Review: Four Tet is back with a new album of shimmering wonderment on his own Text label. As ever, it's the way that Kieran Hebden tugs at the heart strings so artfully that makes him so well-loved, and he's not holding back one iota as "Sixteen Oceans" opens up with the ineffably pretty "School". There's some advanced garage ruminations on "Baby", classic ambience on "Harpsichord", and so the eclectic and extremely soul-cleansing vibes continue across three sides of wax. In addition to this wonderful new album, Hebden has also held back the fourth side for a bunch of locked grooves so satisfying you could get lost in them all day.
Review: With his release schedule operating at a gentle pace to allow for each of his twelves to sit and be considered on their own merit, Daniel 'Red Rack'Em' Berman makes just his second outing of 2013 with this pair of cuts for the ever strengthening Wolf Music. It's a record that shows off Berman's idiosyncratic approach to deep house on two very different levels. The first track, "In Love Again", is as blissed-out and heartfelt a take as you could wish for, from the sumptuous pad lines to the plastic strings that positively ooze contentment and passion. "Latin Techno" meanwhile is perhaps less predictable based on its title, opting for a jagged cut up of drum machine patterns and contorted brass sounds but rubbing them up in a non-direct way that makes for a delirious and utterly singular end result.
Review: The latest 12" from long-running Sahko offshoot Keys Of Life is the first of two split 'Balearic' releases from Sex Tags man DJ Sotofett and SUED co-founder SVN.. Sotofett's "Current 82" is a thing of rare beauty; an ambient house inspired chunk of lucid, mid-tempo dreaminess full of fluid chords, subtle, loved-up melodies and early Italian deep house bottom end. SVN continue the deep theme whilst doffing a cap to techno on flipside "Dark Plan 5". Their chords and pads are every bit as life-affirming as Sotofett's - even if they are a touch on the bittersweet side - but the accompanying up-tempo rhythm has a more ready-made dancefloor feel. Either way, both tracks are superb.
Review: By their standards, Danish duo 2 Bit Crew enjoyed a very productive 2014, releasing well-received singles on Deso, Luvdancin' and their own self-titled imprint. Here they return to the latter with three more sumptuous chunks of tactile, arms-spread deepness. The untitled A-side arguably hits home hardest, with sweet, delay-laden loops and delicious riding a house tempo Motor City techno groove. The second track, nestled at the beginning of side B, seemingly shimmers with positive intent. The duo opts for Chez Damier style bass and a touch of vintage US house bump, while smothering the groove in darting synths and huggable electronics. Finally, the third track goes even deeper, delivering the dreamy tech-house equivalent of a long, sloppy kiss.
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: The main track here shows a slightly different facette of Omar S. Thirteen/Two/Eight, released on FXHE, has a handclapping, twitching beat with a quirky lively synth melody, classic italo disco and early 80 boogie sounds from a Detroit point of view. A vivid techno track and a darker ambient outing keep the quality high.
Review: During the late 1990s, Japanese producer Yuji Takanouchi produced a trio of sublime EPs, most of which went largely overlooked at the time. He surprisingly returned to action a few years ago with a handful of similarly dreamy, loved-up productions, prompting R&S offshoot Apollo Records - who famously released his peerless ambient house 12", Southern Paradise, in 1997 - to put together this superb compilation. The genius of his productions, whether dancefloor leaning or more horizontal in ethos, always lay in the hazy colourfulness of his synthesizer melodies and life-affirming chord progressions. It's those traits, coupled with his firm grasp of deep house and intelligent techno aesthetics, which shine through on Brand New Day. "Pacific Jazz", "Nite" and "Ocean In Heaven", in particular, are stunning.
Review: John Wilcox has been slowly disseminating crusty hardware jams for some six years now, in which time he's appeared as Cyclonix on Horn Wax, and now he nips over to Tusk Wax for more robo-charged antics in the curious corner of grubby, electro tinged house music the label orbits. "Telemachus" is a dreamy opening number that keeps the spook level up to maximum and the reverb voluminous throughout. "Synth Run" has a bit more bite, but not at the expense of atmosphere. Whatever/Whatever get hold of "Telemachus" and strip it down to a sparse skeleton of a track, and then Wilcox rounds the record off with the steppy ambient excursion "Ronin Love (dub)".
Review: Rubicon marks the first physical edition of Galcher Lustwerk's driving-themed alias, Road Hog. Collecting tracks from seven releases spanning from 2014 to 2021, Rubicon serves as the project's Greatest Hits (for now). Including tracks from the Cleveland-dedicated album 'Tour De Hog' as well as the sharp toothed 'Spares' and 'More Spares' the pithy 'Haul Ass' plus some cinematic favorites from 'DWB' and 'On The Lam'. Originally meant to be digital only and listened to while driving, demand for certain tunes to be pressed to vinyl has risen with each release. From the Road to the Club, Lustwerk's got you covered.
Your Love Gives Me Gravity (feat Planningtorock) (4:40)
The Center Will Not Hold (3:50)
Out Of Focus (feat Zoot Woman) (3:55)
Tuk Tuk (feat ATNA) (4:17)
Never Sleep Again (3:18)
Take Control (feat Anne Clark) (3:57)
Kreatur Der Nacht (feat Isolation Berlin) (4:00)
Wadim (4:43)
Prospect (feat ATNA) (4:26)
Night Travel (feat Tom Smith) (4:38)
Review: It has been 11 years since Solomun's last album, and few could have predicted the career arc he has enjoyed since. The big man started out as an underground favourite. His Diynamic label was famous for bringing colour back to dance music after the bleak minimal years. He made 'fairground tech house' as it was called. He then became a huge draw at Ibiza's premium VIP clubs and appeared in Grand Theft Auto. This album takes him to major label Sony and features Hollywood names like Jamie Foxx. It is melodic, accessible house from one of electronic music's most famous names.
Review: Newcastle-based producer Traela makes his first appearance on wax with this on-point work out for Hhatri, a London based label who have previously been happily working with the likes of Soichi Terada. There is definitely a sense of feel-good optimism and kinked drum programming hovering over this EP, especially on "Hanging Over A River". "You Know I Can Hide" also stands out with its strafing bass lick and space-scraping synth rolls, but the script gets flipped for EP closer "Uyokuthola" as tribal percussion meets with an ambient atmosphere for a most engrossing end result.
Review: After a run of reissues and a boundary-blurring fusion of classical music and electronica (January 2021's Angel's Flight), Norwegian ambient veteran Geir Jennsen AKA Biosphere has gone back to basics on Shortwave Memories. Ditching software and computers for analogue synths, drum machines and effects units, Jennsen has delivered album that he claims was inspired by the post-punk era electronics of Daniel Miller and Matin Hannett, but instead sounds like a new, less dancefloor-conscious take on the hybrid ambient/techno sound he was famous for in the early 1990s. The results are uniformly brilliant, making this one of the Norwegian trailblazer's most alluring and sonically comforting albums for decades.
Review: As his pseudonym makes clear, Sudi Wachspress has long been an exponent of ultra-deep, intergalactic - and increasingly retro-futurist - deep house. He continues this trend on his latest album, which sees him pop up on Canadian imprint Pacific Rhythm for the very first time. After opening with some superb, deep space ambient ('Virtual Age'), he pays tribute to the tactile, turn-of-the-90s New Jersey deep house of Dream 2 Science ('Inner Focus'), before flitting between new age ambient warmth ('Save Point', 'New Day'), sunrise-ready ambient house ('Sounds of Peace'), piano-sporting Italian dream house revivalism (the utterly gorgeous 'Time Station'), drifting electronica ('Heal') and loved-up street soul beats ('Private Paradise').
Review: When The Morning Comes has done a quick job of turning heads by setting out a nice atmospheric deep house sound with its first EP, and now a second effort does the same. This one comes from Grant who lays out an elegant vision across four cuts. 'Opportunity' kicks off with analogue grooves laid down beneath warming pads and loose piano chords. 'Tangible Steps' picks up the pace with a more bristling mix of drums, perc and raw Chicago claps and onto the flip, things get deep once more with the horizontal vibes of 'Golden Wisdom' and more wispy cosmic pads of 'Foward Motion Dub.' Co-produced with the help of Dan Piu.
Review: Second time around for David "Move D" Moufang and Benjamin Brunn's first full-length collaboration, a set of unsurprisingly deep, minimalistic house, techno and ambient workouts that first appeared in record stores way back in 2006. It's one of those albums that's arguably best listened to while flat on your back in an intoxicated state, despite the presence of such hypnotic, early morning club workouts as "On The Magic Bus" and the dreamy and delightful "O". You see, the majority of the album's eight tracks are spaced-out in the extreme and all the more alluring for it, as Moufang and Brunn expertly showcase their ability to create impeccable slices of hushed, otherworldly electronic minimalism.
Review: Leon Vynehall long again made the transition from decent tune maker to revered and unpredictable electronic artist. Now he proves why he holds that status one again with a follow up to his critically acclaimed debut long player Nothing Is Still. This time out he distils everything he has done so far in to a record with few comparisons. It is ready for dance floor deployment but never just functional. There are cavernous ambient pieces next to grainy, heavy, dubby rhythms with grand but lo-fi synth architecture as well as moments of intriguing experimentalism.
Jay Sound - "Reflections Of Love" (feat Josefine) (6:33)
Review: Fusion Sequence is a new offshoot from the Mellophonia label that kicks off with a heavyweight release both literally - its 180g vinyl - and metaphorically. It features seven different artists offering up one track each on what is a widescreen exploration of fresh deep house. They are A Vision of Panorama, Eternal Love, Pool Boy, Wolfey, Laseech, Larry Quest and Jay Sound and between them everything from cuddly depths to more moody late-night deepness is covered on an EP that brings plenty of new perspectives. A fine inaugural 12", then.
Piano For The People (Calm Mellow Acid dub remix) (6:05)
Piano For The People (Double Geography remix) (5:21)
Review: Always fun house craftsman Ali Renault secured another big tune with his 'Piano For The People' which is a chuggy groover that locks you in with its rich atmospheres. Now it gets offered up with remixes from, firstly, Aikhi, who flip it with laidback downtempo drums and some classic and well known chords. Calm then brings his Mellow Acid Dub to sink you in even further and last of all Double Geography bring some more crunchy drum textures and psyched-out synth sounds with echoing vocals and dark, late night sense of mischief.
Review: Kolony Gorky launches a new self-titled label with a special hand-stamped 12" that is mad limited. It features Ddrhode's 'Ghoroob' (Conversation) - another version of which has been previously released digitally on a Dial compilation. It's a loose jumble of drums and hits with a dusty deep house feel that makes you want to shake your bones. Gorky then steps up on the flip with the subtly joyous chords of 'Orange Sky' which dance in a trance-like fashion over organic house drums. A very tasteful way to kick off a new label, that's for sure.
Review: Kolony Gorky is back with a third EP in less than a year that once again offers some stylish and artful rhythmic interpretations. DDrhode & Sohrab are behind this one and it opens with the airy percussive pattern and suspensory loops of deep and deft jam 'Ghoroob' (Kryptic Rhythm) which becomes dusty downbeat and late-night jaunt when served up as the 'Haleeteh?' version. 'Azadi' has the feel of a sixties spy thriller with its mysterious leads and 'Distant Sun' shuts down with some zoned out and loved-up deep house romance. Another hard-to-define but easy-to-love EP from the already vital Kolony Gorky.
Call A Wave (Return To The Deep Ambient mix) (4:40)
Call A Wave (New Age mix) (3:41)
Review: Here comes a fresh 12" containing four remixes of the song 'Call A Wave' by Malcolm McLaren and The Bootzilla Orchestra. The original was released in 1989 as part of McLaren's album Waltz Darling, which was an early example of the 'collaborative studio album' popular at the time, and fused classical music with elements of then-contemporary dance music styles, such as his brand of downtempo-ish post-punk / industrial - a true McLaren mode. The newer remixes that feature here come from the likes of DFC and Mark Moore and William Orbit (responsible for the Orbital mix rather than the Hartnoll brothers) and are no less sludgey, Balearic and chuggy as the original loom-bird-laden track. Two new stripped-back versions also appear.
Review: It's testament to the enduring quality and far-sighted nature of Future Sound of London's iconic 1991 single 'Papua New Guinea' that it keeps being 'rediscovered' by new generations of DJs. It has been a while, though, since any new reworks dropped - hence this 'Rebooted' edition. L Major kicks things off with a suitably cosmic, psychedelic and slow-building proto-jungle style offering, before Nishiesque flits between passages of hot-stepping, synth-laden d&b and slo-mo 4/4 chug. House heroes Soul Central reach for vintage hip-house breakbeats, ambient electronics and the original version's most life-affirming elements (the bassline, twinkling synth melodies and heady vocal samples), while Dee Montero re-casts the cut as a proggy, tribal-tinged tech-house roller.
Unovidual & Tara Cross - "Like I Am/Comme Je Suis" (Based On The Sling & Samo edit)
Spandex - "The Bull" (Erol Alkan rework)
Children Of The Night - "It's A Trip" (Mike Hitman Wilson's Psychedelic remix)
Jan Hammer Group - "Don't You Know"
Adjagas - "Mun Ja Mun" (instrumental)
Buffalo Springfield - "Expecting To Fly"
The Space Lady - "Major Tom (Coming Home)"
Review: Erol Alkan's 2005 Bugged Out mix was a gateway release for many, soundtracking the entrance into club land, yet also introducing these virgin ears to more esoteric strains of music via the accompanying Bugged In Selection. Some seven years on, Alkan and the evergreen club brand have revisited the concept with a second edition, and like the inaugural release, the Phantasy Sound boss's ever lasting love for the vinyl format has seen a selection of tracks make the translation to this double vinyl release. Six tracks from the Bugged Out mix appear, with the Italo disco of Amin Peck brushing shoulders with Model 500 and an Obi Blanche edit of the Ron Hardy classic "Sensation", while the Bugged In Selection sees some psyche-folk fare from Buffalo Springfield and Space Lady among other gems.
Review: A decade ago, Leon Vynehall popped up on Martyn's 3024 label with Music For The Uninvited, a critically acclaimed debut album inspired by 'the formative cassette mixtapes' of his youth. This anniversary edition, which boasts reworked artwork and freshly re-mastered sounds, proves that the album has lost none of its allure. Musically, it offers a largely bass-heavy blend of deep house, Afro-house and techno rhythms, futuristic electronic instrumentation, immersive pads, sinewy strings and emotional resonance by the bucketload. This time round, we also get two bonus cuts, both of which were recorded during the same period in 2013: the Theo Parrish-esque excellence of 'Peaces' and the deep, jazzy and sample-rich broken house lusciousness of 'Blue'.
Review: Celebrated composer, producer, techno talent and ambient craftsman John Beltran is a real Detroit don and now he is back on one of the city's own labels, Motor City Wine, with Volume 4 of Back To Bahia on 7". This one finds him going even deeper than before, starting with 'Laguna', which will soon uplift you with its Afro-Brazilian drums and live bass from James Simonson next to lush keys. 'Just Beyond The Sun' then gets fully Balearic with its mix of sultry trumpet, shuffling and Latin-tinged rhythms and wispy cosmic chords. A real delight.
Review: You wait ages for a Lord of the Isles album, and two come along at once! 'Night of the Endless Beyond', the Scottish producer's second full-length excursion for ESP Institute, follows hot on the heels of the inspired (if shorter) 'Subtle Thoughts' on Lapsus. While that was almost entirely made up of typically atmospheric ambient sketches, this epic goes further, complimenting his usual beat-free brilliance with forays into dubbed-out, deep space ambient techno ('Endless Beyond'), analogue-rich emotive techno (the star-fall brilliance of 'Strato'), ambient house ('Together' and the wonderfully trippy 'Quadralogue'), crackly IDM ('Truth') and picturesque, soft-focus dancefloor hypnotism ('Wonder').
Review: K Lone has been turning out super sweet club sounds for years now, mixing up deep house, garage, a love of r&b samples and generally a good time groove on a range of labels but mostly Wisdom Teeth which he co-runs with Facta. Now he follows up his 2020 debut with Swells, an expansive record that also takes in synthpop, leftfield R&B and beyond. It showcases a rich array of melodies, chords and undulating arps and is defined by the lo-fi aesthetic of his CR78 drum machine. British singer-songwriter Eliza Rose features throughout the record in various forms but the highlight is the dubbed-out and diffuse 'With U'.
Review: Liquid Earth is another alias for the cult underground house beat maker Urulu and here he lands on Kalahari Oyster Cult with another fine bit of futurist house. 'Scope Zone' is a great meeting point between cosmic synth work, spaced out breaks and retro house action. It's got a fat bassline that powers it onwards and some mice subtle prog melody. On the reverse is a Youandewan remix from the Berlin based Brit who is in superb form right now. He smooths things out, keeps the bounce and heads for the stars. A tidy two tracker for sure.
Review: When it comes to producing undulating, club-friendly tech-house and micro-house shufflers, Silat Beksi has a pretty good track record. We can confirm that this 12" - his first for Pleasure Zone following appearances on a string of like-minded labels - is similarly rock solid. On the A-side you'll find the deep and rolling "Back to the Future", where fluttering, outer-space ambient synths drift around a crunchy tech-house rhythm track rich in fizzing electronics and solid snares. Flipside "Kin 182" is, if anything, even deeper. Featuring a bolder bassline, dreamier chords and a breakbeat-driven house beat, it's arguably the more satisfying of the two tunes (though we wouldn't be surprised if more DJs champion the similarly impressive A-side).
Review: NT is Nail aka Neil Holliday, one half of Bent and a master of UK tech house. But here he shows a different side across six majestically Balearic groovers. That draw on everything he has done before to send you out to sea on gentle waves of shining synth goodness, downtempo bliss and dreamy, chubby, soft focus drums. 'Beside Boa Linn' is a soothing summer sound to kick off then 'Going Out To Feel It' is a spiritual house cut for sundown, and 'Don't Hide Away' is slow motion disco brilliance. The trip continues with the star-gazing 'Evening Fixture', Eddie C style guitar licks of 'Walk In Romance' and romantic lullaby 'Dreams On Hold.'
Review: The Analogue Attic microverse is defined by a unified commitment to the deepest ideas of where house music can head, and no one embodies that spirit better than Alex Albrecht. On this latest 12" he's heading into the velvet folds of low tempo chugger 'The Blacksmith' and downtempo dream state 'Coles Ridge' with elegiac piano sparkling atop fathoms-deep pads and the softest of percussion. This is house music as a vessel for pure relaxation and sentimental meditation, and across six tracks Albrecht offers up balm after balm to soundtrack oceanic realms of calm - a much needed tonic for the frenetic pace of modern life.
Review: There sure is an appropriate sense of futurism in these new breakbeats from Ahu. Opener 'Jina' is run through with far-sighted chords that bring to mind the glowing metropolis of Ridley Scott's 'Bladerunner' - it even feels like there's rain falling in the tune as well as subtle celestial vocals and deep, driving bass. and spoken word samples to add that cinematic ambiance. 'Jina (Mahsa)' is soulful machine music - fans of the glorious 69 project of Carl Craig will doubtless dig it - and then 'Nika' rides on a much more rubbery and lovely, lumpy Herbert-esque beat with molten synth melodies and a darker energy. A stylish EP, no doubt.
Review: London's All Day I Dream label is instantly recognisable for its use of clouds as its EP covers, a trend it has kept up since since its first release in 2011. This latest wispy six-track EP from Tim Green is a beautiful floater, very much unafraid of plunging its head into the deepest and most rapturous of clouds. Opener 'Water Steers' very much sounds like we're floating up to the pearly gates, with its stretched-out choir samples and voxy one-shots opening to a tricky single-key house track. From there, it's all blissful yet rave-worthy, with tech-trancers like 'Tears' and 'We've Been Here Before' not letting up from the crossrhythmic formula, but still laying down a slowly-revealed emotion.
Review: Linkwood clearly enjoyed the process of recording his 2021 album Mono, which was created in a week in the Athens of the North Studio in Edinburgh, as he's repeated the exercise on Stereo. It's an impressive sequel all told, with the long-serving producer delivering an even deeper, warmer and more evocative excursion informed by his love of analogue deep house, classic sci-fi techno, the 80s compositions of Jan Hammer, intergalactic electro, drum machine-driven synth-funk and star-gazing ambient music. It sounds like it was primarily made with vintage synthesisers and drum machines, which when combined with his impeccable sound design and judicious use of outboard effects results in an enveloping, immersive and highly atmospheric sound that rewards repeat listens. In other words, it's another fine album to get lost in.
Review: While he is still thought of as a God of a DJ to many, Welsh wizard Sasha is a dab hand in the studio too. Airdrawndagger, his second studio long player, is proof of that and a real masterpiece with co-productions by Charlie May, Junkie XL and James Holden. It is a hugely complex world of sound with progressive melodies, wavy electronic drums and immersive synths capes that all add up to one smooth and serene trip. This luxury reissue comes on limited, numbered trifold 180 gram audiophile silver & black marbled vinyl. A vital collector's piece.
Review: The Alpha Transmissions EP is a new project from Dubbyman that has been long in the making. The always classy producer brings his trademark deep house sound to Inner Shift Music with label owners Brad P and Rai Scott getting in on the action. 'Transmission #1' is smooth, serene and dubbed out deep house with cosmic energy, while 'In The Space (Song For Joey)' is a more loose-limbed groove peppered with gentle percussion.'Transmission #2' first comes as a Man-Drake edit that is widescreen and drenched in prog rock guitar licks and as a Rai Scott remix that is more rolling and heady. A typically versatile package from Dubbyman.
Review: Detroit native Jason Hogans will not be a familiar name to many, despite the fact he has been putting out music - albeit sporadically - for 20 odd years. A release on Theo Parrish's hero-worshipped Sound Signature will always put you in the spotlight, though, especially when it's as good as this. The artist explores deep Motor City house, percussive broken beats and that shamanistic, off-grid sound that label head Theo Parrish is such a master of. Standouts include the airy, spacious beat work of 'Favorite Coffee Mug' and steamy post-jungle concoction that is 'For My Solids.'
Review: Ornate Music has been serving up quality deepness since 2008 but it's been a while since we heard from them. Edinburgh based producer, Rai Scott, returns to Ornate Music, previously releasing on the imprint back in 2014. This long overdue followup to her Innershift EP brings ethereal atmospherics and hypnotising percussion. The opener is a dreamy and celestial vibe with gently rolling beats, while Version 2 is more defined by the smeared chords which spiral to the heavens. 'As Honest As She Lived' is another electric lullaby with well-crafted ambient pads and 'Nina' ends with layers of bells, glistening keys and shimmering melody that soothes the soul.
Review: Aaron Andrew's Chubby label doesn't rush things. Since launching in 2018 and now only just hitting its sixth release though the music sure is worth the wait and is proof that quality will always win over quantity. Leonid's twin brother, Al Smith opens up with the cuddly and cosmic depths of 'Drama Room' before getting more dark and unsettling with his twisted synth modulations on 'Full Of Music', which then becomes a gorgeous downtempo cut with star-gazing pads and splashy hits within the Specter remix. Dan Piu picks up the pace for some delightfully warm deep house dynamics on 'Days Gone' and 'Snows Of Solaris'. Last of all is the more scuffed up, heads down deep house murk of Rai Scott's remix of Dan's intro tune, 'Day's Gone'.
Review: Kosmogonik offers up a top debut album here packed with fresh ambient, techno, house and electronic deepness. Polyverse has nine exploratory cuts that take you on a real trip through the cosmos, right from the suspensory opening chords of the prelude. After that come the lean and elegant Detroit techno lines of 'Oscillating Grids' and the far-sighted cosmic bliss of 'Orion'. 'New Ground Galactica' is about as delightful and wondrous as electro gets and lovers of breakbeats will find plenty to get excited about on 'Astronomicon' with its smeared chords and colour alien details. A gorgeous album of well-crafted electronic escapism.
Review: Bona Fide returns on All Day I Dream with his first proper release named Entropy. The Amsterdam-based DJ and producer has certainly found a fitting home for his style of dreamy house on Lee Burridge's label, with highlights on the full-length not limited to: the mesmerising title track with its sublime steel drums playing centre stage, the deep dive into the exotic that is 'It Comes Around', through to the deep and sensual mood music of 'Alter Ego' featuring Zone+, the melodic fantasy of with 'Love Sparkles' with Wassu and the blissed-out closing cut 'Luminous' which is the perfect soundtrack to open-air rooftop style fun in the sun.
Massimiliano Pagliara - "Venus In Blue Marine" (6:19)
Sweely - "Let's Start" (6:47)
Simone De Kunovich - "Final Destination" (7:01)
Fantastic Man & Tornado Wallace - "Skybus Theme" (6:57)
Dreamphaze - "Life Cycle" (7:38)
E Talking - "Mystere De L'Amour" (6:35)
Alex Kassian & Running Hot - "The Love Theme" (7:03)
Review: Many happy returns to Paramida's Love On The Rocks label, which has now notched up a decade of service. To mark the occasion the Berlin-based imprint has offered up this anniversary set - an eight-track missive rich in loved-up and suitably psychedelic excursions that variously joins the dots between saucer-eyed house, trance-adjacent workouts and the kind of timeless, retro-futurist fare that could have been made at any point since 1992. Highlights include Paramida's own trippy 'Limbo In Heaven' (with its knowing nods to Age of Love's 'The Age of Love'), the TB-303 laden dancefloor hallucinations of Simone De Kunovich's 'Final Destination', the early Orbital-esque excellence of Fantastic Man and Tornado Wallace's 'Skybus Theme' and the Italian dream house revivalism of E Talking's 'Mystere De L'Amoure'.
Review: The Mechanical Man is something of a hero amongst deep house heads, so Toronto label Selections are rightly buzzed to have him on board. He opens up with a lively broken beat number lavished with a superb r&b vocal sample and sunny chords on 'Be Down.' He sinks into a more cuddly and smoky house groove on 'Let It Ride' and allows the pensive leads to take over as you head through the stars. 'The Night In The North Area' has a fresh bassline darting about underneath muted chords that bring a Detroit feel. Last of all is the soulful joy of 'You Know It's True', another one with a classic sample smartly worked into a scuffed-up deep house shuffle.
Review: LILA mainstay Ayaavaaki and ambient veteran Purl speak different languages but used a translator to convey ideas to one another as they made this record. And they very much foment their own unique musical language on Ancient Skies, an album that blends ambient, drone and space music into richly layered soundscapes that are constantly on the move. Each piece is meticulously crafted and suspense you up amongst the clouds, hazing on at the smeared pads and swirling solar winds that prop you up. It's a record that would work as well in the depths of winter as a bright spring day such is the cathartic effect of the sounds. Beautiful, thought-provoking and innovative, this is as good an ambient record as we have heard all year.
Review: Kicking off his new R&R imprint, LA-born and Berlin-based producer Huerta brings us TV Slang - an LP which exists somewhere between rhythmic and ambient house. For the title track, woozy voice samples drift in and out of focus, existing in a space just outside of reality. 'Stutter Dub' emerges as one of the more dance-geared tracks, yet it's still decorated with the hazy sound design of the release's ambient numbers; its buffed-out environment softening the edges of Huerta's percussion. On the B-side, 'Traces' features dreamily reverberating piano chords embellished with glittering breaks. This is a highly multi-faceted release which promises to take listeners and dancers alike into a beautifully realised soundworld.
Review: Sacred Rhythms invites us back into the deep and mystical world of Roi Azulay who returns to the label for a third outing here. This outing finds him serving up a real focus on his more acoustic leaning sounds. This multi-dimensional producer shows he is adept at laying down tribal drum sounds overlaid with enchanting percussive lines, dancing strings, hypnotic leads and vocal chants that add to the ancient allure of these most hypnotic sounds. Add in a Kuniyuki remix and you have a truly mesmerising new package.
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