Escape The Room vinyl

Making his first solo outing on Germany's Retreat, one half of Session Victim Matthias Reiling contributes the imprint's latest release. "Escape The Room" turns its back on the deepish disco-tinged house that Retreat usually purvey, opting instead for a fusion of hip-hop, house and UK bass. "Woodland" and "Kalkscar" set two equally cinematic tones with faint, crackling samples woven amongst mellow guitar riffs and delicate drum taps. Mysterious and downtempo pieces, both are somewhat reminiscent of Bonobo or Quantic. On the flip, "The Hissing" heaves with tension as loose and lazy drum patterns rise and fall against an eerie spoken vocal and menacing off key strings. Lastly, "Malachi" pounds with dark off kilter drums and creeping field recordings to finalize a dramatic, story telling EP that shows an entirely different side of Reiling and his musical capabilities.

Tornado Wallace, Justin Miller, Johannes Albert, WOLF Music, Session Victim, Shibaja, Kastil (Soul Notes/Stale)