Review: Hyperdub kick off the vinyl side to their ten-year celebrations with this weighty four-tracker from some of the leading lights from the label's story. Mala is in a strident mood with "Expected, Level 10" carrying through that extra touch of melody from the Mala In Cuba LP. DVA cuts loose with the leftfield scattershot groove of "Technical Difficulties", reveling in tonal experimentation and jagged rhythmic flair to a stunning end. Still locked into the sci-fi trap tangent that characterised Severant, Kuedo turns out the haunting "Mtzpn" and Helix pops up for a remix of Kode9's "Xingfu Lu" that strips down to bare essentials with a little starlit soul rubbed into the framework.
Review: UFO Series starts 2022 with a high quality and intergalactic EP from a revelation artist called Moy On Wire. Emotional focused music that can remind us of many classic, warm and extra terrestrial sounds,crazy secuences even in fragments of the EP you can start making memories of the incredible space duo daft punk.
Review: XTEP marks the first u-Ziq material from Mike Paradinas in some six years and precedes the release of a full album later from the Planet Mu boss due out this year. Having been coaxed away from his fine curation of Planet Mu over recent years with the Heterotic project done in cahoots with wife Lara Rix-Martin, Paradinas returns to his universally recognised u-Ziq project with this five track EP which seem to present a diverse and accessible snapshot of Paradinas' production palette, veering through smudged out analogue funk, gauzy piano house, pulsing electronic disco and more rhythmically diverse material. This would seem to justify Planet Mu's claim that Paradinas has abandoned "the furrow-browed quest for cutting-edge exploration, exchanging it for an altogether more carefree fun approach".
Review: Scopic Records - a new UK label which aims to "bring newcomers and artists with backgrounds, regardless of their background or gender" - launches with a single by its founder New Digital Fidelity in collaboration with singer Monet. We get three nicely different mixes of 'Getting Colder' in all. The A-side is taken up by the club mix, a classic New York deep house groove with chunky pianos chords and Monet's confident vocal performance. The flip begins with the original, a slower version but still effortlessly groovy, bringing its soul, jazz, and R&B influences to the fore. US techno's man of the moment Byron the Aquarius completes the set by turning the track inside out with shuffling hats, snapping machinefunk snares and a bubbling bass, making it even more impressive by exposing its moving parts and giving them a neat polish.
Review: Sound Of Thunder outta France lands at release number ten here with another gorgeous slice of lovers rock on 45rpm. It features contemporary producers and vocalists Loic Paulin & The SOA offering up A-side single 'Jason White'. At less than three minutes it is the definition of short but sweet but in that time it manages to make its mark with the yearning vocals really hitting home next to nice heat-damaged organ chords and a classic reggae rhythm. On the flip, Mellowmood spins out the sounds via plenty of mixing desk tweaks on his version 'Poor Jason Dub'.
Review: The Groove Access label kicks on to a third release here and it comes in the form of a split EP between Rob Threezy and Maddjazz. Threezy kicsk off on the a-side with 'Threezy', a panel beating techno workout with leggy drums and elastic bass that will spangled any crowd. His second cut, 'Liquid Metal' is another masterclass in bendy bass and chunky drum funk, this time with vocal stabs layered in for extra spice. Maddjazz then steps up to kick off the flipside in frantic acid laced fashion with all sorts of OG Chicago house ranges over booming techno grooves. 'TR DrumTool' is a final weapon for dance floor destruction.
Review: Chewed Corners represents the first u-Ziq album from Mike Paradinas in six long years, a period where the electronic music landscape has shifted considerably. A shift thanks in no small part to his own role at the head of Planet Mu that has established itself as one of the most formidable names in electronic music, documenting the ever fracturing dubstep genre as well as steadfastly championing the Chicago footwork scene. This new album sees Paradinas embrace the dual influences of 80s synth pop and Chicago footwork across a suite of 14 tracks filled with luscious analogue sounds that feel like the logical extension of the sound explored on the recent u-Ziq EP XTEP.
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