Zopelar - "Move This Way" (feat Antonio Dal Bo) (6:28)
Retromigration - "Fret" (6:15)
Cem Mo - "Rushmore" (5:41)
Monty DJ - "Sat15" (5:25)
Review: To keep it in the family is to imply things stay pure and untainted, but the irony with the Keep It In The Family 12" series is that every record sounds raw and unsheltered. So, although 'Feel' and 'Move This Way' cycle through unperturbed and dreamatic sounds, their finish is rough, suggesting a well-wrought processing chain, the music having seen through many a prodigal battle. Retromigration's 'Fret' and Cem Mo's 'Rushmore' continue the mood of vintage deep raspiness, with one-up arpeggios closing out the final track with special glee.
Review: Maara's debut on her very own Ancient Records lifts the lid on long-hidden truths and buried queer histories. Rein-whipping the steed of techno to redirect it towards better representations for lesbian communities in dance music, 'She's Startin' and 'Unbearable Delight' are heard resurrecting forgotten, seventh-hell secrets on a furious A-side. Faustian pacts tempt us to indulge a diabolical knowledge, while Maara holds out hope for a sapphic world, extracting simmering, fluid desires against a background of staid complacency. The Montreal producer ends on a slippery note with 'Scissor Me Timbers', where the sound design morphs into something eerily glottal, with bellowing voices, alarming hooks and knocky percs promising a ceaselessly hedonic alternate future.
Review: For the latest must-check missive on their self-titled label, London twosome Make-a-Dance have decided to pay tribute to the formative 'garage-house' sounds made for, and played at, New York clubs in the mid 1980s. Rising star Magari steps up first with 'Mars Bar', a Larry Levan-friendly affair where soulful, reggae style vocal samples ride a Boyd Jarvis-esque bassline and warm synths. It's very authentic to the sound being paid tribute to, as is Mark Seven's accompanying (and lightly freestyle influenced) 'Parkway Power' rework. Over on the reverse, Ilija Rudman takes over with 'Danceteria', a proto-garage house affair whose title offers a nod to the infamous NYC venue of the same name. Manuel Durquart remixes, retaining the nostalgic vibe while adding extra trippy layers of sound, a sturdier early NYC house groove and mazy synth solos.
Review: Medellin producer Marck D (Charlie Escobar) is a new Planet Rhythm poster child, though his digital releasing repertoire is nonetheless colossal even without them, his many affairs including Illegal Alien, Phobiq and IAMT. Shocker it is, then, that 'Dune' is Escobar's first ever 12"; the record brings ultraphonic chord slurries ('Behind The Chord') and federated, intergalactic-dynastic codes of techno honour ('Atreides'), riding the sand-wormed thematics of the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic.
Review: Visions returns with another sharp collection of future-facing house, opening with a luxuriant, mid-tempo glide from Sean McCabe. A long-time figure in Bristol's soulful house scene, McCabe is known for his richly textured arrangementsiand this one, built on warm keys and featherlight percussion, leaves plenty of air in the mix. 'Rawai' from Alex & Stephan Attias moves in deeper, with Sohan Wilson's Rhodes work lending a dusty, meditative energy that simmers beneath the surface. The Attias brothers, both key players in Geneva's jazz-not-jazz underground, remain fluent in groove and restraint alike. Patrice Scott, a cornerstone of Detroit's second wave, brings both heft and elegance with 'Movements', arguably his most hypnotic production in recent memoryislow to unfold but rich with detail. Finally, Eva May debuts on the label with 'Test One', a slinky, electro-leaning cut bristling with sinewy funk. Based in Paris and new to production after years of DJing across Europe, she keeps things stripped-back and sharp, with a promise of more to come.
Review: In signature cinematic melodic techno style, Mind Against and Cay bring 'Cant U Hear Me / Trust', laying thick a hi-tech fusion of soulful house and synthetically squeezed sound-energy. The thrumming heartbeat of UK club culture is heart sifted through a harsh cyborg grate, reducing things to a metallurgic, pulmonary pulp. Crystalline percussion, cascading synths... 'Trust' makes particularly pristine use of untainted pluck design, with peaking plucks wriggling in the mid-high layer like buds on a mecha-euphoric flower (just look at that front cover).
Review: Ninja Records looks to build on the success of its first outing with a new outing from Miroloja who are brothers and key players in the Parisian underground with great credits already to their name on Berg Audio, Tzinah Records and OLO RECORDS. Their stripped-back but tight sound is laid bare on opener 'Linkblow' with its warm house kicks and wet clicks soon to make you move. 'Morgan' is speedier with some space-tech vibes and a snappier low-end. Closer 'Krazyteora' then explores a creepy late-night urban landscape with some cyclical drums and synths moving things onwards.
Review: South Africa-born, United States-based Brendon Weller is one of dub techno's finest modern day practitioners. he has been endlessly exploring the form for years but never falls short of fresh ideas. Here he offers up his latest 12" on EchoLTD. It begins with 'Rescue Me' which is smoky, deep and atmospheric with rattling hits and chords submerging you way beneath the surface.A'YassQueen' then taps into an orignal dub ethos with rumbling bass and heady harmonica sounds floating amongst wispy pads. 'Scorching' stays fully horizontal and is a vast empty space with patient bass and drums and 'How Love Is Your Deep' ends with another heady exploration of empty space and slow motion rhythm.
Review: Under the Linkwood alias, Nick Moore has released a wealth of fine material since debuting in the late 2000s - including a string of sublime albums and EPs. Last year he popped his re-edit cherry alongside The Mighty Zaf via a two-tracker paying tribute to the late, great Phil Asher. Here he takes the next step, delivering a first solo scalpel missive via the reliable and long-running Moton imprint. On side A, the Edinburgh producer attempts to 'Make It Better' via a razor-and-tape style edit of a slap-bass-sporting, synth-wielding slice of early 80s disco-boogie perfection. We have no idea of the source material, but the lightly extended track is as infectious as it is intriguing. Over on side B, 'No Easy' is a sweet, string-laden slab of mid-tempo disco-soul sweetness, while 'Brekkers' is a squelchy, up-tempo electrofunk workout tailor-made for break-dancers.
Review: Three outsize rarities on Mr. G's very own Phoenix G imprint (operating since 1999). 'The Lost Tracks 1' hears the man-myth-legend rise from the mounded ashes of a deep house firestorm, where in classic "vaults" fashion, Mr G aka. Colin McBean presents tunes as though they were known sequels. Even so, 'Narcoticz Pt. 2' hardly recalls an original tune by the same name. It's almost as though there's a hidden universe of sound we're only tantalisingly being let in on... With G's driven but distillate deep house sound on fullest display here again, make sure to cop these muted rarities, as they're RSD exclusives and will surely dematerialise quick.
Review: The third in Exitus Records' lightyear spanning V/A series, we again hear six new, boundary-pushing new ones from six satellite artists of the present day Berlin techno scene. Opening chord cascade 'Figure Eight' by Pink Concrete contrasts sharply to tunnelling techno-body suite 'The Dream Of Motion' by Krow, signalling several more tuff propulsions to come: most notably Sayid K's 'No Lights', a balmy nightscape from the newcomer, where digital zaps initially double up as hi-hats.
Review: After a string of viral hits as well as a standout live performance documented in front of the iconic Panorama Hotel, which served as the visual centrepiece of their breakthrough album Etazhi, Belarusian darkwave band and viral sensation Molchat Doma now present the vinyl edition of said live performance in vinyl form. Known for their distinct Soviet-era, gothic post-punk, this new live record vivifies three beloved tracks from Etazhi and their subsequent record Belaya Polosa: 'Toska', 'Sudno' and 'Cherne Cvety'. Bleak, washed out and yet never sacrificial of a moment's performative energy, Egor and company weave compelling synth and guitar arrangements about blurry mixes, evoking the desolation of the backgrounded Slovakian landscape captured in the live video. The limited one-time pressing 12" includes the three live tracks on side A and the etching of the iconic hotel on side B.
Review: Cabale Records is a Parisian label that has, for the last few years been exploring the minimal techno world. It now branches out with its first various artist release featuring some tasteful tune makers starting with Pheek. He brings some loose percussive energy and wonky drum funk to his opener then Mod303 layers in dreamy and immersive pad work to deft, subtle drums on 'Paris City Zoo.' Night No Tori Vs Hubble keeps it deep and dubby with the late-night introspection of 'Deja Vu' then Sten's 'Slope' is a trippy afterhours sound with tumbling synth smears and percolating dub tech beats.
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