Coyote Clean Up from 100% Silk releases another mini-LP of
sorts on the label Time No Place. The description of CCU’s output on the Time
No Place website accurately sums up why I love this guy,”… warped tape bangers,
casual chill outs, and car bumping cruisers. No rules and no regulations - just
sound from and for modern times.”
Areal co-founder, Michael Schwanen aka Metope, drop one of
the better long players of the year. The fluidity and cohesion of each element throughout
the tracks is remarkable. A shining example of “everything in it’s right place.”
It does have to be said that these aren’t dancefloor bangers, far from it in
fact. Some the tracks would work well in an opening set, others dove-tailed
into an ambient selection and few pushing towards peak time. The LP does have
some retro and indie vibes, so these will do well on the not-so-underground
crowds as well.
I always try to check Rush Hour but I must have been sleeping
the week this one was released. All tracks have that retro vibe but they don’t
feel dated at all. My favorite on here would have to be have to be Cassette
because of the main synth line; I’m a sucker for that shit.
Gretta Cottage return with a new EP from Lamech. Ham N Funk
and Misty Vegetable are pretty standard house affairs; the real gems here are
the dubbed out following tracks, Second Skin Mist Vegetable Remix. Great tracks
to liven up any warm up set.
Rush Hour offer up my favorite Xosar release to date. Both tracks are some tasty late night jams. There isn't a better track here, just two tracks for different hours of the late night/early morning. Pure class.
Another great EP from Throne of Blood label. Solid party
music through and through. My favorite on this one is the spaced out groove of
Black Saw, which wouldn’t sound out of place on 100% Silk release. This one is
going to get some serious repeat plays from me. Highly recommended.
Last night, while reading through the interview on the latest RA podcast, DJ Nature mentioned the Japanese label Jazz Sport. That made me think of a wicked deep house EP I picked up awhile ago. While I can't find any trace of that in my collection or online, I hopped over to Juno to check out what they've been up to.
I browsed through for the deep house EPs and stumbled upon this little gem from Grooveman Spot. Jazzy Sport is known for their broken beat and hip-hop releases, but these are some proper slow house burners. None of these tracks break 115 bpm mark. There is a good portion of "slow house" that bores me to tears but this is not the case for these. I don't have a true favorite from this either, each track has it's time and place. I love digging up releases that just have that timeless feel and this is definitely one of them.
R& S's recently revived ambient sub-label Apollo, sees Jack Dixon at the helm. While not easily categorized as "ambient" per se, each track on offer is clearly viewed through a softer lens than your typical R&S release. The EP sits somewhere in between the sound of syncopated snares, similar to Breakbeat and UK Funky, while also retaining a distinct ambiance present on releases from labels like Kompakt. My fav on the EP is Saviour, with its dub splashes and rolling bassline, a treat for the feet and the mind. Class.
Alex Cortex giving us some prime summer time grooves as LD Nero. Dew 1 is a nice laid back track with flourishes of synth spikes underpinned by a nice piano groove. Dew 2 brings out some horns and a little latin touch. Wrapping up, Dew 3 leaves us with a dreamy NY house vibe. These aren't showstoppers but I can see them getting loads of plays during the warmer months.
At first what seems like a run of the mill techno release, has grown on me over the last few days and I can't quite put my finger on what is so damn good. No new ground, sounds we've heard for years etc etc. But there is just a polish, not in a shiny digital way, that just has everything in it's right place with just enough ebb and flow to keep the tracks interesting from start to finish. Not to mention some of this shit is just straight up funky techno that would have me going a bit mental on the 'floor.
The new one from Fourth Wave doesn't tread any new ground for the label, but it does show that they've hit their stride. Both cuts have a distinctly raw vibe that would be ideal for sweaty basements. A is good; B is where it's at though!
It’s official, I’m a 100% Silk fanboy. I really can’t help it, though. I’m a sucker for the DIY vibes they push on nearly every release, this one is no different. Sumdged grooves, floaty pads and breathy vocals make up the bulk of the LP while staying away from the nu-disco blandness. Importing Mosquitoes is just sublime. Great stuff.
The ever reliable 100% Silk with another killer EP; this time with Body Double who closed out the Silkmix Volume 1 from last year. The name of the game is Robert Owens-like looped soul samples, pianos and big bass. I can see this getting big during the summer months in some dark, humid places.
This is one of those not easily categorized EPs, which is all the better for it too. Lots of spoken samples, great drum programming, killer bass and wicked synths; it’s all here. The Blues (It Began In Africa) is my fav here but they all worth a listen. Pure class.
It's been some time since we've seen a Ka§par release and this one doesn't disappoint. Top track on here is the remix Carlos Nilmmns but there is something about it that reminds me of an older track. It's that percolating bass and smooth chord sound; for life of me, I can't think of it.
It seems the guys over at Local Talk are really making a name for themselves and this will only continue if the output remains this damn good. On offer with the latest EP are 2 killer deep cuts in the standard 90's vibe Local Talk have been championing from the start. It’s tough to pick a fav as they both just roll out with class but if I HAD to pick, Tell Me is the winner. I’m a sucker for those simple vocal samples, grooving chords, and bumping bass. Highly recommended!
Don't miss out on this mix either; all Local Talk!
Interesting house influenced grooves. Not everything on this album is cup of tea but there are some really great tracks throughout. My top picks are The Prudence of Evolution, The Heroic Lives of Particles, and the great DNTL remix of When Synchronicity Prevails. Which brings me to my last comment, Ernest Gonzales easily wins for best track names.
My newest effort. I think it's one of the best I've done to date, things are sitting in the right place etc. I think I need to do some minor adjustments like bring the low-end up a bit in the mix and work on the dry synth sound. What do you think?
