Inner Balance US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: When not manning their own imprint BCR, French duo Arcarsenal (Alan Mathias and Etienne Dauta) are serving up bombs on Finest Hour, Rue De Plaisance and Finale Sessions. They appear here for Chez Damier's Inner Balance with the Alter Realities EP which serves up four sublime cuts of dark, dub inflected tech house that will appeal to fans other proponents such as Samuel Andre Madsen or iO Mulen. A side track "Hurricane" gets all Arctic on you with its mesmerising 'deepchords' and rolling bass while on the flip "The Vessel" is the most serious offering on here: it's Aril Brikha style synth leads leading to some truly hypnotic bliss.

Review: Proper deep house heads, this one is for you. Jorge Caiado and Paul Cut combine to soul soothing effect across four tracks for Inner Balance, a sister label of Chez Damier's seminal and similarly minded Balance label. 'The Escape' opens with coy chords that scurry across the cuddly deep groove. On 'Mist' the pads are more painterly as they sweep out over more perfectly lazy yet inviting drums and 'Oxigenio' has a far-sighted gaze to it that will get you lost in a reverie in no time. 'Badu Badu' closes with more subtle funky chord work and the sort of rich musicality that really resonates.

Review: After a series of cuts on the likes of Recordeep and Sentaku French duo Dixia Sirong return to Inner Balance with more warm workouts. "Yohji" is a deep emotive affair, restrained yet heavy with its enveloping pads, "Qatarsea" shakes with a palpitating kick / bass arrangement before gradually building up layer by percussive layer, synth by rippling synth while "Suspicions" closes the show on a swampy, heads-down darker trippy technoid feel. Complete with an upbeat and chunked-out DJ Honesty remix, it's yet another precision balance of the elements.

Review: Chicago native Ed Nine brings plenty of his hometown's unique vibes to this fresh platter for Inner balance. He taps into rose tinted house feels on 'Nostalgia' which is a beautifully simple but effective deep cut with punchy drums and ever evolving synth work that lifts the spirits. 'Not On The Radio' is a more hard edge track with fizzing synth rushes and hints of hi-tek soul and then 'Time Will Tell' is another good-time soundtrack with its nimble chords dancing about the mix next to sustained pads. The sugary mix of rich synths and buoyant drum programming features once final time on the cosmically minded closer 'There's Always A Chance.'

Review: Chicago legend Chez Damier has continued to gain momentum through his Balance Records imprint over recent years, but his Inner Balance offshoot has been used primarily to release music by new, younger talent of which he approves of. If you do make it on that list, you should be very proud of yourself. This is the label's fourth outing so far, and the unknown Keumel steps into the limelight four choice cuts, all coated in a warm, US house kind of glow. The opener "Laika" is a bubbling house groover with an acid-driven bassline running through its nervous system, remixed and stretched further out into hyperspace by Imprints co-boss Domenico Rosa. "No Chill" kicks off the flip with a quirky, upbeat groove that manages to slice and dice its percussion through a deep layer of electronic goodness, while "Space Birds" goes for the classic deep house approach to tie this neat little EP off in the finest of styles.