Udacha Vinyl & CDs

Review: Udacha reach their third release with the previously unheralded but excellently named Bipolardepth at the controls for four tracks that very much maintain the standards previously set by Dices and A5. "Cammeo" sets the tone, a free flowing deep aqua house jam that sounds like it's been improvised and recorded to tape off the cuff. The playful melodics combine wonderfully with the fizzing percussive touches and it's an instantly rewarding opener. Hazy purple tones of funk filter through "Jogger" and the way it mutates into full blown shuffling house is impressive, whilst "Vessel" does the same trick but on a much grander scale, slowly morphing from its beatless beginnings into a slow mo house track over eleven plus minutes. "Posevy" further demonstrates Bipolardepth's talent for soft focus fuzzy ambience to end this release in luxuriant fashion.

Review: Having previously impressed with an eccentric chunk of lo-fi, sun-kissed, house-not-house on the Udacha 6 EP, Croatian producer Cuisine Dub has been offered the chance to showcase his unique take on electronic music with an EP all of his own. It would be easy to describe his warm blends of traditional instrumentation, off-kilter house rhythms and toasty textures as "Balearic", though that really doesn't do them justice. There's a pleasing eccentricity to the hypnotic grooves and incessant keys of "Track 3", while "Track 4" sounds like psychedelic dub given the deep house treatment (without really sounding all that much like your average deep house track). The EP's more downtempo moments, including the Bob James-goes-minimal flex of "Track 5", are also superb.

Review: The Uducha label showcases its fifth release with a various artist EP housing cuts from a mixed bag of names. Alex Danilov, Brother G and Yuri Shulgin team up for a triple collab resulting in the track "Untitled", a swerving and fruity mix of flutes, chimes, pads and dusty drums. A5 makes use of some Ray Manzarek keys, sampling the Doors "Riders On The Storm", layering some noisy electronics over the top, while Kurvenschreiber keeps things psychedelic with some Krautrock styled synthesis in "Leitweg". Trueman then debuts on Uducha 5 with a whimsical and cool summer sounding "Odyssey Saga".

Review: The fledgling Udacha imprint hit the right spot in calling on Rawax alumnus A5 to head up their first release, and the standards are maintained here with Dices at the helm for a four track drop. Those of you with a good memory (and swift fingers) will no doubt recall Dices from the most recent Leleka 12", collaborating with Vakula on that record's standout track "Bug Powder." On the evidence of this full debut EP, Dices has learnt plenty from his time in the studio with Vakula, veering through various moods and expressions of the house form with a similar attention to detail. Equally adept at glistening, crystalline moments imbued with afro feeling such as "Confuse" and shuffling, disjointed rhythms ("Travel Bug") Dices is clearly the latest graduate from the East European school of house music excellence.

Review: Russian label Udacha are purveyors of dreamy and mysterious deep house. This new one by Gamayun is further testament to their current modus operandi. On the first side we have "Roundelay" with its warped and ethereal tropical vibe, assisting you in drifting away from it all just nicely. Next the soothing piano line of "All Tomorrows" backed by a wacky bassline and restrained rhythm section is equally as mesmerising. On the flip we have "Outlands" with its swirling, all consuming pads backed by sultry Latin style rhythms and that killer synth solo. Lastly there's "Oracle" with its sweet, late nineties deep house vibes that fans of Agnes and Quarion would be right into.

Review: Surely one of the finest record labels operating out of Russia right now, Udacha welcomes Gamayun back for a second time to admirably dive into the particular spirit that surrounds the label. Somewhere between loose-fit soulful house grooves you might hear on Downbeat and a more mystical, far-out spirit, this mysterious producer is a dab hand at weaving a particularly enchanting spell. The jazzy fluidity of "C-Music" could easily sit alongside some of Vakula's more wayward works, while "Aerial Dance" pirouettes off into an abstract rhythmic space that truly stimulates even as it confuses. Records this fresh-sounding don't roll around every day.

Review: Udacha just gets better and better with every release, branching out into ever more exciting shapes and styles beyond their house and techno foundations. On this album from Indoor Plants, wild fourth world visions collide with hardware processes in a dazzling display of transcendental music for those who like their thought-provoking tunes to pack a punch. The likes of "Targitaus" deconstruct club music conventions in a quest for new rhythmic purpose, and yet the soundsystem pressure is expertly sculpted out of the daring shape of the music. Elsewhere there's surrealism in abundance, as on the wonderfully weird "Hunch", and that's just scratching the surface of this truly essential LP.

Review: The Udacha label might have been away for a while but is now back with a vengeance. First up for this return is a new long player by the mighty fine Kurvenschreiber quarter, which is made up of Sergey Komarov, Vlad Dobrovolski, Ilya Sadovski and Alexey Grachev. These sound artists have been excelling in their field for some 10 years now and use synths as well as found sound objects to create their work. Magnetic tape loops, various instruments, pre-recorded loops, shortwave radios, transformers and much more give rise to this unique record which mixes up Boolean jazz, kurventronika and post-rock.

Review: The Udacha label's sixth release in just over one year comes as their second various artist EP and includes two debuts to boot; Morgun, who with a tip of the hat to Moodymann, opens the A-side with a sample heavy and psychedelic house jam, while on the B-side Dada Ques's cosmic "Grey Sizing" features some familiar night time chatter, a swaggered double bass bassline and late night jazz atmospheres. This is followed by Shine Grooves' enchanted "7am", the second track the Russian producer has had pressed to a VA release this year, while Cuisine Dub, following up the Stranger LP of last year, supplies a spacey and Rhode appreciative "Tamaris". The most established of all producers to feature on the Udacha 6 is A5, a producer to share several records with fellow Russian Alex Danilov, and he delivers a house cut that could almost be mistaken for live jazz musicians playing house music in a dimly lit New York Club.

Review: For the latest release on the weird and wonderful Udacha label, Moscow based artist and producer Vasiliy Stepanov aka P SH steps up to the plate. With a selection of abstract and warped electronics, the Russian artists presents a wide variations of cuts, including pop, dub, soul, fourth world, tribal, comedic and all other distinctive and magical vibes. With highlight tracks such as Naam Drops, Indigo Swamp and pretty much every composition, the LP should appeal to all the lovers of the other dimensions

Review: Since 2012, Russia's Udacha label has been providing us with consistently excellent levels of grainy deep house, a particular strand of the genre that easily moulds into something altogether more ethereal and abstract. Newcomer P-SH constructs a beatless sway of placid harmonics on "Wee See The Island", followed by the minimal tribal rattle of percussion called "Mappa Mundi" by Fitz Ellarald. On the flip, "Zsyamono's Odo Message From Flaming Trixx" is hard to describe because of its constantly shifting bundle of sounds and sonics, and "Sumlacre Uno" by Ellarald ties thigns off with a beatless, spaced-out sway powered by a subtle collection of field recordings. Weird and wonderful - TIP!

Review: Having previously graced Anton Zap's Ethereal Sound imprint with three warm deep house cuts, the mysterious Pjotr moves to Udacha, and finds himself in the esteemed company of Rawax alumnus A5 and Vakula collaborator Dices. This record is even more stunning than his first, drawing comparisons to the finely crafted house of the aforementioned Ukranian Vakula. "Sky Is The Limit" opens proceedings with its bubbling, sun-drenched mid-tempo lounge tones given definition with a subtly urgent arpeggio, while "Mariya" picks up the pace with its gently jacking snares, plucked guitar and organic bass. On the flip, "True Spirit" wraps silky chords around unpredictable MPC style drums, opening out into a Pepe Bradock-inspired string arrangement, while "I See" buries its raw drums deep within a muggy low end filter, allowing a blissful melodic arrangement that is recalls a more contented version of a Madteo track. Highly recommended stuff.

Review: Udacha continues to excel in its function as a beam of light shining into the Russian underground with this wonderful album of grainy leftfield delights from S A D. The duo of Vasily Stepanov and Vlad Dobrovolski reportedly find their unique sound by experimenting with cassette manipulation, using magnets to alter their source material before sticking everything together in a hazy, wide-reaching whole. You can tangibly sense the myriad places these sounds originally came from before melding into a thoroughly psychedelic new form on this most engrossing of listens. As ever, that Udacha penchant for otherworldly tones shines through plenty on Super Sounds II, making for a natural addition to the label's ever-increasing oeuvre.

Review: Untitled Gear comes through with their second release and it's on the ever-reliable Udacha imprint! Much like their debut release for Fields & Forests, this is pure deep house magic with a distinct twist, where tracks like "2306" and "Session03" contain a chimerical edge to them. Although "Away" and "So Fine" are in different in both speed and style, they boast the same playful tone and wide spectrum of sounds in their off-kilter grooves. Lil' tip for ya!