JAY TRIPWIRE Vinilo y CD

Review: Jay Tripwire's My Life With The Machines compilation series is doing a terrific job of showcasing some of the umpteen early noughties gems buried in his catalogue and archive of unreleased jams. This is volume four (the first three instalments dropped in 2022) and features seven more slabs of intergalactic, wide-eyed, dub-fired tech-house treats. He begins with a sumptuously spacey and loved-up rework of Mothersole & Haris's 'Dumbek', before adding echoing sax sounds and dubbed-out organ lines to a heady early morning groove on 'What Kind of Voodoo Do You Do?', an alternate take on one of his most admired tribal-tinged tracks from 2002. Other highlights include the ultra-deep after-party excellence of 'Smoothin' It Out', the heads-down excellence of 'Smooth Swimmers (Swag Unreleased)' and the warming shuffle of 'Geometry'.

Review: Minimal stalwart Jay Tripwire has been as prolific as ever this year, serving up the Narcotic Oscillator EP for The Other Side and collaborating with Cristi Cons on Witching Hour. Now it's time for the Canadian veteran to serve up some boss level beats to emergent label VRNT, holding true to the rhythmic demands of the stripped-down tech house scene while finding plenty of space for expression and innovation in the sound design. 'The Real Life Of John Merrick' is a masterfully sculpted workout, while 'Pleiadian Wavelength' unfurls exquisite melodic and textural synth forms around an understated groove. Herck completes the package with a crunchy, bugged-out version of the lead track which harks back to the crooked computer funk synonymous with Canadian minimal in the mid 00s.

Review: Jay Tripwire has popped up a lot recently, which is always going to be good news for fans of those freaky late-night tech sounds that he is so well known and loved for. He kicks off Serenity's fifth release here alongside Jehr on 'Magic Man', a deep cut underlapping drum funk and lots of whirring machine sounds. Parisian space techno talent Cyberduck then takes care of both tunes on the flip - firstly 'Arzach', a deep and dynamic cut that hurriedly scans a vast cosmic world with silvery drums and lush melodies. Then 'Cerclon' gets a little more edgy, with dark and nagging baselines moving up through the mix as the crisp, well-swung tech drums power along.