Review: All that jelly and no toast - like when you find a bomb tune that's unavailable on 12". The new sublabel of Smile for a While is exactly about this. Clubby House Music by well-established producers as well as from lesser-known guys. French guy Alex Agore opens the EP with the Lowtone remix of "What Did I Do" - cut-up Garage House to the maxx. Max Chapman from London delivers another belter; a bassline-driven organ House tune with a minimalistic but very effective set-up. Oleg Poliakov - aka SKAT and one of the guys behind Circus Company - comes up with a sublime but powerful Tech House tune, in the original sense of the genre name. "Jazzve" is a tune by Russian producer Mutenoise. It's maybe the most original, innovative tune on this EP. Full of surprises and cutting-edge elements - hard to compare to anything else around these days.
Review: Okain is back on Talman Records with a four-track EP that draws on his two-decade journey as a producer. As always he has his sights set firmly on the dancefloor here with full force opener 'Wake Up,' a homage to early 2000s tech house. It has crisp percussion, sharp stabs, and haunting vocals as well as a nice lithe grove, then 'Take Me Up' taps into UK garage with its thick bassline and distinct hooks. Flipping to the darker side, 'Secret Science' is more dub-inspired with heavy low ends and warm sub-bass, perfect for late-night atmospheres. Last of all is 'Swing Theory,' a slick cut with minimal house elements and dubby, infectious rhythms.
Norm Talley/Moodymann - "Jus Hangin" (feat Charlotte OC - mashed up by D'Julz) (7:21)
Review: There is a heavyweight selection of names on this first release from Norm Talley's promising new label Upstairs Asylum. Firstly, the man himself is a Motor City heavyweight who links with fellow luminary Omar S on the opener 'Muggy Detroit Heat.' It's an intense and steamy house track that bristles with raw melody. On the flip, French house icon D'Julz reworks a tune by Norm in cahoots with the one and only Moodymann. This one is all cuddly chords, romanic vocal chops and warm, rough edged house beats for those cosy basements.
Review: Ophan, formatively a festival hosting talents the likes of Onur Ozer, Hicham, and P.O in Cyprus, now branches out into deeper and increasingly original sonic territory with the launch of its own label. They kick off with a four-track EP from Turin's Otis, who joins a new throng of V/A releasers alongside Innershades, Derek Carr, Munir Nadir, Lvca, and Dawl. Synthology, the debut release under Ophan's label (Oph001), recaptures Otis' ability to finely balance peak times and rolling intervals, with 'Techno Rock'n'roll' in particular marking an especially perfuse detour through high school hair metal synths set against cosmic riser stabs. The release also introduces Lithos, a new subseries.
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