K7 Vinilo y CD

Review: Washington DC's James Bangura really stands out from the rest with his truly singular take on electronic music that's appeared of late on labels like Incienso, World Building and Holding Hands. His latest comes courtesy of legendary German imprint !K7 Titled 'Harrar', a frantic and hyper aware experiment in off-the-grid post dubstep that will totally flip your mind. Over on the second side he goes for something more straightforward in the form 'Witness Dub' an emotive deep house cut that's perfect for the late night.

Review: RECOMMENDED
The DJ Kicks series has managed to outlast the vast majority of other DJ mixes we can think of - the good, the bad, the populist, and the plain cash cow. Even the mighty fabric compilations have rebranded and rethought, bringing the original legacy, FABRICLIVE included, to a respectful end at 200 outings. Strange, then, to think, that !K7's mighty offering to the world of "What should we listen to at the afters?" has arguably managed to become more relevant as the years have flown by.

There was a time when the series existed at the lighter end of club fare, with some examples barely even matching that description. These days, though, there's often a dance floor heaviness central to the selections, with Jessy Lanza's broken, bass-driven set a case in point. Pointless attempts to describe the music, and lazy track list namedropping aside, this is energy-packed, heads down, futurist stuff packed with infectious percussion.

Review: Oslo-born, London-bred, Delhi-influenced DJ and producer lands on K7 here with an EP that comes after a period of "creative stagnation". To get through it she decided to try and forget what she knew, and went with the flow as she embraced experimentation. The results are fantastically deft - fresh rhythms, wispy synths, plenty of detail but also effective club cuts that make you want to move. Dub, techno and house all get collided in freeform fashion with 'Blamerke' built on double-time polyrhythmic drums and overlaid with warped synths. 'Bottlepop' is more loose and funky with wispy neon melodies and 'Ghungroo' is layered up with sonorous bell and a real sense of urgency. Colourful stuff.