Sampling As An Art Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The seventh release for Parisian label Sampling As An Art comes courtesy of Atlanta's Byron The Aquarius with the Euphoria EP. If you checked Byron's prior 2016 releases for Sound Signature and Wild Oats, you'll know to expect a diverse range of styles all produced with consummate expertise and that's exactly what we have on the Euphoria EP. There's some dusty hip hop joints like on "Intro", Coming To Detroit" and "The Essence" but there's also some real proper deep house. Like when we get treated with the wonderful "The Love Below" which is reminiscent of Fresh 'N Low and the rather KDJ sounding collaboration with S3A "Nights In Tokyo".

Review: Cuthead's most recent release, 2014 album Total Sellout, portrayed him as a producer equally at home making swinging, off-kilter experimental hip-hop instrumentals as sample-heavy, soul-flecked deep house. It's these contrasting but complimentary styles that are once again explored on Presets Of Your Mind, a thrillingly warm and woozy mini-album for French imprint Sampling As An Art. While there's much to admire about the gentle dancefloor deepness of "From The Basket To The Casket" and "Bring Back The Snares", the standout house tracks here are undoubtedly "Presets of Your Mind" (built around a killer disco rhythm) and the shimmering electronics of "Dubchords". Best of all, though, are the head-nodding interludes, with the Fly-Lo style "Badly" standing out.

Review: Founded in 2014 by the fantastic French-producer S3A, this release follows releases by Byron The Aquarius, Neue Grafik, Cuthead and Henry L with an absolutely killer start to 2017. Vienna's Sam IRL is abck with more sultry deep house sounds on the Melting Memories EP. The Sampling As An Art imprint continues its ascension as one of the finest new labels in highly intelligent dancefloor sounds. The title track is testament to this, "Forward (Interlude)" goes for some dusty hip
-hop dopeness and "Suave" merges sensibilites of both previous tracks wonderfully much like the Money $ex crew out of Berlin can. Final track "Calm" sounds vaguely familiar too: think Raw Cuts era Motor City Drum Ensemble.. and that's a compliment!

Review: Last April may seem like an aeon ago but Llorca's album The Garden has barely left our turntable... until now, as a selection of dope remixes have landed. The forever-delicious disco cut "Waiting" enjoys three twists: Cuthead rips up the dance with Robsoul-style chugger, Souleance dust of the cowbell and add a little more cosmic sparkle while Rim Laurens adds a whole new dramatic dynamic in a way that's not dissimilar to "La Ritornelle" or "Clubbed To Death". Finally S3A takes the come-to-bed poignancy of "All Right" and gives it a little 4/4 pep and loopy insistency. Blooming lovely.

Review: Can you believe that this is S3A's sixth record this year! And with beats like this we'd happily welcome another dozen. "Looping Strings" obviously needs no explanation whereas "The First Year" could easily be re-titled: "Looping Horns". "Seekin' Sunshine" introduces a Stevie Wonder funk to the EP and the French producer winds up a great vamp over the course of the track. S3A's final cut, The 4th" (variation 2)", is a bit of filtered disco house that lovers of early Francis Inferno Orchestra, Mic Newman and The Tortoise will scramble to get their hands on first.

Review: S3A and Poon welcome Italian vibe maestro Tommy Garofalo to SAAAR for an lavish six-piece soiree. Dusted with more of his dreamy jazzy signature he's been developing on labels such as Local Talk and G.A.M.M. Flexing from the squidgy mild acid disco funk of "Atmos" to the lolloping double bass jacks and warped strings and pianos of "TSOS" by way of the woozy aquatic synths and sensual soul whirls of "OrangePeelSkin" and far-out deep dream desert jazz ("The Deepest"), this is Turbojazz's most accomplished and generous EP to date. Live on.