Vakula – Mama Said Go Slow review

Vakula has a seemingly bottomless pit of creativity to call on which is matched only by the amount of labels that are more than willing to accommodate it on a twelve inch. Thrillingly, if you checked his recent podcast for us you’ll know that there’s a veritable raft of productions which are still to see the light of day (If you didn’t check it what’s wrong with you?)

The Ukrainian producer’s label hopping endeavours see him at the helm for the launch of the newly minted Shevchenko label. Named in honour of the Ukrainian cultural icon Taras (as opposed to the free scoring forward Andrei) and rumoured to be closely affiliated with the Firecracker imprint upon which Vakula first came to our attention, it’s a stellar first release that gives further credence to the growing opinion here at Juno Plus that Vakula can do no wrong.

“Mama Said Go Slow” is typical Vakula, twisting through various analogue passages across the course of the vinyl, the few constants being the gloopy subaqueous rhythms that occupy the nether regions along with what might just be a sample from one of Mohamed Al Fayed’s favourite musicians and the hissing oscillations of percussion.

The flipside sees Vakula indulge in some smudged out beatdown business on “Deaf World (Dub)” which draws you on a kaleidoscopic journey to the lower echelons of hypnotic, fluttering house music. Obvious sonic references to Detroit pervade the track but it’s indelibly marked with the graceful Eastern European touch of Vakula. It proves to be a subtler yet equally potent example of the producer’s lack of interest in traditional house music structures. Hopefully Vakula will continue to release music of this standard long after we run out of superlatives.

Tony Poland