Permanent Vacation Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: It's 12 years since Dresden-born, Leipzig-based Martin Enke first made waves under the Trickform alias, and four years since he launched the Lake People project. Given his production vintage, it's surprising Purposefully Uncertain Field is his debut album. In turns uncomfortable, blissful, woozy and melancholic, it sees Enke confidently join the dots between shuffling Germanic deep house, early '90s "intelligent techno" (see the brilliant "Cooping"), yearning tech-house, aqueous ambience (the swirling "Bora" and glacial "Distance"), clanking drum tracks ("Glease") and loose-limbed IDM ("Drifting Red"). Throughout, there's a curiously distant sense of atmosphere, with detached melodies and ghostly pads riding tight, bubbling rhythms.

Review: Some six years into his career, Neil "Mano Le Tough" Mannion is showing distinct signs of artistic development. While Trails, his sophomore set, follows a similar formula to its' 2013 predecessor, Changing Days, it's a much more intricate, experimental and effervescent affair that makes great use of live instrumentation and his own impassioned vocals. So, while there are nods towards smoky, eyes-closed deep house - see "Half Closed Eyes", "I See Myself In You" and the sparkling "Sometimes Lost" - the album is dominated by downtempo electronica compositions. These variously draw on the drowsy bliss of James Blake, post-dubstep melancholia, post-rock/electronica fusion, and the hazy world of Balearica, suggesting that Mannion is making the best of his growing confidence.