Staff Picks w / c 29th May 2020

Review: While composing his first solo album in almost half a decade, Roly Porter apparently drew inspiration from Neolithic burial sites, though musically "Kistvaen" sounds more like it was partly influenced by early music and in particular medieval religious laments. Either way, the resulting music is melancholic and magical, joining the dots between atmospheric neo-classical movements, clandestine dark ambient electronics, experimental sound design and unsettling drone tones. It's a musical mixture that's gripping, poignant and otherworldly in equal measure, with Porter's extensive use of distinctively old-fashioned (and more than a little ecclesiastical) vocals only adding to the album's obvious allure.

Review: Carl Finlow, aka electro main-man Silicon Scally, originally released the Boot Loop EP on Billy Nasty's Electrix label back in 2013 - an aeon ago in real terms but a blink of an eye to any electro devotee. Such is the quality of the music that it's well deserving of a repress, not least given the fearsome appetite for this kind of electro now compared to seven years ago. "Conduit" and "Hashtag" are quintessential Finlow cuts, wriggling and writhing with snappy sound design riveted to the machine funk rhythm section. On the flip, Volsoc's "Orange Problem" mix of "Conduit" slips a few more melodic elements into the mix, and Radioactive Man flips "Hashtag" into a gnarly, noisy workout bowling in from leftfield.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Derek Carr is a name known by few and far between, with only a handful of vinyl releases in the early 2000s, he built a worthy but unfortunately not widely-spread reputation for putting together stunning deep techno. Originally pressed in finite numbers, the records have recently found themselves in demand on Discogs, and rightly so, Derek's music is in a class of its own. Having been a big fan since his releases on then local (to label owner Ben) Leeds label Geek records, For Those That Knoe has dug deep into the archives to put together a sizeable selection of Derek's back catalogue, with some unreleased gems dotted amongst the classic must-haves, spread across three EPs

Part three in Derek's starts with Cuba, probably the most sought after track in his back catalogue. It's stunning simplicity and charming summer vibe puts it amongst Derek's greatest works and understandably so. Red then slots into the A2 position which was originally released under the radar on a Headspace compilation. As warm as Cuba but with an added touch of melancholy. Truly outstanding deep house.

Iceberg takes things back more into techno territory with a funked up bass line, stepping rhythms, Detroit strings and those trademark twinkly leads. Finally Penthouse Apartment 3AM a lush electro breakbeat track from the very hard to find Trident release, rounds off the EP with aplomb.

Review: Electro titan Zeta Reticula, otherwise known as Slovenian hero Umek, is back with another salvo of heavy-hitting belters for your bag. "Digital Card" is a highly strung workout loaded with searing lead lines to stir up all kinds of intense emotions, which Exzakt and BFX rework into a bleep laden, low-blowing machine funk fest. "Endless Clue" finds Reticula amping up the dystopian theatrics even harder, while "Message In Code" takes a leaner approach with a mean tempered low-end synth and some gnarly acid to get you freakin' in all the right ways.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Russian label Moiss Music have spent the past couple of years building up a formidable catalogue of crucial disco house drops on digital, and now they're making their first move on wax with this slab of veritable party heaters. First up The Funk District bring the perfect blend of warm, organic funk and punchy club production for maximum impact. Munky Fike is brimming with positivity on "Oh Disco Baby", while C Da Afro rides the filters good and proper for the effervescent "Groove Definito". Alexny takes things deeper on "Take You Ther", but there's still plenty of space for classic disco licks in the mix.

Review: Formed by Carlo and Franco Bixio in the early 1980s, Crazy Gang was a tongue-in-cheek Italo-disco project whose rotating cast of members and guest musicians included the great (and prolific) Claudio Simonetti. This must-check EP offers up a quartet of cuts from the outfit's now hard-to-find 1983 debut album. There's plenty of rushing, wonderfully camp, arpeggio-driven Italo-disco on show - see the sparkling "Computerize", Bobby Orlando-esque "Every Sunday" (whose talkbox-tinged vocals are particularly memorable) and guitar solo-laden opener "Every Sunday" - though arguably the most potent cut of all expertly fuses electro and P-funk. Tucked away at the end of the EP, "A Discomatic Rodeo" is the kind of madcap, riff-laden '80s workout that would later inspire Daft Punk to create some of their most memorable cuts.

Review: RT Factor is one of Ron Trent's less familiar aliases, but rest assured anything graced with the Chicago great's name is a buy on sight situation. So it goes on this latest release for his Electric Blue label, which is a single-sided 15-minute epic that will have fans grinning with satisfaction and newcomers wondering what they've been missing all this time. The extended run time gives Trent free reign to let his musical motifs unfurl in a relaxed manner - this is one of the all time greats of soulful deep house after all - but there's also power and presence in the electronic elements of the sound on "EBS 1". All the better to carry the airy keys and pattering hand drums - these trademark ingredients never sound better than in Trent's hands.

Review: Since debuting on Stilove4music in 2012, Brooklyn duo Devin Dare has offered up an irregular smattering of brilliant EPs for the likes of Apron, Misterio and La Mission, including a couple of notable outings alongside London badman Stevie J AKA Funkineven. Here they showcase their scalpel skills via a first outing on local label Razor-N-Tape. They begin by offering an extra-percussive, party-starting revision of a low-slung, turn-of-the-80s deep disco-meets-punk funk affair ("Clash & Burn"), before romping their way through a weighty revision of a high-octane disco stomper ("KOHO2"). Over on side B, "Dust" sees them successfully re-wire a Hammond-heavy chunk of gospel disco-funk, while "Stop" is a pleasingly percussive revision of a soaring disco number.

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: REPRESS ALERT: Vigenere is creating a mysterious vibe with its obscure collaborative releases, but the music speaks for itself as it plots a course through deeper realms of the dance. After contributing to the first release, Malin Genie is back and seemingly flying solo for a more direct trip into dubby techno territory - that's certainly the vibe on opening immersion heater "Eschaton". "Drain" has a more tripped out minimal flavour with the after hours in mind, while "Venus" swaps moody atmospheres out for a hazy shuffler peppered with slices of warm instrumentation. "Elara" brings things full circle with another crooked dub-out to bring eyelids down heavy in a state of transcendental bliss.

Review: Boogie badman Leroy Burgess was responsible for some of the greatest disco and electrofunk jams of the early '80s. Even so, few were quite as special as "(You've Got) That Something", a 1981 killer that distilled all that was good about his productions - those distinctive cowbell patterns, life-affirming slap bass, spiraling synths, hard-wired disco guitars and one of his finest vocal performances - in one essential, 11-minute package. As on the original '81 12", it comes backed with the similarly impressive "Dancing Into The Stars", whose melodic bassline is arguably even better than that found on the A-side. If you don't already own a copy of the original pressing, this reissue should be an essential purchase.

Review: 12 months on from the release of his brilliant album "Flamagra", Flying Lotus has decided to offer up an instrumental version of the set. Given that the set included some of the Los Angeles-based producer's best work to date, this is no bad thing. Stripped of almost all vocal contributions (bar the odd snatch of backing vocals), FlyLo's breathtakingly brilliant musical vision rightly takes centre stage. And what a vision! He's always been great at crafting glitchy, off-kilter hip-hop instrumentals, but "Flamagra" is much more than that, with the Brainfeeder founder utilizing the work of a wide range of guest musicians and far more nods towards his jazz and fusion roots. The original album was superb, and this is just as good, so don't sleep!

Review: Those dusty-fingered boogie diggers with long "wants lists" should be familiar with "Paradise's Love", an obscure 1982 single from one-shot outfit Bordeaux that has been known to change hands online for hundreds of pounds a go. Here it gets the reissue treatment, with the colourful, Prince-goes-AOR disco style original version (track 3) being joined by two fresh remixes. The headline-grabbing treatment comes from KON, who beefs up the bottom end, makes much of the original's carnival-ready touches (whistles and so on), emphasizes the rubbery bassline and extends it to a dancefloor-friendly seven-and-a-half minutes. Equally as impressive is the Fantasy Love Remix, which instead chooses to up the tempo and push up the original version's P-funk sounds.

Review: To mark the 50th release on his now 20-year-old Neroli imprint, head honcho Volcov has asked friends and label artists to deliver "heart-warming melodies and atmospheric songs" that in some way draw inspiration from the Brian Eno piece after which the label was named. It's a neat idea and one that has resulted in a string of superb pieces, many of which sit somewhere between ambient, new age and the "Fourth World" work of Jon Hassell. Highlights include - but are no way limited to - the eyes-closed jazz guitar solos and deep space electronics of Gerald Mitchell, Volcov and Pirahnahead's "Snow", the sun-bright bliss of Patrice Scott's "Untitled", the fretless bass-sporting cinematic rush of Kirk Degiorgio's "Leave Everything Behind" and the ultra-deep liquid techno that is Fred P's "Star Crossed".

Review: Downtempo dream team Jonny Nash and Suzanne Kraft join forces once more for another excursion far out to sea. Their ambient soundscapes are as lush as they come and are the perfectly transportive sounds we need right now. From mellow and melancholic piano chords to meandering synth lines there is lots to get lost in here, always with a real sense of slowly unfolding narrative and deep sense of immersion. The tenderness of this duo seems to know no bounds as they continue to find truly moving beauty in the most minimal of compositions.

Review: Although Robag Wruhme has appeared on the main Kompakt label a number of times over the last decade, this two-track 12" is actually his first appearance on the club-focused Kompakt Extra offshoot. As you'd expect from a producer with such a great track record, A-side "Yes" is superb. Built around swinging, off-kilter tech-house beats, hazy aural textures and a driving bassline, the track builds in waves thanks to Wruhme's canny use of moody pads, sustained - and undeniably creepy - chords and a wiggly acid line that intensifies as the track progresses. Over on the flip, "Calma Calma" is an altogether deeper and quietly sunny affair, with Wruhme wrapping female spoken word vocals, stirring orchestration and glassy-eyed melodies around another crunchy tech-house groove.

Review: Few labels are more synonymous with high quality electro than Bunker. This latest delivery is a hot one filled with squelchy synth bass and plenty of manic acid. Opener "Vokuskoli" pairs high speed travel with a real air of mystery, then "Hey Gaur" slows things down to a crawl, with shimmering synth lines and sci-fi pads all setting a futuristic scene. "Milljon Ara" is quick, slick, superb, and "Syn Milli Heima" closes out in rueful fashion, with chords that make you lose yourself in thought, and undulating drums that speak of a far away astral landscape.