PATRICK CONWAY Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Patrick Conway is back on ESP Institute for a third time and the returns are as brilliant as the first two outings with plenty of emotional depth on display. Opener 'Loss' sets a melancholic tone with a repeating high piano note guiding a poignant chord progression, angelic voices and a modulating synth all sinking you in. That contrasts with a gritty rhythm section made from corroded dancehall elements all bathed in saturation for added authenticity. On the B-side, 'Silencio' explores negative space and rhythmic dialogue using anthemic synth stabs to unify the more meandering melodies. When chaos and order synchronise with force like this, there is fun to be had.

Review: Patrick Conway makes his fantastic debut on the Exotic Robotics label here with four tracks of wires electro electronics. 'Spring Sonnet' kicks off with jittery leads and a nagging pad over silky beats, then 'Early Assembly' casts you adrift in an ocean of rebred with scruffy broken beats spread wide apart. 'Vertical Society' taps into some old school rave energy with big horns, pitched up vocal stabs and jungle beats. The remix from the reggaeton king DJ Python then slows things down to a heavy, bouncy groove with brilliant loops dragging you in further each time.

Review: RECOMMENDED
It's hard not to sound like Patrick Conway is paying us to say glowing things when writing about Cellular Housekeeping. Few albums have been released this year that manage to celebrate the multifarious nature of dance music right now compared with this triumph, which casts its stylistic net pretty wide without ever coming across as an artist's performative attempt to look (or sound) like they can make multiple genres.

For the most part, these tunes occupy a kind of hybrid space, somewhere between drum & bass, techno, house, and breaks. They're not committed to any of those, but nor are they ever inauthentic. Work such as 'Eat Thyself, Sustain Thyself', offer a great summation of the small print here - pinpoint precision on the drums, clear innovation in the arrangement. Beats that can make you dance, but not without asking one constant question - just what the f*!k is this?

Review: Jurg Haller's Forbidden Planet returns with the elusive Patrick Conway who recently surfaced with a release on Matt Edwards' Rekids. Starting off with the raw acid jack of "Samphire" which doesn't exactly use a 303 but gets some kind of mutant squelch happening (which we went mad for) over its rusty breakbeat action. On the flip "Yogi" is where a more frenetic and disjointed beat action returns on the tripped out IDM of "Yogi" which is a real wacky one indeed. "Pegasus" closes out the impressive EP in style, this track being the most straight ahead; an adrenalised late night groove with a dirty throbbing arpeggio bassline and tight drum section powering away beneath all that gritty tape hiss.