Review: British producer Joe Thornalley aka Vegyn made his name working with the likes of Frank Ocean and Travis Scott. This project is something quite different - a rework of the iconic French duo Air's seminal downtempo album Moon Safari. He collides its blessed out and beauty Balearic nostalgia with new studio techniques and a deft atmospheric and experimental touch so that tracks like 'Sexy Boy' and 'La Femme d'Argent' retain their lush, ambient roots but evolve with newly textured beats and modern flair. This remix LP isn't about revisiting the past; it's about reshaping it, and Vegyn's vision works as both a tribute and a bold reinterpretation for a new generation.
Review: Seven years have passed since Burial first stopped us dead in our tracks with this universally acclaimed second album.. Sounding so different, so removed and far away from anything else, it changed the game entirely - and created a whole school of imitators in its wake. Now repressed by Hyperdub, this is a rare opportunity to grab it on fresh wax. Even if you have this on other formats in your collection, the dusty weight and chasmic crackles sound so much better on vinyl.
Review: Nazar, the nom-de-guerre of an anonymous Manchester-based producer, presents their sophomore album Demilitarize, following his acclaimed 2020 debut Guerrilla, released amid the pandemic. Nazar's first album securely firmed the artist's name within and beyond the Hyperdub diaspora, thanks to its unique melding of Angolan kuduro music with rough textures, field recordings, and media clips, retelling the story of his family's exile from the Angolan Civil War. Nazar is the son of Jonas Savimbi, a former general of the Angolan independence movement; after Angola's emancipation from Portuguese colonial rule, Nazar relocated to suburban Brussels. More recently, he fell seriously ill with tuberculosis contracted in Angola; battling mortality, the new album reflects a mix of introspection and blossoming love, which contrasts the warring rawness of his debut. Demilitarize is dreamier, with Nazar's submerged, mantra-like vocals at the forefront, evoking artists far-removed from the crumby, unedifyingly rough kuduro that characterised his first EP 'Enclave'. Nazar explains, "I wanted to create something almost metaphysical, inspired by the cyberpunk anime Ghost In The Shell." The sound is delicate, with relatively sculpted rhythms enveloping his own recorded voice throughout.
Review: We've been waiting for this one for what feels like an eternity. Since his self-titled debut in 2012 Flume has gone from beat-digger's delight to global sensation who has influenced producers in all walks of sounds from hip-hop to D&B. Mercifully Skin delivers and exceeds expectations: from the gritty wonks of "Wall Fuck" and "16.3" to the airwave-ready songwriting of "Never Be Like You" and "Say It" by way of the introspective, fathomless electronic textures of tracks such as "When Everything Was New" and "Like Water", Harley has taken care to explore his widest influences and references points while treading the balance between retaining his signature but not repeating himself.
Review: Originally released digitally in 2013, Pink collated a series of 12" releases from Kieran Hebden issued over an 18 month period on his Text label. Hebden and record club and subscription service Vinyl Me, Please have teamed up to give Pink a double vinyl release for any Four Tet fans that weren't quick enough to nab those 12"s at the time. There is plenty of classic Four Tet to be had here too. "Jupiters" experiments with swung garage beats in an unmistakably UK Bass style, while "128 Harps" is a whipcrack MPC workout given his light melodic touch and "Peace On Earth" is a beatless 11 minutes of analogue kosmische. But it's the centrepiece of Hebden's Fabriclive mix, the brilliantly moody "Pyramid", and the loose limbed jazz-house of "Pinnacles" that really set this album apart from his other long-playing efforts, two examples of timeless dance music which demonstrate why after nearly 15 years in the game Hebden is only improving with age.
Review: Having previously worked with SBTRKT, Kanye West, Drake, Jesse Ware and Frank Ocean, amongst others, Sampha is no newcomer. This, though, is the British singer, songwriter and producer's debut album, and it's something of an understated gem. One particularly enthusiastic reviewer called it "an R&B album for the ages"; while that may be pushing it a bit, there's no denying that Process is an impressive collection of tracks. The beats are inventive, the electronics crisp, the samples carefully chosen, and the musical touches pitched just right. At the centre of it all stands Sampha, delivering thoughtful, heartfelt and sometimes poignant lyrics in his wonderfully evocative voice.
Review: Given the hype that surrounded the release of the first Moderat set back in 2009, we can surely expect more of the same for this second outing from Apparat and Modeselektor. Those familiar with the first album's woozy blend of IDM, Thom Yorke indebted vocal dreaminess, porchlight techno and post-dubstep rhythms will immediately feel right at home. Online reviews have focused largely on II's atmospheric warmth, and the way in which the Berlin-based trio seems to have refined their sound. Both are valid critiques; certainly, there's a maturity and musical complexity to the album that betters much of their previous works. It's not much of a dancefloor set, but that's entirely the point; this is locked-in headphone listening for the wide-eyed generation.
Waited All Night (feat Romy, Oliver Sim & The Xx) (2:34)
Baddy On The Floor (feat Honey Dijon) (3:35)
Dafodil (feat Kelsey Lu, John Glacier & Panda Bear) (3:31)
Still Summer (3:17)
Jamie XX & Robyn - "Life" (3:29)
The Feeling I Get From You (3:40)
Breather (6:15)
All You Children (feat The Avalanches) (4:12)
Every Single Weekend (interlude) (3:17)
Falling Together (feat Oona Doherty) (3:29)
Review: A full nine years on from the generation-defining smash success that was In Colour, comes In Waves, the upcoming second studio album by former indie band heartthrob come electronic-music matinee idol, Jamie xx. We don't imagine that the success of In Colour is easy to top, so we don't blame Jamie for waiting almost a full decade to follow it up. That said, the lead singles on this one do a pretty good job of marking the album's shift away from the summer-jammy and/or sentimental electronica ballad focus of In Colour; 'Baddie On The Floor' and 'Life' verge on French house and future house in turn, and suggest something of a shift in interest for xx towards the faster ends of things. Jamie xx's intended aim, in releasing label Young's words, was to recreate the thrilling volatility of an 'almost mystical' night out, "one where you return home in the cigarette ash dawn, the specifics of the last eight hours already blurring, but aware that these feelings will remain a crystalline memory." We eagerly await the ensuing, full-length story of heartbreak and introspection promised by the remaining tracks.
Review: Ehua treads into new territory with her debut full-length, Panta Rei, arriving via 3024 after an extended period of experimentation and self-reflection. Over 18 months, the London producer and DJ - originally from Italy - fused deep bass mutations with live percussion, acoustic textures, and, for the first time, her own voice. The result is a humanistic record, with glassy sonic abstractions, vocal reversions and rhythmic interruptions serving plenty space for intimacy and contrast. Ahead of a launch party scheduled in South London on April 24th, hosted by 3024 and Planet Wax, the likes of 'White', 'Bumju' and 'Albicocca' are propulsive, driving integrators of brain and body, perfect for imminent deployment in the divey New Cross establishment.
Dafodil (feat Kelsey Lu, John Glacier, Panda Bear) (3:31)
Still Summer (3:17)
Life (feat Robyn) (3:29)
The Feeling I Get From You (3:40)
Breather (6:15)
All You Children (feat The Avalanches) (4:12)
Every Single Weekend (interlude) (3:17)
Falling Together (feat Oona Doherty) (3:29)
FU (feat Erykah Badu) (3:39)
It's So Good (4:35)
Do Something (2:21)
Let's Do It Again (7:22)
Kill Dem (3:43)
Review: Jamie xx's long-awaited album, In Waves, marks the next chapter in the career of one of the most in-demand producers of his generation. With this release, Jamie replicates the emotional crescendos and thrilling volatility of a mystical night out, where memories blur but feelings remain crystal clear. In Waves is a melancholic paradise, weaving together bliss, heartbreak, and introspection. It tells the story of a journey merging into the divine pulse of shadows, light, and dance floor rhythmsia strobe light epiphany about humanity's illimitable possibilities and spiritual capacities. Nine years after his debut solo masterpiece, In Colour, Jamie xx has not only surpassed its heights but has also made all supernatural adjectives seem understated. This version of the new album is available on black & white vinyl triple album and black & white vinyl 12", offering a tangible experience to match its ethereal soundscape. In Waves is a profound, immersive journey that solidifies Jamie xx's status as a visionary producer.
Review: Peak Oil welcomes UK duo Wrecked Lightship for 'Antiposition', a debut EP on the label from the pair of Laurie Osborne (once known as Appleblim) and Adam Winchester aka Dot Product. The pair refine their sound and bring a range of innovative rhythms here with elements of dub, d&b, tribal sounds and deft sound design across hard-to-define cuts. 'Hex' is a cosmic broken techno trip, 'Bizarre Servants' is a slower and heavier dub and 'Sunken Skies' is prickly and kinetic as it flirts with live sounding drum & bass tropes and 'Diminished Ark' as well as with wispy sine waves, refracted melodies and barely there rhythms.
Review: It's been four long years since the last full-length from American electronica producer Henry "Shlohmo" Laufer, a particularly epic wait given his early productivity (he famously launched his career with three albums in two years). Dark Red is, happily, an impressive set, with 11 doses of IDM inspired goodness stretched across two slabs of heavyweight wax. There's naturally much to admire, from the evocative, lo-fi fuzziness of "Emerge From Smoke" and picturesque D33J hook-up "Apathy" (a kind of ambient jazz exploration with hints of horror), to the skittish, jungle-influenced madness of "Fading". Best of all, though, is closer "Beams", a full-throttle exercise in the power of breakcore percussion.
Shanzhai (For Shanzhai Biennial) (feat Helen Feng)
Szechuan
Wudang
Loading Beijing
Hainan Island
Shenzhen
Dragon Tattoo
Forbidden City
Shanghai Freeway
Jade Stairs
Review: Multidisciplinary artist Fatima Al Qadiri aligns with Hyperdub to release Asiatisch, a keenly anticipated debut album that's described as a "simulated road trip through an imagined China". First coming to prominence on the UNO label in 2011, Al Qadiri has subsequently provoked critical acclaim for the 2012 Desert Strike EP for Fade To Mind that played on her time spent living in Kuwait as a child, while her work under the Ayshay moniker for Tri Angle explored vocals in a unique manner. Asiatisch expands on the political themes of Desert Strike in a new and unexpected way, and acts as a homage to the style of grime known as "sinogrime". Asian motifs and melodies are prominent throughout whilst conceptually Al Qadiri runs through "the fantasies of east Asia as refracted through pulpy Western pop culture". If that wasn't enough to sell you on the concept, opening track "Shanzhai" is a "nonsensical Mandarin" language cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U".
Review: Jim Coles' decision back in 2010 to implement a swerve in his sonic trajectory away from his hip-hop past as 2tall in favour of a more all-encompassing approach that touches on various strands of bass culture as Om Unit has paid off and then some. Subsequent releases on Exit, Autonomic, Civil Music, Metalheadz and his own Cosmic Bridge imprint have all shown Om Unit eminently capable of tempo shifting productions that appeal to fans of Bass music, Drum & Bass and footwork alike. The latter has been explored further while the Dream Continuum collaboration with Machinedrum on Planet Mu and his Philip D. Kick alias where the link between Chicago's juke heritage and UK Jungle was explored. All this and more is included on Threads, a debut Om Unit LP for Civil Music that deftly collates various strands (or threads) of his production career over the past fifteen years for a cohesive 15 track set that veers through of hip hop, dubstep, jungle and even house.
Review: Making their debut on Warp, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice proudly cross their beams to rain down a sick and slick kind of future-crunk, aptly demonstrated in in the introductory nature of bass-rich teaser "Top Floor" with its juke leanings and menacing posture. There's a detuned nature to the recognisable bleeps and wails on offer here while the beats remain crunchy and steadfast. "Higher Ground" is more overt in its use of juke to create a twisted kind of hype, while "Bugg'n" drips and drops in a loping vat of sub bass and slow-mo strangeness, leaving you with one of the oddest takes on the contemporary mess of electronic beats.
Review: Live/Remix sees Portico Quartet bring their powerful live performance to the record format and open up their material to some excellent reworks. Drawing on the inspiration of electronica, ambient, classical and dance music, they take their strange, beautiful, cinematic, future music to exciting new vistas with the tracks on the live section drawn from a series of performances during 2012. Fans of the eminently talented London-based group will particularly love the second slab of remixes as they offer some real insight into the band's personality with Portico Quartet picking and curating the featured remixers, which include Luke Abbot, Scratcha DVA and SBTRKT.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, denting and creasing to the outer sleeve particuarly towards the corners, record in excellent condition
Purpurea
Woody Wood
High Line
So Good For Me
Realite Augmentee
Wind Up
Anyday
Erotica
When We Were Young
All Right
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, denting and creasing to the outer sleeve particuarly towards the corners, record in excellent condition***
Parisian sound conjurers Turnsteak step up with their debut album Digitale Pourpre. With a sterling reputation for smelting genres and smashing established ideas, their sound is one that resonates with all forms of broken beats, tech and bass music. As a result, the whole album switches and flickers between flavours; the rapid eastern take on new wave with "So Good For Me" the Hudmo-meets-AWE beat frenzy and synth splashes of "Woody Wood" and the sadboi moans and cries of "Wind Up" are just three examples of the duo's dexterity, creativity and, ultimately, musicianship. A very accomplished debut album.
Review: Besides a very limited edition version at the time, Flore's beguiling second album finally sees a full vinyl outing almost 18 months after its release. Forever weaving between the dots, French visionary Flore has always had a knack of mapping out whole musical universes ever since she emerged in the leftfield fringes of the breaks scene 20 years ago and Rituals is the best example of her widescreen vision so far. Eight tracks, eight explorations into the exciting hinterland between lofi, techno, beats and experimentalism, at points we're down in the gutter, slinking along to filthy distorted basslines ('Evidence'), the next we're spiralling away into the cosmos on a rocket fuelled by Weatherall ('You Were Here'), the next we're being slamdunked by rough, wonky techno ('Numen'), the next we're reloading and playing the whole darned thing again. And again. And again. Ritually.
Review: Munich based producer Bryan Mueller aka Skee Mask presents his latest album titled Pool, via local imprint Ilian Tape which follows up his LP Compro which came out three years ago. There's an extensive collection of sonic experiments on offer on this one, such as opening cut 'Nvivo' which goes down an IDM route, to the glassy eyed rave euphoria of 'LFO', the intelligent drum and bass reductions of 'Rio Dub' and UK influenced steppers like 'Crossection'.
Review: Polish beatmaker Teielte unleashes his fourth studio album and it's another beguiling trip. Just as heavy on the emotions as it is on the beats and bass, Melancholizm brings the sadbois to the dance with its immersive chord changes, stuttering drum work and compelling waves of atmosphere and yearning sense of urgency. From the real heavyweight grizzles of 'Paresis' to the more languid, floating mood of 'Drunk Novice' to the more sensual RnB tones and textures of 'Experiencing' and the wall rattling drama of 'Oneness', Teielte tells a unique tale that captures the turbulence of the current times. Bring it in.
Review: After the massive impact of Vex'd in the breakthrough years of dubstep, it was big news when Jamie Teasdale chose to swerve in his own direction and emerge as Kuedo. Released in 2011, Severant was a bold statement of intent which didn't wholly shirk what had come before, but placed emphasis on the kind of romantic synthesis you'd readily associate with Vangelis and saw trap and other influences sneaking into the mix. In hindsight, Severant is typical of the times we live in, drawing on a glut of influences and presenting its own idiosyncratic vision, but above all that the emotion and intent of Teasdale's ideas make it an enduring, captivating listen.
Review: Following last year's Cheetah Bend album, Detroit maverick Jimmy Edgar returns with another beguiling conceptual LP. This time we find the prolific experimenter taking influence from liquid matter and the physicality of digital art as he explores the fertile hinterland between hip-hop, techno and contemporary funk. From neo-R&B swoonery to uncompromised club-tearing grit via industrial strength beat abstraction - featuring collabs with the likes of Trinidad James, 10kCaash, Milk and ZelooperZ - this is one of Jimmy's most far out and explorative bodies of work so far. Stay hydrated.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve, also slight surface mark on the record, but otherwise in excellent condition
Descifrar (3:25)
MORPH (4:56)
No Time (feat Tama Gucci) (3:18)
Distension (3:21)
Ceniza (feat Valenciagas Falsas) (3:40)
Gare Du Nord (2:51)
Trying (feat Tama Gucci) (4:42)
Bite Me (5:57)
Crush (2:34)
Verde, Vert, Verde! (2:45)
Dividuacion (feat Estoc) (3:33)
Impasse (feat Wasted Fates) (2:36)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve, also slight surface mark on the record, but otherwise in excellent condition***
Following his debut album Discretizacion in 2018, Mexican fusionist Imaabs delivers his sophomore LP Descifrar. An exploration of postmodern, hyper-digital emotions and fragmented encounters in the modern human experience, the album sees him darting off in multiple directions simultaneously. One moment we're rolling our sleeves up to pounding techno ('Distension'), the next we're swooning dulcet pop bliss ('No Time'), the next we're pushed head first into a bath full of cosmic bubbles and breaks ('Gare Du Nord')... These are just three of the extremities mapped out by Imaabs parameters. A perfect soundtrack for time that concentration spans forgot.
Review: Cry Sugar is the all-new album from long-time Warp mainstay Hudson Mohawke. It is yet another powerful statement that looks to mix the profane with the spiritual across some thrilling club tunes. The record is said to be inspired by "90s John Williams, film scores and spectacular soundtracks" and runs a gamut of emotions with plenty of dance floor euphoria served up in an array of innovative rhythms. HudMo himself says it is "a demented OST to score the twilight of our cultural meltdown." We say - we love it.
Review: For its second release, Climate of Fear proudly presents "So Nice," the debut LP from Soft Boi aka Pessimist aka Kristian Jabs. Following 2019's sludge-crawl collab with Karim Maas and the eco-hellscape new age of Boreal Massif's "We All Have An Impact," Jabs turns his attention to a new nightmare: dating.
Review: Loraine James is the latest going talent to make a bold statement on Hyperdub. Her new album reflects the sounds of the London she grew up in while also exploring issues around identity and queerness. Grime, UK drill, electronica and jazz all colour the album and can be as abrasive and confrontational as it can sweet and soothing. Our picks are "London Ting/Dark As Fuck": a caustic brew of distorted drums and frazzled synths with angst ridden vocals and "For You & I" which is a soothing beauty despite its hyperdriven loops. A personal and expressive album that also acts as a fine snapshot of London as it sounds right now.
Review: Given the hype that surrounded the release of the first Moderat set back in 2009, we can surely expect more of the same for this second outing from Apparat and Modeselektor. Those familiar with the first album's woozy blend of IDM, Thom Yorke indebted vocal dreaminess, porchlight techno and post-dubstep rhythms will immediately feel right at home. Online reviews have focused largely on II's atmospheric warmth, and the way in which the Berlin-based trio seems to have refined their sound. Both are valid critiques; certainly, there's a maturity and musical complexity to the album that betters much of their previous works. It's not much of a dancefloor set, but that's entirely the point; this is locked-in headphone listening for the wide-eyed generation.
Review: Planet Mu usher in the return of Ital Tek and a new sonic approach for the long-term label associate, as Hollowed finds Alan Myson switching up his approach. The chance to immerse himself in a new studio set up was the impetus for Myson to engage in laying down countless hours' worth of loops, drones and textures. It is apparently a method he used as a teenager, but armed with years of recording experience he was now able to make the record he had then envisaged. Fans of the crisp style of dubstep Ital Tek made his name on might be a bit taken aback by this new direction, but there is plenty of fine music to explore here for those that like their sounds abstract and impressionistic.
Review: Glasgow grime producer Konchis engages his Jetsam alter ego for a wavier sonic serenade than we're used to from him. Tapping into his dreamier, more emotional side for an album length narrative, the Scottish scientist switches from tripped out swooning harmonies wrapped casually over Dilla-ish beats ("End Of Stars") to woozy cries over fuzzy synth riffs ("Cathedrals") to soul-jarring deep sea strangeness ("Mermaids"). Otherworldly, cosmic and mischievously off-kilter, Konchis has found the perfect muse in his alter ego right here. One of a kind.
Review: Hyperdub continues to stamp its authority down on a wide variety of electronic music, in this case throwing the light, bouncing club-ready sounds of Canada's Jessy Lanza into the mix of a back catalogue that touches on everything from ambient to dubstep and footwork. But, while we open on the snare-happy garage-house of 'Don't Leave Me Now', and tracks like 'Drive' also look to the dancefloor, things don't stay there long. 'Don't Cry On My Pillow', for example, is a low stepping piece of alternative electronic soul. 'Big Pink Rose' opts for synth refrains and staccato drums to create a steamy, heady neon r&b brew with added yacht. 'Double Time' deconstructs pop balladry and makes it sound lo-fi yet huge, 'I Hate Myself' seems to take a lead from tropicalia-hued, leftfield electronica.
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