Slow Life Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Like many of Saverio Celestri's releases, this return to regular home Slow Life is a collaborative affair, with production duties shared by debutant Late Consequence (in reality an experienced Italian producer operating under a new alias). The duo kicks things off with the spacey bounce of "Consequence", where computer beeps and bleeps rise above heavy analogue bass, locked-in techno drums and flotation tank chords, before offering a subtle nod towards early UK bleep techno on sub-bass heavy workout "The Wheel". Turn to the flip for some deeper, purist tech-house vibes (the deep house influenced warmth of "This Is The Universe") and the sparkling, head-in-the-clouds tech-funk of "Celestial".

Review: DJ and producer Tom Burford, aka. Contours, makes his debut for Slow Life in what is now his tenth EP to date, this time racking up a further 5 cinematic, live-tinged house tracks for all to take in. The Rhythm Section signee here strips back his normally overt emotive sound for a more dubious backroad, with lead 'Distant Memories' and 'Echoes Under Pass' traversing dubbier and more subdued territories than usual for the producer. Elsewhere, 'Kysuhu' and 'Projections' ease up the mystery for harder-hitting forays into electro slappage.

Review: Second-guessing Eversines (real name Remco Hazewinkel) has always been tricky, with the Dutch producer's releases frequently blurring the boundaries between club-focused techno, electro, IDM, ambient and more experimental flavours. For his Slow Life debut, the Amsterdam-based artist has decided to focus on peak-time floors, opening proceedings with the hybrid Detroit techno/acid/piano-house shimmer of 'First Rays' - a gorgeous, sunrise-read slab of emotive dancefloor brilliance. The rest of the EP is similarly positive, with highlights including the subtle LFO influences, psychedelic TB-303 motifs and bustling techno-electro beats of 'Simple Honesty', and the alien-sounding, sub-heavy, bleep-influenced techno shuffle of 'Youth'. An impressively strong EP all told.

Review: The always heady Slow Life is back with more of that otherworldly minimal house music, this time from groove futurist Alex Neri. He toys with silky, serene loops and slithers of synth on opener "Redeem" that don't so much race forwards as tread water in beautifully delicate fashion. "Riding Light" is more of a classic house bumper, with knocking drums and bright finger clicks run through with some mind melting bleeps. "Peaceful Warriors" is somewhere in between, with puddles of synth disappearing down below into an oceanic abyss, but also direct, driving house drums that keep you nice and upright. "Cosmic Rain" closes in playful fashion, with dancing drums and perc so nimble and light-footed you'll be hopping like a cat on a hot tin roof. Pure vibes.

Review: Neatly summarising Alex Neri's career in a sentence is almost impossible but suffice to say that he's released a ridiculous amount of music, using a multitide of aliases, since the early 1990s. Here the veteran Italian returns to Slow Life for the first time in three years with a belated sequel to the much admired 'Peaceful Warriors' EP. Blurring the boundaries between deep house and tech-house throughout, Neri variously offers up hypnotic, organ-rich warmth (the subtly Italo-house influenced chunkiness of 'Gordo'), TB-303-laden, Korg M-1-sporting peak-time release (the squelchy, energy-packed 'It's All About Love'), picturesque house psychedelia ('Lit', where echoing bird noises, tactile melodies and squiggly acid lines ride a bouncy beat), and rushing Italian dream-house revivalism (the excellent 'Paradise Mix' of 'Lit').

Review: Mahy Cruz and Nichel Cruz return to the formidable SLOW LIFE imprint, under their Primary Perception moniker, and you know that means no snoozing and some quick-firing BUY buttons! These two are the heart and soul of the label, as of 2017, with their debut LP having taken the imprint from effective minimal tech to pumping, audiophile techno. This new EP, Retrofitted Future Vol.1, is exactly what the minimal scene has been lacking until now - well-constructed grooves, punchy harmonies and an analogue production which makes the rest of the game sound amateur. We can't pick a favourite, these are all solid tunes for the dancefloor, from the deeper sounds of "Mind Reverse" to the funkier edges of "Hall9000" and beyond! Be quick though, these won't hang about!

Review: Berlin-based brothers Mahy and Nichel Cruz made something of a splash with their 2016 debut 12" on Second Step Records Limited, the fluid, tech-tinged Research Centre. Evidence of a Primary Perception is their debut album, and offers an expanded insight into their unique musical worldview. While there are occasional trips into woozy ambient territory and the domain of vintage intelligent techno, the vast majority of tracks fix loose, live-sounding, jazz-tinged breakbeats to the kind of starry, intergalactic synths that have always been a huge feature of Motor City techno. The package also contains two tasty remixes: a bumpin' rework of "12Bit Spacecraft" by S. Moreira, and a wonderfully cosmic, Global Communications style interpretation of "Cosmic Waves" by Etheral Logic.

Review: Berlin-based brothers Mahy and Nichel Cruz made something of a splash with thei 2016 debut 12" on Second Step Records Limited, the fluid, tech-tinged Research Centre. Evidence of a Primary Perception is their debut album, and offers an expanded insight into their unique musical worldview. While there are occasional trips into woozy ambient territory and the domain of vintage intelligent techno, the vast majority of tracks fix loose, live-sounding, jazz-tinged breakbeats to the kind of starry, intergalactic synths that have always been a huge feature of Motor City techno. The package also contains two tasty remixes: a bumpin' rework of "12Bit Spacecraft" by S. Moreira, and a wonderfully cosmic, Global Communications style interpretation of "Cosmic Waves" by Etheral Logic.