Review: Hamburg-based Rupert Marnie helped found The Press Group back in 2015, and has since been weaving a compelling strain of minimal tech house on his own terms. Now he makes it over to emergent label System Error for a suite of head-tweaking workouts which tip closer to techno, especially on the rushing arps of opening track 'Prospect 8'. 'Tilt' toys with some trance elements and 'Mystery House' locks in a sub-heavy bassline and spooky theremin-style leads up top, while 'Clean' reaches for a sweeter, synth-led mood and captures it beautifully.
Review: Since 2016, Italian producer Younger Than Me has been a rising force with an ever-growing fan base after releasing on top labels like Bordello a Parigi, Tusk Wax and Dischi Autunno. He is someone who blends trance, breakbeat, techno, and progressive house in his own unique way and that has earned him widespread recognition alongside sets at venues like Berghain and Hor Berlin. His latest EP comes on Skylax and features six tracks including collaborations with Kiara Scuro on 'Ghost in the Rave' and remixes by Mahkina and G?eg. This is another great window into his genre-defying sounds.
Review: Don't be fooled by the name, Straatkunst is a French label but they're focused on street-ready electro and techno with a universal, global feel. Pechno steps up for the second release on the imprint with a pleasingly varied offering which kicks off with the pumped up 4/4 and reflective synth lines of 'Mobster'. 'No Time To Lose' is a rawer beatdown which lands somewhere in between OG Chicago house and slamming West Coast electro. 'Dove' is a deeper, tripper affair while 'Titre Eponyme' opts for a stripped back vibe which takes its cues from Nu Groove and the early wave of bleep techno.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Looking At Your Pager (extended) (5:50)
Only Human (7:54)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
After hitting on something of a formula with 'Only Human', this A-side banger is further proof that Four Tet is onto a rich vein of side hustle action with his KH alter ego. 'Looking At Your Pager' is a cheeky slice of '90s throwback-ism in jackin' house form, and in a heuristically Hebden-esque style, makes deft use of the hilariously autotuned opening verse heard in 3LW's girl band hit, 'No More'. It's a very clever tune; just as no-one uses pagers anymore, nor do people use the kind of dubstep wobbles heard underneath the track's clacking groove... Mr. KH makes them cool again!
Review: A year on from Antoine losing what was going to be his debut album, he decided to reform his concept-based project Mise En Place into a vinyl-only label. This is the first outing on it and is a work inspired by the hit TV sitcom The Office (US). 'Australian Reds' is part progressive workout and part stripped back minimal rhythm, 'Colombian Whites' is a 90s-inspired house cut with sparkling synth arps and glitchy claps while 'Cafe Disco (AK's Rare Groove Dub)' takes the B-side into after-hours territory. 'Threat Level Midnight' is an atmospheric closer that take things deep.
Review: Secondo is an artist we have long been keen to hear more from so this return to vinyl is welcome indeed. It comes on a hand-stamped white label 12" in the form of 'Unlikely Companions'. This one is a cosmic deep house sound with an alien energy, crispy hits and smeared pads that bring colour and introspection. The drums are well designed to and help make this one as heady as it is cinematic. Marco Passarani's Nature remix on the flip gets a little more warped and dark with unsettling sci-fi ambiance.
Review: Halvtrak is hardly prolific - this EP is just his fourth solo vinyl outing in a decade - but what he does release is invariably excellent. The Finnish producer's trademark sound is rooted in the past, referencing British breakbeats, ambient techno, bleep, Motor City futurism and Chicago house, but always sounds fresh, pleasingly melodic and analogue rich. Opener 'X-Pressed' is probably the most peak-time ready of the strong bunch of tracks on show, with glassy-eyed chords and spacey melodies riding a thrusting bassline and sweaty breakbeats, though the house-tempo melodic techno strut of 'Rhythm Overture' pushes it close. Elsewhere, 'Phase Distorshun' is a more angular, deeper and lo-fi techno excursion, while 'Doubt' sounds like a cross between deep bleep minimalism and hypnotic, mid-90s Detroit techno.
Review: It has been a rather remarkable three years since Yuko dropped its first release, but finally, they are back with more. It is co-founder Emo Omar who features both solo and in collaboration with Luje from Club Pizza while two exciting new French talents Chud and Vivant also make their mark. 'Pollen' is a bright and hooky melodic electro sound then 'You & Me' gets more percussive, with old school cow bells staying busy next to all sorts of wonky synth work. 'Tomorrow's Made Of Breaks' is built on rigid funk and trippy synth bleeps and 'Zeus' shuts down with some retro-future vocoder vocals. This is a great return from a label we hope now pushes on.
Review: Daniela La Luz returns with her third album, System Reset, on her own label Dimension Of Being Human. Created after her long illness and her father's death, it parallels the planet's delicate state and the duality of joy and mortality in life. Written in Berlin and Munich, the artist connects past, present, and future as she sings in English, Polish, and Arabic. The AI-generated artwork complements her music's blend of light and darkness in a record that stylishly spans jazz, house, techno, pop, wave, electro, ambient, and dub while offering both dance-friendly tracks and beatless interludes. It's a poignant and personal work.
Review: Svogue's third vinyl-only outing delivers a brilliantly trippy and dreamy exploration of house and breaks with a hint of characterful old-school flair. Produced and mixed by Matteo Floris, his well crafted tracks feature solid analogue drum patterns paired with energetic rave synths that are all perfect for peak-time underground clubbing but never forgo a bit of nuance for the heads. It makes this a 12" that offers a rich, immersive listening experience with colourful pads, innovative rhythmic patterns and plenty of future ideas.
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