Single Review
SECT – Man of Wisdom | Single Review
Saturday, May 8th, 2010 | Single Review | No Comments
SECT is an acronym for the new Boston based super DJ crew made up of Soul Clap of Wolf and Lamb fame, Tanner Ross of Dirtybird and Mothership fame, and their mate Sergio Santos who’s making his own way up through the ranks. They’ve recently been rattling around their parent’s basements coming up with new material that fuses their collective styles together.
With their first release on LA based label Culprit you can get a feel of everyone in the mix. The release is made up of three slow deep house tracks that have that trademark Soul Clap soulfulness combined with the Ross and Santos’ Dirtybird hypnotism. › Continue reading
Sebo K – Spirits | Single Review
Sunday, December 6th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Sebo K has been keeping quiet for most of the year with Spirits being his first release for Mobilee since his 2008 smash Diva. Two tracks come on the package, but they’re essentially the same track with two added options. Kind of like picking out the upholstery for a car except with Spirits you chose the hook. You can choose between the bongo-tastic drum version or the basic no extra cost strings and piano riff version. The main body of the track is warm classic house. Deep synth stabs and bulbous beats provide a typical 2009 house backing. On the strings and piano version the beats are a tad hollower to make room for the Strings of Life-esque riff. Its pretty catchy but a bit…well… Strings of Life. Strings of Life strings + standard deep house = meh.
But for the leather interior option, ie the Drums Version of Spirits you get some intricate bongo work from Max Moya. Sebo has beefed up the kick drum to make it punchier whilst Max Moya skits on top with some really infectious bongo rolls. It breathes some life into the track with the bongo skit making it highly addictive. Bongos plus deep house isn’t a 2009 invention, but it does bring out the tribal dancing instincts in you which win over the strings and piano combo any day.
Subb-An & Shelton – Musik EP | Single Review
Monday, November 30th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Subb-An and Shelton are the residents of Below – Birmingham’s only decent answer to house and techno. They’ve taken the typical UK dance music route – learn to DJ, start a night, make a few records, start a label. Subb-An has already put a few tracks out on Leftroom and Immigrant so its time for the duo to start a label. One Records is the new venture and its first release is by the duo themselves.
The inspiringly named title track ‘The Musik’ is roaring tech house with acid spat in its face. Industrial clinks and a round kick driven bassline open the track before short bursts of acid squelches wriggle in between the beats. Standard issue string sighs and a “Musik” vocal sample punctuate the track to add some contrast between heavy and light. It’s punchy with an infectious groove and will definitely play on the basic emotions of any techno dancefloor in the UK.
For the name of the B-side, it’s clear to see Subb-Ann and Shelton have clearly spent some time talking about the “concept” of the label to give their tracks these edgey clean cut names – ‘The Musik’ and now ‘The Vision’. Anyway, names don’t win prizes, it’s the music. ‘The Vision’ doesn’t really win any though. Deep basslines, clinkering percussion and spooky synth snippets create a warm and hypnotic house track which is well rehearsed for 2009. It’s produced well but it can so easily blend into the background with all the other deep house tracks of 2009. Not what you need if you want your label to make a splash on its opening.
Simon Baker – Moonblock / Mamaia Highway | Single Review
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
I do enjoy a Simon Baker release. Plastik released on Playhouse was everywhere in 2008 whilst X Y and Z was a fantastic follow up on Leftroom. Other than a release for 20:20 Vision in July we haven’t heard much from Simon Baker, until now. His latest release on MurMur is probably just to keep the “look at all the great labels I’ve released on” list ticking over. Fair enough. MurMur is a good label and Simon’s Moonblock is a great release.
Title track Moonblock is a pumped up houser with an incredibly contagious wiggling bassline. It doesn’t really let up for breath, it just grooves away blissfully unaware only occasionally breaking down with a splash of bossa nova. It’s catchy and very danceable, very much like Mamaia Highway the track on the other side. It’s got another great wiggling bassline that sounds like a computer crunching numbers on an old sci fi show; there are the staple bossa nova/carnival samples which bring a party vibe; and like Moonblock it just doesn’t let up. It’s these tracks which are becoming a staple on the London scene – continual rolling house come techno tracks which swish and release in such a way that they’re perfect for the club and a crowd up for some straight up dancing.
Semtek – Bells EP | Single Review
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
I’d say it’s a ballsy move to call a house or techno track Bells as there’s been some guy called Jeff from Detroit who’s been hammering his own version for the past 10+ years. But that doesn’t deter Semtek who’s put out the first release for Don’t Be Afraid – he’s obviously trying to carve out his own Bells niche. But names are names and that shouldn’t sway the music. So what does ‘Bells’ have to offer, well the main track named after the EP title is dark, moody and hypnotic. Its throbbing bassline gives the track some stripped back attitude whilst the 8-bit percussion adds an understated groove. Layered on top are hypnotic wobbling keys punctuated by some strange spoken words about Liverpool bells and a sporadic electronic motif. Quirky and a bit different to what’s currently doing the rounds – Semtek is definitely carving out a new Bells niche.
Mr G fills in the minimal gaps with a punchy remix of ‘Bells’. Bigger beats are incorporated with clattering percussion and a beefier bassline to turn it into a peak time stomper. However the less is more approach on the original seems to produce a more unique track compared to the very typical but very practical Mr G techno work out.
On the flip is more original Semtek. ‘Keys’ falls in a similar vein. Twinkling synths, 8-bit percussion and warm enveloping pads create a computerised wobbler. Whilst on the second part to the flipside is ‘Village’, an electro breakbeat robot coming straight out of 1984. More low tech sounds, sparse production and mechanical rhythms operate in an assembly line style. Both are put together well but aren’t as distinguished as ‘Bells’.
Ricardo Jefferson – Brutal Truth EP | Single Review
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Ricardo Jefferson – bastardised love child of Villalobos and Marshal Jefferson? – Probably not. But his latest EP does have an old school sound circa Marshall Jefferson’s time. ‘God of the Machine’ plods along in the wilderness with insect sounding shivers and spaced out synths. It has a disparate feel but it doesn’t really hit home with its point. The retro sound doesn’t really help its cause and the same can go for the rest of the EP. ‘The Egg Part One’ has classic 909 cymbals and squelchy acid riffs whilst ‘Persons Unknown’ uses drifting layers of melody and juddering sweeps. Both are a bit more interesting yet they still don’t give you any lasting memories.
The only track that stands up to be taken notice of is the title track ‘Brutal Truth’. A heartbeat break backs some epic echoing Orbital style keys. It’s simple yet so effective with the way it cycles through different patterns using the two main elements – drop the synths out, breakdown to the beats; thunder that wall of synth back in – instant winner.
Tracklist:
1. Brutal Truth
2. Persons Unknown
3. The Egg Part One
4. God if the Machine
Miss Kittin & The Hacker – Party In My | Single Review
Monday, June 29th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
From the album 1000 Dreams we gave Party In My Head a conservative thumbs up. We thought that Miss Kitten’s vocals had been layered with the Blondie/Moroder style disco synths just right. So its good to see that the Thieves Like Us run with the disco bit and churn out a great strutting piece of NYC disco funk. The vocodered vocals sit with the natural percussion and funk lines. So much so that it far surpasses the original.
Kiko on the other hand is at the other end of the spectrum. He’s gone for a brash whirring remix with rough electronic synths and stern marching beats. It’s noisy and in your face so it’s totally made for the big rooms. That leaves Mr Pauli’s remix. He’s gone with the 80s synth pop influence on the original and taken that to town. Think shoulder pads, Miami Vice and those great 80s electronic tom toms. I was confused at first, but the retroness has its charm.
TRACKLISTING:
A1.Party in my Head (Original)
A2. Party in my Head (Mr Pauli Remix)
Geddes & Alex Jones – Tubular | Single Review
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Geddes and Alex Jones team up on the latest MurMur release for another slice of deep house action. Tubular has some great beats. The only way I can describe them is that they sound like big bubbles that rise up inside a water cooler bottle. Kind of that bassy tubby sound, ya get me? Geddes and Alex Jones then sprinkle a few hi hats and vocal snippets to give you another simple yet hypnotic slice of deep house; however its not Geddes and Alex Jones who are the stars of this show. It’s Lauhaus who turns out a remix which retrofits the hypnotic vocal snippets over a far hookier bassline and shuffling up beat rhythms. I’m pretty sure he’s done something similar on his own productions, but like they say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Tracklist:
1. Tubular
2. Zeiss
3. Tubular (Lauhaus remix)
Monika Kruse – Changes of Perception Remixes Part 2 | Single Review
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 | Single Review | 1 Comment
Bright techno stars Erman Erim and 2000 and One are called up for Monika Kruse’s second batch of remixes from her latest artist album Changes of Perception. New comer Erman Erim was charged with the task of reworking Don’t Come Close. He keeps the eerie darkness of the original but exacerbates the melody with its big plunging keys. The slowly unwinding melody gives the track a great progression in a prog way of yore.
2000 and One head down their tried and tested route of chunky house and make ‘When I Woke Up’ their own. They inject some ballsy beats and a rumbling intermittent bass groan to create a surprisingly slow and smooth house track. It is however a bit thin on the ground with progression but I’m sure the bass groan makes up for it on a large system.
Tracklist:
1. When I Woke Up (2000 And One remix)
2. Don’t Come Close (Erman Erim remix)
Miss dicA – Freak EP | Single Review
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Miss dicA is Barbara Tampiér, an Austrian producer and DJ who now lives in, you guessed it Berlin. Her Freak Out EP is self described as Electro-Techno-Trash and I can’t say I disagree. Freak Out uses trashy synths over high riding percussion and some farty electro basslines giving you a scatty electro-techno-trash workout. Freak’n Proud pines for a techno sound but keeps it intensely trashy with wave after wave of throbbing acid synths; whilst Freak In restrains itself with spindly electronic keys and whirring acid lines. It’s a good release but I can’t help think it sounds a lot like Miss Kitten and DJ Hell. But that’s no bad thing.
Miss dicA – Freak EP is out now
Tracklisting:
A1 Freak In
A2 Freaky Stars
B1 Freak Out
B2 Freak’n Proud
Shlomi Aber and Kenny Larkin – Sketches | Single Review
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Sketches the latest release from Shlomi Aber, with a little help from Kenny Larkin, is another corker filled with obvious ideas. The release comes in two flavours. The Shlomi Aber flavour is a funked up jack hammer with a ballsy bassline and toe tapping jazz percussion. It’s a definite corker with the looping techno bassline and scatty percussion. The only problem is that there is a massive influx of this kind of techno. But don’t let that detract from how infectious and fun this track really is.
Kenny Larkin’s flavour spends most of its time leaving you on the edge using a meandering swirl of half drops, swooshy synths and throbbing basslines in a kind of Moodymann Shades of Jae kind of way. It’s a great way to build tension and is probably my favourite of the two.
Tracklist:
A1 Sketches (Shlomi Aber Version) 7:35
B1 Sketches (Kenny Larkin Version) 10:05
Pierce & Jerl – Amourette | Single Review
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
I’ve never heard of Pierce and Jerl until their latest release came across me on GetPhysical’s digital label GetDigital. Their track Amourette is a shuffling funk monster which congas around your head. Latin guitar samples and the pita patter of claves sit perfectly with the smooth rolling bassline urging you to lose yourself in its engulfing sound. M.in chop up the samples and throws them into the mix with a bouncy Chicago backing track. You’ve got pumped up beats, the rolling pianos and warm double bass low end creating that classic Chicago house sound. Both great turnouts.
The second track from Pierce and Jerl is Brazilique. It’s got a pretty standard urging tech-house beat and unsurprisingly a Brazilian vocal sample. But as you get into the track its got this quirky hollow tom tom flutter. Overall it’s probably best to stick with Amourette but Brazilique won’t do any harm.
Tracklist:
1. Amourette (Original Mix)
2. Amourette (M.in Remix)
3. Brazilique (Original Mix)
Buy Pierce & Jerl from GetDigital
Jaxson and David Keno – Tout Le Temps
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
It seems like Jaxson and David Keno have taken a trip to the bongo percussion and old ethnic samples supermarket. Their latest release Tout Le Temps is littered with the stuff. The three out of the four tracks on this release use the current formula of muted drums, bongo percussions and wobbly basslines. Each track’s defining feature depends on which old ethnic sample has been worked in. For title track Tout Le Temps its some old clichéd Latin vocal and guitar flutter; whilst Tarantella goes for Middle Eastern strings and horns. Both have a spring in their step with a solid groove so they won’t do any harm. Karate Kid is similar but uses some piano drones to provide a interesting sinister shade to the track. In hindsight I’m probably too discerning about the samples as they do as they’re supposed to do and that’s give the listener something to identify with. I just wish more people would do that latching element with something original.
Tracklist:
A1. Tout Le Temps
A2. Tarantella
B1. Red Baron
B2. Karate Kid
Hector – Got Fringe | Single Review
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Hector is kind of living the dream at the moment. Firstly he holds down his day job at Phonica probably the best record shop in the country, second he’s DJing here there and everywhere and finally he’s hanging in the right circles to take over from DJs pining for a black pudding roll at Fabric. Now he might be adding a fourth string to that bow by become a credible producer too.
Got Fringe is his first release for Mobilee. The title track takes on your typical in vogue deep house. Some warm basslines, a shuffling beat with a hint of jazz percussion, some conga lines and a Latin American vocal stab. All pretty standard stuff. The digital only track Canaca is more of the same fashionable deep house stuck in a groove. Its pleasurable but not memorable. However it is the B-Side, Taking Me For A Ride which really strikes a chord. It’s pretty much a massive thud of a kick drum with some crisp 909 cymbals which together rumbles up the rawest of grooves. Add a hypnotic vocal stab and acid tweak and you’ve got yourself this ridiculous old style minimal house track which is so simple yet so affective.
A: Got Fringe?
B: Taking Me For A Ride?
Digital Only Track: Canaca
Exercise One – No News Today | Single Review
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Exercise One return with this teaser ahead of their album In Cars We Rust. No News Today is definitely putting itself in the epic box. They use down tempo broken beats which back bright and multicoloured tones and layers. The result is a meandering sun kissed synth pop track, soothed by Argenis Brito’s vocals.
Deadbeat throw in their two cents by melding the broken beats with dub sensibilities. The once brightly coloured original is transformed into a dark brooding dub house come dub step track. It’s a strange combination with 4/4 beats offset by dubstep percussion which caused great confusion on when I should nod my head. But it works and provides a friendlier adaptation for the clubs.
Tracklist:
A1. No News Today Feat. Argenis Brito (Deadbeat Roller Dub) (7:00)
A2. No News Today Feat. Argenis Brito (Original) (6:36)
B. It Is Happening Again (7:49)
Bruno Lawton – Shakin’ Down | Single Review
Thursday, May 14th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Bruno Lawton co founder of Mixtape records launches into a barrage of filter funk techno for his first release on the label. Shakin’ Down struts that classic funky techno feel using filtered guitar stabs and the occasional brass sample. It’s nothing groundbreaking on the techno front but it’s sure to crowds bouncing. The remixes on this release come from Angel Alanis and Gus Brown. Alanis slows the pace down and strips it down to the basics. He jigs the beat keeping it a little off centre and explores the brass sample a bit more. The result is a fun and interesting interpretation. On the flip Gus Brown has torn his balls off and splattered them at the wall. The already pounding beat from the original has been replaced with an even punchier beat and all the loops have been drawn in and made sharper. If its nutty funky techno for the roid rage then you can’t really beat this.
Tracklist:
1. Shakin’ Down (Original Mix)
Elastik Trickery/John Rowe – Rig Ma Roll Ep | Single Review
Thursday, May 14th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Its precarious times for the folk of Newcastle as they watch Alan Shearer guide the football team over a tight rope of relegation or survival. If the team does get relegated to the Championship at least the lads can go out on the town and listen to some pretty full on techno if this release by Testin Out records is anything to go by.
Testin Out’s fourth release comes from some of Newcastle’s stalwarts Elastik Trickery and John Rowe. Apparently both acts have been bowling about the North East with the techno sound for sometime. Although I’m a bit naive with the Newcastle techno scene, I just thought they drank brown ale and got semi naked at football matches.
That said Elastik Trickery’s O Beberrao De Tanners is far from semi nakedness on the terraces. It is in fact a pumped up funk fuelled monster. The scatty loops and jittery samples over funk ladened techno beats give this track plenty of energy which wouldn’t see it go a miss in sets from Sims right through to Wiggle. The other track from Elastik Trickery called Ego goes down the noisy electro route. Raw synths whip and whoop over pumped up beats. Some may like it, but it was too rough for EarPipe’s delicate ears.
John Rowe however tones things down a bit. Pigdog has an old school prog vibe to its sound. The driving bassline and subtle percussion send me back to a John Digweed moment circa 2002. And that’s no bad thing. However John Rowe could have slipped in a few more noticeable breaks in there. John’s second track Closed however veers from the linear path of Pigdog. Ballsy beats and basslines have a heavy impact which makes the slight breaks in sound ever more prominent. The fans of the heavy Pryda sound would like this.
Tracklist:
1. Elastik Trickery – O Beberrao De Tanners
2. Elastik Trickery – Ego
3. John Rowe – Pigdog
4. John Rowe – Closed
Butane – Mutation | Single Review
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | Single Review | 1 Comment
It’s good to hear Butane return to our speakers with this single from his forthcoming album on Crosstown Rebels. Its been a good year or so since his last release, but the wait was worth it. New track Mutation is a fantastic slice of glitchy hypnotic minimal techno. It begins with a murky hypnotic bassline and a spattering of electronic twitches. Every so often the murky bassline would raise its head above the water line as it filters out into a clean synth trickle before quickly diving back below into the murky bassy depths. It’s interesting how Butane uses the bassline as the melody for the breakdown. Its pretty one dimensional in its execution, but the shear depth of sound gives it all the kick it needs.
On the same release is two remixes from some heavyweight up and coming producers. Sety of Circus Company fame reworks the dark original into a more bouncy shuffling number. Sety fills in the minimal gaps with quite an infectious horn hook which sounds like something out of the King and I. Musical prejudice aside it seems to work, giving it a catchy and infectious edge the original didn’t have.
The other heavy weight remixer is man of the moment SiS. He also uses the original’s bassline but pads out the space with a clichéd minimal tap drip and samples of an Indian sitar. Add the skipping beats that SiS is so good at and the result is another infectious shuffling remix of the original. Another great release from the Crosstown stable.
Tracklist (Click for Mp3):
1. Mutation (Original Mix)
2. Mutation (Sety Mix)
3. Mutation (SiS Mix)
Burnski – Draw Your Own Sword EP | Single Review
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Burnski is a young whipper snapper from Leeds. Aged 23 and he’s already seen a variety of his tracks released on labels such as Dessous, Morris Audio, Trapez and home label 20:20 Vision. He’s also resident at one of the country’s longest running club nights Back to Basics. A few strings to his bow I think you’ll find.
For his release on Pokerflat, Burnski has combined the deepness of Chicago house with an electronic and spacey palette to create this three track EP. Title track Draw Your Own Sword takes a Chicago style skipping beat with bellowing sub bass and gives it a slight twist with the massive plunging piano keys and trickling synths. A similar style is used on Sleep. The beats are slightly chunkier but the same ethos is there. The rest of the track is made up of washy pads and hollow keys to give it that classic twilight deep house vibe. Finally Mud and Mouse has a more upbeat approach using a rounder more prominent bassline which is accompanied by more skipping beats and a distinct see-saw accordion melody.
The result is unfortunately a mediocre package. All three tracks are middle of the road house with little to get excited about. It’s well produced with some interesting sounds, but lacks a spark to get you really involved.
Tracklisting:
1. Draw Your Sword (6:25)
2. Sleep (7:44)
3. Mud And Mouse (6:53)
Tiefschwarz – Simple, Maybe Parts 1 & 2 | Single Review
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments
Tiefschwarz return to their label Souvenir to release their first EP for quite some time. And like buses, you wait for one release and then two come along at once. February’s part 1 release consisted of two very different cuts. On the a-side was On and On a shuffling wonky number which uses a slightly annoying vocal sample which persists throughout the track. The track doesn’t really hold up, it just keeps on shuffling along whilst any movement on the track comes from the vocal sample which cycles through different variations of “on and on”. It would be quite monotonous if it weren’t for the occasional stabs of off colour organs.
The better part to this release is Best Inn. Here Tiefschwarz combine their roots of deep house with their more up to date wonky sound. A classic house loop from the boys adds an element of jack, whilst a sci fi b movie organ whirrs away to give it that wonky feel. And to make it that bit more hypnotic they chuck in a vocal loop which I feel is a bit to prominent but thankfully doesn’t drag the track down too much.
For part two, Tiefschwarz return a month later with Yeah and Deininger. Yeah is a pretty simple track, its one loop of tumbling beats which twists and turns as whistles and vocal stabs come and go. Whilst the track doesn’t really go anywhere, its steady droning bassline keeps the groove locked in for some good heads down in a darkened room action.
On the flip, Deininger is more of the same drawn out loops with little quirks. Based around haunting horn lines, a popping percussion track and a bit of a funk bassline, Deininger shuffles along like the other tracks on this release. It eventually builds to a quivering vocal break, before rejigging itself with a slight change to the funk line. Its ok, but nothing to get too excited about.
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