MEDLAR Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Given their illustrious rise over the past twelve months, the appearance of Belfast duo Bicep on the latest Wolf Music release is quite the coup for the London label. Artist and label are of course no strangers, with a Bicep dub of Medlar appearing WOLFEP009, yet there's currently a Midas touch style momentum driving Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar that should ensure this 12" sells out even swifter than previous lupine plates. "Mixmaster 88" is an unadulterated party anthem and another ode to some of their heroes (spot the cheeky Armando usage) yet it's most memorable because it shows Bicep at their most confident. Further house music excellence is afforded with contributions from Casino Times, Medlar and newcomer Ishmael that ensure this is yet another all killer, no filler emission from the Wolf Music stable.

Review: The vinyl pressings of the expansive two-disc compilation for Phonica continue with this diverse selection from an impressive cast. Sheffield hero Lo Shea is in a mischievous mood with the skipping beat and gruesome bass of "Home", while Medlar and Red Rack'em join forces for the chunky dub house of "Morning Light". Moire has a more techno-inclined approach on "Solar Signs" that features plenty of hopeful synths and an audacious breakdown, and then STL brings the leftfield goodies with the characteristically edgy throwdown "Freaky Fingers" choc full of rasping drums and carnival whistles.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Wolf Music family since the early days, Medlar (Nitework/Still Life) presents his latest mini-LP titled Aerial, which features a wide variety of moods and grooves across seven cuts. From the low slung cosmic chug of the title track, to 'Elephant Bingo' with its infectious nu-disco energy, through to B side cuts 'Phoenix Lights' which goes for that classic Stateside deep house sound and the slo-mo Balearic bliss of 'Sin Prisa' closing it out. All in all, it's another stellar effort by the respected London-based producer.

Review: For release number nine, Madrid-based Riverette has turned to Wolf Music regular Medlar. Predictably, he serves up a string of ear-pleasing, floor-friendly gems. There's a pleasing looseness to picturesque deep house opener "Juno", where twinkling electronics and stretched-out chords ride a sparse but heavy, analogue sounding groove. The tougher, darker "All One Machine" sounds like a tribute to David Morales' legendary Red Zone dubs, while "Early Winter Light" is a sharp, angular, acid-fired box jam. FYI Chris delivers a fine remix of the latter track, smothering Medlar's rough drums and psychedelic acid lines in ambient house chords and hissing cymbals.

Review: One of the few complaints fielded about Sleep, last year's debut long player from Medlar, was some of the tracks were a bit short to really satisfy the needs of the DJ specifically the monumental beatdown of "Tides". So both Medlar and Wolf Music deserve applause for issuing this 12" which attends to this issue with an extended 12" take on the track. The extra room only improves the track and is complemented well by the preceding remix from dusty fingered Boston producer and DJ Kon who flips the track into a straight up house cut. Don't skip the B Side either as fellow Wolf Music regular Grey Matter is on board with an equally good revision of "Listen" whose dusty, sunken qualities will appeal to fans of Anthony Naples output on TTT.

Review: Medlar, who also produces as Klic, drops his first solo EP for London imprint Wolf Recordings. Lush chords and woozy rhodes partner up with "uh-huh" vocal snippets and tribal percussion in "The Sun". James Brown "uh's" and basic synth progressions make up "Knockard Pearl", which receives a stellar Detroit Swindle remix of bolstered stabs that verge on rave. "Govern" lowers the BPM for a shuffled groove, maintaining the lo-fi brilliance of the rest of the EP. A secret weapon for the transitional DJ.

Review: Moxie Presents Volume Two Sampler is the first physical release from Moxie's compilation series of the same name on her newly conceived 'On Loop' imprint. The compilation was released for free via Moxie's Soundcloud page in January 2016, and was met with rave reviews and radio support from the likes of Benji B, Gilles Peterson, Annie Mac and Toddla T. This sampler features 3 tracks taken from the compilation and an exclusive Dub of Medlar's 'In Dreams,' the original of which was a highlight on the compilation.

Review: Wolf Music alumnus Medlar teams up with multi instrumentalist Ishmael here for the inaugural release of West Friends which is brought to you by Peckham record store Rye Wax as their new sublabel. "Bell, Everywhere 1" is deep house that delves into the truly exotic. There's more funky and syncopated rhythms complimented by lush bell tones on "Bell, Everywhere 2" while on the flip, we've go "B2 Or Not B2", a cute drum track featuring an odd selection of hits that somehow work together supported by pawn shop synth bleeps.

Review: Delusions Of Grandeur have been relatively quiet on the release front this year, but they're back with a bang thanks to this latest collaborative effort from Dan Shake and Medlar. The former has gotten a name thanks to being the first non-Detroiter on Moodymann's Mahogani Music, while the latter has been pushing his disco-friendly take on house music largely via the Wolf Music imprint. They got two cuts on here, the first one being a boogie-leaning, hazy summer club jam in the form of "Walk", and the second one a jazzier affair with plenty of soulful vocals and tribal drums called "I On You". Philpot bossman Soulphiction takes care of transforming "Walk" into a pot of filter-licking madness, where the percussion is stretched and freaked out further out into the ether compared to the original. What a package!