're treated to the mysterious sounds of City 2 City. Pressed up on plush marble vinyl, the Black Planet EP is dripping with the warmth and groove that seems to accompany every Balance Alliance record. The percussive title track and spacey "City 2 City Theme" hog the A-Side, although you'll find our picks of the bunch - "All The Time" and "Ocean Deeper" - on the flip. Fans of Fred P, DJ Qu et al will love this - don't sleep!

Review: Making his debut on Chez Damier and Ron Trent's Balance imprint, jazz obsessed Frenchman Paul Cut serves up his first release of the year with four prime cuts. Building on the body of work he's developed on labels such as D.KO and Popcorn, once again it's a supreme blend of jack, soul and just the right amount of introspection. "Nucleus" takes us right to the heart of the action with a selection of powerful jacks before we're plunged into a wild and unexpected drum solo, "Windmills" shuffles and sways to the heavily swung drum arrangement and lavish vibraphone ripples while "Seaside" is a balmy jaunt along the pier at sunset, all shimmers and unhurried feels. Last but not least we hit "Moments", a hazy, woozy piece that seemingly leads with both the angelic reverse chords and the subtly lolloped drums. Make sure this makes the cut.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight tear and creasing to corner of outer sleeve, also the record has light surface marks/scratches, but otherwise in excellent working condition***


Making his debut on Chez Damier and Ron Trent's Balance imprint, jazz obsessed Frenchman Paul Cut serves up his first release of the year with four prime cuts. Building on the body of work he's developed on labels such as D.KO and Popcorn, once again it's a supreme blend of jack, soul and just the right amount of introspection. "Nucleus" takes us right to the heart of the action with a selection of powerful jacks before we're plunged into a wild and unexpected drum solo, "Windmills" shuffles and sways to the heavily swung drum arrangement and lavish vibraphone ripples while "Seaside" is a balmy jaunt along the pier at sunset, all shimmers and unhurried feels. Last but not least we hit "Moments", a hazy, woozy piece that seemingly leads with both the angelic reverse chords and the subtly lolloped drums. Make sure this makes the cut.

Review: This rather deep sounding twelve inch from Messrs Glimpse, Giles Smith and Two Armadillos marks the latest dual release from French imprint Balance and London party collective Secret Sundaze. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" the lead track from Crosstown regular Glimpse and the perma dapper Giles Smith sets the tone, gently wading across the A Side on the back of an expertly placed rhythmic bump, with sumptuous melodic and soulful vocal embellishments proving both potent and hypnotic. Complementing this, Smith returns to his Two Armadillos project alongside Martin Dawson for the more upright, bassy crunch of "On The Run" which draws out some excellent dubby rhythms as it progresses. Balance's Jorge Caiado provides a finely judged remix of the A Side track dragging proceedings into deeper territory without loosing the soulful slant of the original.