Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, record slightly warped***
ViGis opening salvo for 2025 brings together four artists from four continents who all blend their own diverse cultural roots and influences into a superb collection of cuts for the club. This is a 12" that offers a refreshing take on familiar sounds and delivers subtle yet punchy variations in style and rhythm. Adema keeps it nice and clean and slick on the deep, bubbly tech of 'Jm Glavio' while Red Pig Flower's 'Stardust' is a zoned-out roller. Artur Nikolaev's 'New Edition' is a deft minimal soundscape with warped lines and bubbles dub undercurrents. Cladu shuts down with 'No Name' which is a more propulsive cut.
Review: Fledging but already fine young label U.Dig out of Croatia is back with more final gold, this time from a master of the form in Alexis Cabrera. He kicks off with the mini-epic that is '1997.5', a real head-melting and elastic acid tune that is perfectly deep and rolling for the freaky afters. 'Straight Up' is more punchy and taught, with low-slung drums and crisp hits powering it forward. Last of all things get brilliantly unhinged on 'Microrama,' a kinetic and densely packed cut with flappy snares blaring synths, withering melodies and a true sci-fi feel.
Review: Call Super delivers a superb telecommunication in the form of 'Swallow Me'. We're not sure why Call Super wants us to ingest him, but we're not going to question it too much. The new track samples Kamala Sankaram's performance at the final Resonant Bodies festival in New York in 2019. "In Ancient Greek, ololyga is the ritual shriek of women, a sound so alarming to men that it could not be uttered within their earshot" - goes the liner text. Sonically, Mr. Super blends the ololyga with Hebden-esque shuffles and glossy dance schlop, building a deeply resonant tune sure to kill egos the world over.
Review: There's a fair chance you'll already have heard "Cola", experienced production duo Camelphat's collaboration with vocalist Elderbrook. The original version, with its rumbling bass, atmospheric builds, subtle bassline house influence and "she sips the Coca-Cola" refrain, has become something of an anthem since first appearing on digital download earlier in the year. For this first vinyl release, Defected has packaged the now-familiar original mix with a trio of reworks. The most impressive of these comes from German veteran Mousse T. He brilliantly re-casts the track as a bumpin' chunk of celebratory disco-house complete with thrilling piano riffs and an elastic bassline.
Review: Since debuting in 2016 Gaetano Caruan has only put out a handful of releases. While these EPs showed promise, there was always a feeling that the producer may be capable of hitting higher heights musically. Diaframma, Caruan's first outing on the mighty Perlon label, delivers on that early promise, offering up rhythmically interesting, off-kilter workouts that blend minimal techno chops with oddball electronics and plenty of smoky jazz influences. For proof, check 'Steps to Klapa', where wonky but weighty bass, fuzzy electronic stabs and chanted vocal snippets ride a killer rhythm, and the smooth, intergalactic micro-house hustle of 'Spalladium'. Elsewhere, 'Horns' is a sumptuous chunk of heady, morning-fresh electronic jazz and 'We Got The Swing' is an oddball, bass-heavy club workout full of hazy samples, bossa-influenced beats and creepy keys.
Review: Caserta is legendary digger Kon's long time engineer, and he sure does have a wealth of tricks up his own sleeve. Here he gets to tackle his own super 7" on the Bridge Boots label and first off he serve sup a lovely take on a Stevie Wonder tune. 'Stevie?' (Caserta Sunday Saint mix) has mid-tempo grooves rolling away nicely beneath exquisite synth work and a well-treated vocal from the man himself. JoDaCe steps up on the flip for a Saturday Sinner mix that is more driving and ready for the club. The bass is rugged, the vocals more looped and freaky, the effect just as brilliant but in different ways.
Review: Armed with analogue and modular synthesisers, Southern Italian producers Marco Cassanelli and Deckard take you on an emotive journey inspired by geometry and symmetry for T.A. Rock Records - a small indie label out of sunny Trani, Puglia established 2010. The Splitted EP starts out with the desolate dub techno textures of 'Abandoned Town' while the spaced-out cut 'Triangle' and the hypnotising 'Rectangle' (part 1) make for more experimentally minded tracks.
Review: Three distinctly outer space-themed cuts from Greece's Alex Celler, each with a linear minimal/tech skeleton that has other, interloping musical influences draped elegantly and classily across it. 'Ancient Astronuats' has the weird, wired mystical stirrings of early Black Dog about it, complete with melting, bendy electro notations that coax it along and add a psychedelic dimension. 'Stargate To Cosmos' has a playful, Drexciyan feel to it, with crunchy, organic drum beats flirting alongside the more rigid electrics. 'Object In The Sky' is the most minimal of the pack, sleek and stalker-like, but still contains enough action - mainly floating around up there in the ether - to hold and build attention.
Review: Cesare vs Disorder has long been at the very heart of the minimal scene. His abstract sounds and lush synthesis never fails to seduce us no matter the mood or groove he takes. This EP for the small but well formed Rockets label opens with some peak tripped-out sound design, where dancing chords, detuned keys and wonky pins are layered up over a loopy and skeletal rhythm on 'Amoreteca.' 'Sao Paulo Concrete Jungle' is dubber house all aswarm with pads, hits, percussive clatter, 'Holy Bee' gets unsettling in its eerie melodies and 'Time For Your Eyes' is a lovely deep house gem with a jostling beat and lounge chords.
Review: Some would deny that sound could be at all malevolent, or carry an innately evil intent. Greek techno producer Cirkel Square may think differently; his latest red-label EP for Ukrainian imprint Jerelo makes the argument quite clear that since sound does not exist without an ear to receive it, and a subject to perceive it, all sound is thus subjective. Its emotional contents are as contingent on the presence of a human mind as is the capacity to hear the sound itself: if we hear a sound, we cannot avoid ascribing it an intention. Cirkel Square, meanwhile, refrains from bad philosophy of this kind and draws on Ancient Greek mythology to inform his tutelary four track EP, each of which is named after the Greek gods of time, hell, war and hell again. The Greeks believed in four "sinister harmonies", and Cirkel Square has finely tuned each track to conform to each of said grave frequencies, to harrowingly electric effect. It's not all doom and gloom, though: make it to the end for the calmest balm in sound there is here, 'Persefone's Whisper'.
Review: Impressive and hyper-effective 12" with 2 tracks from Citizen Kain introducing his next album in Regular for October 2006 + a super-hit remix by one of the producers of the moment Oliver Koletzki (Cocoon/Sir Von Talent). Big with Mandy, Oliver Koletzki, Jaumëtic, Agoria, Iñaqui Marin & more.
Review: Class Compliance's brand of deep house is one embellished with plenty of details and synthetic sounds that sit nicely with the more cuddly depths of the drums. On this new 'Plug & Play' EP for Space Repetitions that is the case once more. The opening title cut is one that rides on smooth drums but has metal textures and sine synths detailing the grooves. 'Dreams' is more zoned out - the pads are soft focus and the drums are super soft around the edges, then 'Mosquito' has a more distorted and lo-fi edge with crunchy percussion and busted kicks.
Review: While Club Warke Deken is a duo (Dutch producers Joppe Harink and Marco van der Muelen to be precise), they frequently open up their Amsterdam studio for spontaneous jams with friends and contemporaries. That's what's an offer here: a quintet of eye-catching collaborations. Nikolai lends a hand on two tracks: the watery and off-kilter vocal tech-house drowsiness of 'Smokey and the Fundance Kid' and the sample-rich minimal house weirdness of 'Grappa'. San Proper contributes to the driving lo-fi house spaciness of 'Mixdemos' and the head-nodding hip-hop (with tech-house tweaks) of 'Droidt', while Testa Rosa hook-up 'Mind The Gap' is a driving, energy-packed tech-house roller.
Review: New US label Soft Spoken Secret does a fine job of asserting itself from the off with this tasteful drop from Adam Collins. His 'Coming Together' is a busy minimal tech sound with plenty of things to keep your attention beyond the bubbly groove. Deft pads and airy hi-hats, rising bass sequences and hints of acid make it a real gem. Then comes a 100hz DC10 remix with wonky low ends and more stripped back designs for late night sessions. Finally, the 100hz Concorde remix brings more widescreen synths and patient tension building.
Review: Burnski's high-quality Constant Black is back with more essential club-ready sounds. Donnie Cosmo and Pascal Benjamin step up for one side of action each. Cosmo's 'Holo Glitch' is first and pairs balmy synth work that is colourful and silky with some punchy tech drums and rolling bass that pulls you in deep. 'Echo Drift' is another lithe and lively one to get you on your toes while the groove flows and 'Airplane Mode' is another stylish mix of lush synth design and great rhythm. Benjamin's trio on the flip is a little more gritty with industrial-space-tech many the most fitting way to describe these curious cosmic cuts.
Review: Costin RP may be well entrenched in the Romanian scene, but his sound isn't particularly beholden to the assumed Rominimal sound. On his latest missive for Pleasure Zone he demonstrates this perfectly with the limber synth flex of 'Take Eat', the kind of stand out slice of after hours brain fodder which absolutely deserves its own side of vinyl to stretch out on. The flip side cut is pointedly titled 'Last Moments Of Sunset' and while the balmy, woozy sound may well sink into the horizon comfortably you could just as easily picture it working a warm-up slot in a club or lighting the way through a murky after hours set.
Review: Rhythm N Vibe label head Marc Cotterell strides into 2025 with a killer new three-track EP featuring plenty of his signature garage and house crossover jams. 'Annihilate The Rhythm' gets things underway with some rave-ready sirens and tightly programmed beats and bubbly bass. UK talent JACKARD steps up to remix and does so with razor-sharp hi-hats and low-slung kicks that bring the sleaze. 'Floor Dance' then brings the funk with some playful chord sequences and swirling pads and fFeed Your Soul' shuts down with aching vocal hooks and old school piano energy over some fresh US house drums.
Review: Proud internet motormouth and Pittsburgh mainstay Thomas Cox finally returns with a second release on his QED Recordings label. The tracks were made in February and were road-tested over DEMF weekend. Each one, he says, was made on hardware in one take, so they have a naturally rugged edge and dynamic feel that makes them all the more real. 'Desire Paths' again betrays his love of Omar-S with its layers of grimy drums and perc and distant cosmic chords, while 'Thunderhead' has a busted drum funk feel akin to Theo Parrish's famously fucked up work. Another worthy outing from Cox, then,
Review: Notorious internet motormouth Thomas Cox dropped the first EP on his own new QED label back in 2020, but only now is the vinyl arriving with us. It was worth the wait, however, because as much as it would be fun to find the sort of faults in his music that he does in everyone else's, these are three raw as you like tracks that go direct to the soul. Detroit influences of course loom large throughout, with each cut layering up dirt and grime, dusty drums and rusty synths to hypnotic effect. The standout might be the unresolved loops and cosmic-gaze of 'Starry Ave,' but any of these will make an impact on the right dance floor.
Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Drop Music marks a marvellous quarter of a century of releases with this new slab of vinyl featuring some gems from disco funksters Crazy P and the house mainstays Inland Knights. Crazy P go first with 'Disc Odyssey' which is perfectly indicative of their much beloved sound with its low slung kicks and funky bassline. Inland Knights then offer a trio of in demand & unreleased tracks. 'Overnight' is a bumming deep house joint, 'Walk On' has an icy late night vibe and balmy pads and 'Do It Again is a more playful closer, with some killer b-line action. All four, needless to say, are timeless gems, and the fact the last two are appearing on vinyl first the first time makes it an even more desirable cop.
Alex Font - "El Velorio De Pedrito Navajas" (10:06)
Crihan - "Dark Times" (6:24)
Paul K - "Electro Fantomas" (6:48)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***
It has been seven long years since Acme Music introduced the first part of this series but now Mis Hermanos Rumanos is back with a third instalment. The three-track various artists' affair kicks off with Alex Font and his lean minimal tech house groove 'El Velorio De Pedrito Navajas" complete with wavy bass, twanging strings and an exotic vibe. Crihan's 'Dark Times' is dubby and unhurried, and again heads into steamy jungle worlds with watery droplets and organic percussion. Paul K's 'Electro Fantomas' is a final tripped-out closer with snappy snares and wavy drums.
Review: Mole Music branches out for the first time to vinyl here and shows it has a great wealth of talent to call on with a various artists' EP that is presumably the start of a new series. Holy Guacamole Vol 1 kicks off with JHNS keeping it deep and lively with 'Nevermind' while Steve End and Colau hook up for 'Back Spin' and lay down some magnificent drum loops that are silky and infectious. El Funkador's 'Shame' brings some 90s New York vibes with lovely snare sounds and warm bursts of chords. On the flipside, Alben & Laje & Errat, Hot DLVRY and Craftsmanship all cook up more fresh fusions of old and new school house.
Review: Many years after the first instalment we are now treated to a second volume of the Culross Close project from K15, a one time Wild Oats graduate, artist, DJ, producer and deep thinker who mixes up house, hip hop and jazz. He assumes his usual alias for the opener 'Pulse' which dances on dusty drums with nagging melodies in the middle and plenty of swing. On the flip he becomes Culross Close for 'Dawn' which his less club ready and more expressive, with heart melting pianos and a real jumble of drums and perc that is brilliantly loose.
Cesar Merveille aka CSR - "So Bring It Here" (7:41)
Matheiu, Max Jacobson - "Five In One (Aint No Mountain)" (6:54)
Wareika - "VX" (8:38)
Review: Aterral Limited has taken things slowly to start with but that's fine because the quality of the label's first few releases has remained high. Carlo is behind this one and opens up the EP with 'Hungover', a tune that features Black Loops, who has previously released his own EP on the label. It's lithe, funky deep house with silky synth work and classic drums. 'Lelazo' (feat Emanuele Barilli) carries on down the same path but this time has a darker bassline and more garage tinged skip in the grooves. On the flip side things slow down to a sunset sound on 'Maison' (feat Hauke Freer) and 'Poops' Feat O is a tight, well swung bumper with jazzy keys. Robust and emotive house music from front to back, then.
3lias, Erick Navas, Clock Poets, Nagual - "Good Not So Bad" (10:06)
Triptease & Greg Paulus - "Dreg Gong" (7:25)
Fabrizio Siano - "Indahood" (5:49)
Review: Bulgarian crew We Or Us have assembled a fine various artists release here for their next 12". 'L'interpretazione Dei Sogni' features an opening cut from The Mole in the form of the loose -limbed 'Groovy Foodbag. 3lias, Erick Navas, Clock Poets & Nagual all combine for the brilliant 'Good Not So Bad' which is gritty minimal tech house, and Triptease & Greg Paulus offer the more organic depths of 'Dreg Gong' which is all busted bass and muffled vocal swirls. Fabrizio Siano's 'Indahoo' shuts down with some wonky rhythms invention, spooky spoken words and DIY percussive details.
Review: Keinemusik co-founder Gregor Suetterlin aka Rampa returns this week with his latest effort titled 'Les Gout'. The Berliner collaborates with Choula for a sun-kissed and life affirming Afro house indebted cut that reaches near spiritual moments. The DBN Gogo & Felo Le Tee remix on the flip is a more downbeat affair with more space in the mix, altogether making for a truly meditative experience.
Review: One Eye Witness rounds up another four acts for their periodic V/A series, spewing forth four breaks-driven whooshers crossing into progressive techno territory. The Hague duo Young Adults nod to a 1997 Loveparade anthem with 'It's Only Temporary', while breaks and kick implants converge on Christopher Ledger's 'Change That', a track which sounds like the starting firings of an interplanetary expedition pod after years of disuse. Joely brings cosmic chug on the cocooning B1 'Transitional', while the Samesame closer 'Novel End' is just that, traversing a noxious atmosphere with a flexoskeletal electro beat.
Chateau Flight - "Baltringue" (The Body Language remix)
Chateau Flight - "116 BPM Beat"
Ceramic Hello - "Sampling The Blast Furnage"
I Cube - "Prophetization" (demo mix)
Fox 'n' Wolf - "Claws Against Knives" (Todd Terje/Bl edit)
I Cube - "Pazuzu"
Brifo - "Mi Piano Rojo" (Alex Attias mixes - main & Percumix)
Syncom Data - "Beyond The Stars" (beats)
Westbam - "Monkey"
Smith N Hack - "Space Warrior"
Riz Ortolani - "Il Corpo Di Linda"
Poni Hoax - "Antibodies" (Chateau Flight remix)
Henrik Schwarz - "Jimis 2006"
Punto - "3 Tempo 3"
Review: Following acclaimed contributions from Mandy, DJ T, Dixon and Jesse Rose, the fifth instalment of Get Physical's "Body Language" mix series comes courtesy of Chateau Flight (aka Gilbert Cohen and Nicolas Chaix). "Body Language Vol. 5" is a discerning, rich and tasteful celebration of the best in disco, techno, electro and house in all it forms and it's a joy to listen to, from start to finish. This is one Get Physical chartered flight you should not miss.
The Emanations - "Rhythm Is Easy" (feat Janet Planet - Che Luca Lucid Rave mix)
Review: The fully mixed version of Confidence Man's debut Fabric mix record is here on CD. In contrast to the selectors' LP version - also sold by us - this full version is a seamless, singular slab of optical laser-read musical licence, espousing the central vibe-theme of Confidence Man's message: have confidence. Well, except for want of a receiving ear, we find ourselves tentatively able to confide in Confidence Man's Fabric mix ("better than therapy" joke happily dodged) as a substitution in the meantime; for it too shows us that real, authentic, and boundless confidence can, believably, indeed, be found in bouncy dance exclusives available on CD only. Among these are Patrick Prins' kitsch chipmunk banger 'Fiesta Conga' and Cygnus X's steezy-cheesy trance stutterer 'Positron'03'. With both many a throwback and a present promo in tow, Confidence Man dice up and dole out a small slice of their huge stash of their patented auricular confidence dust.
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