Tags: Leftfield House

Review: Enjoy Your Self EP 3 is, as the title suggests, a third deep dive into the offerings of Osaka, Japan-based label Chillmountain Recordings. It has a wealth of different producers on its roster, all of whom twist up house, electronica, experimental, dub and Balearic sounds into fresh new grooves for cultured dance floors. It is tribal and percussive dub from Aki Nagase that immediately gets us locked in before Akira Arasawa & Ground combine for the sludgy and slow motion dub of 'Multi Gud Z.' Akira Arasawa's 'Dolphin' has underwater sonar sounds and watery rhythms then the EP closes on what might be the best of the lot - a percolating dub in the form of 'Dancing Pikapika.'

Review: Italian producer Heinrich Dressel has made a name for himself in a very focused pursuit of 70s and 80s synth wave soundtracks. Relishing in the horror and keeping one hand on the schlocky funk, he's graced the likes of Cyberdance, Strange Life and Mannequin with his Giallo-rooted sound, and now he's returning to Slow Motion with an exquisite EP of brooding, creepy crawlies that kick down low and keep it chilly up top. Paying tribute to iconic synth chips on 'CEM 8220' and exploring sweeter tones on the cascading 'Arpeggio Jawa', this is Dressel at his best.

Review: When DFA Records first released 'Compilation #2' back in 2004, the label was arguably at the peak of its powers, consistently delivering killer cuts that blurred the boundaries between post-punk, early '80s NYC no wave, and more traditional forms of U.S dance music. It remains a brilliant snapshot of James Murphy's label (and, to a lesser degree, NYC's alternative punk-dance scene of the period), as this surprise first vinyl edition proves. Slimmed down to 18 tracks, all of which are presented in full length form (the original CD edition was mixed), and stretched across four weighty slabs of wax, it contains countless highlights from LCD Soundsystem, The Juan MacLean, Black Dice and the Rapture, as well as a handful of classic DFA remixes and a banger from original punk-funk heroes Liquid Liquid.

Review: Lithuanian DJ/producer Liudas Lazauskas aka Roe Deers first appeared on a radar several years back with some impressive releases on Nein and Sulk Magic. Since then, the Opium Club resident has appeared on Throne Of Blood and Turbo, leading up to his much anticipated debut album. Salt Town Boy is a leftfield collection of wild sonic tales filled with dusky moods and punk attitude and the first LP to be released on Good Skills - which he co-runs with Titas Motuzas. There's many collaborations throughout the album, like on the low-slung and off-kilter attitude of 'Trident' featuring C.A.R., the slo-mo deep chug of 'Late Night Story' featuring Israel's Niv Ast, as well as the playful indie-dance of 'Theme' (feat. Order89) and the druggy drums of 'Walking Down The Streets' (feat. Aquarius Heaven).

Review: Not content with merely being one of the biggest selling indie bands of right now, Yard Act are busy carving themselves a tasty side hustle as A&R men, with their Zen FC label scooping up some of the most exciting other music around as well as their own. This album from Sheffield's long serving synth maverick Adrian Flanagan (Kings Have Long Arms, Eccentronic Research Council, International Teachers Of Pop) is not an obvious choice for the guitar slingers, being closer to electro pop than indie, but it's a compulsive and ingenious listen all the same. Written during lockdown, it follows the rise and fall of an imaginary superstar DJ, each song pushing the narrative along and featuring a plethora of guests, including Richard Hawley and Maxine Peake, both of whom feature at the album's 'comedown' conclusion.