Hotflush Vinyl & CDs

Review: There are certain artists whose style you can always count on for consistency, and if there's one artist whose style oozes out of every pore, it's Jimmy Edgar. Ever committed to emitting a highly sexed take on electro, the Detroit native has slid from one electronic institution to another flaunting his wares. From his breakthrough releases on Warp to his last album on !K7, the framework for his crisp edits, glossy synths and suggestive (at the very least) vocals has remained the same, and now he makes a home for himself in the ever-broadening climes of Hotflush. There's certainly points in Majenta where it feels like Jimmy is trying less to show off his considerable skills for micro-edits, instead just trying to make something a little more simplistically feel-good. The chances are if you're signing up for a Jimmy Edgar album, you know what you're in the mood for, and there's plenty of that sleazy funk to sink your teeth into here, but in a crafty move he saves the big surprise for last. "In Deep" kicks off on a choppy vocoder jam like a modern Zapp & Roger; nothing out of the ordinary there. It's as the track builds to its climax that it reaches a bombastic album-closing high, creeping in some a heavy break and epic stabs that sound like a tribute to Art of Noise, that you really hear another side to Jimmy Edgar. It's a tantalising glimpse at what else the man is capable of.

Review: 10 years old... Depending when you were born, this reissue of Mount Kimbie's benchmark-setting album will either make you feel a little old or open up a whole new musical world. Either way, it's aged incredibly well as the duo took the dubstep essence and reinterpreted it through more of a hip-hop and beatmaker context. Sketches, all conjured up with heavy levels of emotion and textures, Crooks & Lovers still sounds like no other album and hints at some of the more melodic beat work (think Flume) that came a few years later. Highlights include the gentle lollops of 'Would Know', the glitchy dark garage funk of 'Blind Night Errand' the Clark-like dreamy skips and bubbles of 'Ode To Bear' and the overwhelming emotion of 'Maybes'.

Review: Sophie Schnell started out as a guitar-swinging singer-songwriter, before finding that her real interest lay in electronic music. As this debut album for Hotflush proves, she undoubtedly made the right choice. Epoch Sinus is a hugely atmospheric and brilliantly produced set, with Schnell effortlessly fusing the distorted, off-kilter rhythms of dark IDM - think Autechre or Neotropic - with the woozy textures of blunted trip-hop, and the mood-setting orchestrations of cinematic soundtracks. Throw in a keen ear for sound design, and you have a seven-track collection that offers an impressive balance between experimental intent, otherworldly soundscapes, and melancholic melodiousness.

Review: Hotflush head honcho Scuba dons the more uncompromising SCB moniker for his first album under this alias. Caibu incorporates material from his recent 'Below The Line' and 'Old Media New Society' EPs and continues with the theme of this conceptual series. It explores the idea of an 'imagined surgical procedure where cognitive ability is augmented through transplant from one brain to another' - heavy stuff! Indeed there are a variety of moods and scenes presented across the album's sonic narrative, beginning with the typically moody and heads down vibe of opening cut "Test Tubes" or the dystopian electro bass of "Freedom For The Fifty" (Caibu Adjustment version), through to lush cosmic ambience on "Laboratory Conditions" and even some industrial styled textural abrasions - as heard on the difficult "Intelligence Fetish".

Review: In the three years since his last full-length outing, Personality, Scuba's stock has continued to rise, nudging him further towards to higher echelons of DJ culture. The fact that he now plays colossal rooms and festival headline slots can be heard in the more dancefloor-minded material on Claustrophobia. While some of the best material is more downtenpo and circumspect - see the heady ambience of "Transcience", the spinetingling wooziness of "All I Think About Is Death" and the immersive dubstep of "Needle Phobia" - it's the stripped-back techno throb of "PCP", hissing rhythms of "Television" and the progressive house inspired hedonism of "Why You Feel So Low" that will get most attention.

Review: Where Scuba's earlier work was typified by the same metallic sheen and monochrome hue, it's noticeable on his third album Personality just how much more colour he's letting into the mix. Whether it's the crisp electro breaks of opener "Ignition Key" or the joyous pop chimes of "July", the mood is overall far sunnier than the Scuba of before. There's drum & bass explorations being made on "Cognitive Dissonance", chart-baiting hooks aplenty and a wealth of vocal action from speeches to divas. All in all it's another essential, multi-faceted evolutionary step for the Berlin-based producer.

Review: Paul Rose AKA Scuba has seen his Hotflush imprint climb to revered recognition over the last year or so. Releasing seminal dubstep artefacts such as Joy Orbison's Hyph Mngo and Mount Kimbie’s Maybes pulled in huge attention for the label, despite owner Rose's debut album from the year before receiving less attention. A Mutual Antipathy is only now receiving the accolades it deserved through serving as a both a building block of the label and a marker for his new album, Triangulation.
Blurring the lines of dubstep, techno, trip-hop and electronic, Scuba provides one of the truest dubstep crossovers to date with his second full length. Now residing in Berlin, where he is a monthly resident for Sub:stance in the mighty and cavernous Berghain club, the influence of the city’s deep seeded techno and dub subcultures make themselves much clearer in this follow up. Tracks like "On Deck" and "Tracers" owe much to the refined, dubby techno of Berlin as does the cold mechanical feel of "Heavy Machinery" before the wide sub bass of "You Got Me" opens up the rest of the album, allowing Rose to push the tempo that bit further. Before then, we see much of the sound that still signatures this as a Scuba record. Tracks like the spooky garage of "Latch" and the juttering "Three Sided Shape" cry back to the feel of two step and half tempo drum and bass. There are also moments of relief, such as "So You Think You're Special" and "Before" which both make use of female vocals in dub sounding trip-hop numbers.
Triangulation is a charming album that soaks influence and inspiration from across the board. Wonderfully unique and crafted with expert skill, it is the most comprehensive dub crossover offering so far. Surely now, Scuba will begin to demand the same kind of attention as the other artists on his own label.

Review: When they first emerged at the turn of the decade, Praveen Sharma and Travis 'Machinedrum' Stewart's Sepalcure outfit were responsible for the softer, more experimental side of the Hotflush Recordings discography. Some five years on from their eponymous debut album, the duo returns in a notably boisterous mood. While their dedication to melody and beauty remains, Folding Time is a much more upbeat and soulful affair, drawing more heavily on broken beat and UK garage, particularly the kind of jazzy "future garage" once promoted by the likes of Phuturistix and Landslide. The result is a sparkling, colourful and hugely entertaining set, notable for its' gleeful positivity, impeccable production and bass-heavy thrust.

Review: First emerging on Hotflush in 2009 with the immersive dub techno meets dubstep stylings of the Bruised/Expansions 12", Sigha has used Paul Rose's label as a base to finesse his production approach creeping ever deeper into the murky recesses of 4/4. After numerous Hotflush releases as well as a dalliance with the high profile Blueprint, not to mention the foundation of his own Our Circular Sound imprint, Sigha presents his most concise artistic vision with Living With Ghosts. The 12 track album presents Sigha as an artist eminently capable of existing in the crawl space between finely sculpted Berlin techno and ethereal moments of finger pricking ambience. The producer's past in bands and love for the sonic terrorists like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive remains a subtle element throughout, perhaps breaking through to brandish such influences most overtly on the rumbling nine minute cut "Translate" or the bleak Downwards worthy murk of "Dressing For Pleasure (Ideal)".

Review: Hotflush Recordings is a label that from the beginning has pushed the musical boundaries of dubstep. Over the last four years the
label has released more than 25 innovative 12" singles, launching some of the biggest names in the scene and introducing more new
talent than anyone else. 'Space and Time' (3x12") is a compilation of exclusive, unreleased, ground-breaking tracks that illustrates
the other side of dubstep in 2007. The compilation features the debut from the incredibly exciting live act, Jazzsteppa, along with
appearances from the first female dubstep producer of note, Vaccine. Established names such as Elemental, Gravous, Slaughter Mob
and Scuba, and a remix of Toasty's 'The Knowledge' by the legendary distortion dub kings Vex'd. 'Space and Time' is the sound of the
future and the sound of now.

Review: For anyone with a passion for forward-thinking bass music, Back & 4th should be essential listening. Whilst the CD version mixes up super-hot exclusives with older label favourites, this 3x12" gatefold vinyl offering (containing only the unreleased business) will appeal to the Hotflush fans who already have the back cat stored safely in their collection. It boasts some real killers, with strobe-lit future garage, dubstep and wonky neck-snappers from Boxcutter, Rosca, Boddika, FaltyDL and label boss Scuba (the acid house-flavoured "Feel It"). Highly recommended.