Evasive Vinyl & CDs

Review: Evasive Records are still going strong after an initial founding in 1999. Run by DJ and producer Rob Pearson, a staple figure of Southeast London's tech house scene at its underground apogee, Evasive's take on the style is an authentic, diversive example of the genre's truest origins. Lovable Rogues is Pearson in collaboration with fellow tech pioneer Lee Humphreys; this is their second EP together, a special follow-up release (now reissued), not least since it logically follows on from the very EP that launched Evasive, 'Look Into Your Eyes / Chica / Twilight Manoeuvres'. Made by the pair in the deepest rural German sticks, the 'Interger' EP betrays tech house's early indebtedness to broken beat, acid jazz and electro, the B2 'Thursday' coming as the tricky favourite here.

Review: In 2003, deep in Croydon's Online Studios, the roots of proper tech house - we said *proper* tech house - were spreading underground. It was here that Evasive label head Rob joined forces with Simon Copleston, aka. Iteration X, for a fresh collaboration under the new alias Rob & Si. The project followed the underground momentum built by Iteration X's earlier 'Timecheck / Liquid Logic' EP, and merged the individual styles of both into a unified, forward-pulsing, projectile sound. The result was 'Roll One Up / Zebras', the 2003 two-tracker reminiscent of the sultry out-breaths characterising much of the 2-step garage that would emerge in parallel at the time. 'Zebraz' is an extra-special dubbing; an aposematic m(s)onochrome moving through various echos, stabs and what sound like field recordings of startled wildlife.