Better Together Vinyl & CDs

Review: Some 18 months on from the launch of his Better Together Records imprint, Sydneysider Chech is finally ready to deliver another expansive EP. Standing six tracks deep, Gemini Era tends towards the loved-up, saucer-eyed and gently psychedelic, with colourful melodic motifs aplenty and tons of audible references to early progressive house, ambient house and ambient techno. There's plenty to admire, from the spacey, analogue-rich dreaminess of 'XTC' and 'Gemini Era', to the low-tempo ambient techno head-nod of 'Slowride (93 Theme)' and the dusty, piano-rich deep house of 'Interstate (M1 Mix)'. Elsewhere, 'Jia's Dance' sees the Aussie explorer wrap vintage New Jersey garage-house sounds around a punchy breakbeat, while 'Birds of Prey' is a dubby chunk of sunset-ready dancefloor bliss.