Help Denmark Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Natal Zaks is Central and he is on a mission. He has got two albums dropping in summer 2002 and this is the second from the Danish powerhouse. He has perfected a refined, dynamic depth house sound and seems able to tweak the template endlessly here. Each cut has rooted drums and warm atmospheres with different melodic motifs and wispy synth designs tasing each one into a range for different moods. Things started dub and heads down then pick up with the brighter surfaces of 'Motta'. After ambient moments come 5am afters tunes like the zoned out 'Kkmo.' A fantastic effort, then.

Review: Denmark's DJ Central has been behind some of the most interesting - and fun - house music of the last few years. His melodic, energetic take on the genre harks back to the Scandi-house heyday and now he's back with a third EP of the year already, this time on regular home Help. After opening with the lithe but dubbed out "Que", "Da Bu" moves things along with its punchy rubbery kicks and busy, rump-wiggling synth bass and "Ma La" exudes pure human warmth with jazzy chords and closer "Klum" gets more freaky, with a minimal rhythm and molten chords taking you to the afters.

Review: They say that a picture paints a thousand words. Well that is certainly true of this Picture whose music is hugely evocative and emotive deepest being stripped down to its bare essentials. 'Banana' kicks things off with a murky dub sound that sways back and forth with hefty drum rumbles and liquid metal pads. 'Bring' is then a painterly synth-laced ambient piece that suspends you in a murky and misty sky while 'Sea' offers the most direct vibe of the lot. It's flabby but dynamic dub techno that leans into the groove and will have you doing the same.