This week at Juno Download, Huntleys & Palmers released a killer mini-album from Auntie Flo. Already known and loved here at Juno Plus for his Afro-futurist productions,
Future Rhythm Machine sees the man otherwise known as Brian d'Souza turn his hand to everything from glossy Eastern funk to favela 2-step, minimal 4/4 Latin jazz and juke-paced 808 workouts. Meanwhile the alias of American musician Rachel Evans (aka The Motion Sickness of Time Travel) was the
latest addition to the ever expanding Spectrum Spools catalogue, and it might just be the label's best record yet. Although the artist was introduced to world by a blink-and-you'll-miss-it vinyl run on Digitalis in 2010, this record should see her gaining wider admiration. Although her synth based sound has echoes of Oneohtrix Point Never and Emeralds, her vocals - although shrouded in reverb and reduced to mere sounds - imbue her synth drones with a sense of humanity a lot of her peers lack.
The latest name to emerge from London's melting of pot of hybrid styles, the young South London Ordnance dropped his
debut release for the esteemed 2nd Drop imprint, a sharp mix of swung garage, dubstep basslines and dense house shapes. An older head could also be found dabbling in some similarly zeitgeist-surfing business, with Darren 'dBridge' White dropping
two cuts on Convex Industries that veered away from anything he's done before. "Passing Encounter" is the real killer here, a decidedly fluid offering that sits somewhere between contemporary deep house and two-step garage.
Elsewhere, Fatima Al Qadiri was
remixed by some of the global bass scene's biggest names for UNO, Al Tourettes' blend of deft electro and dark UKF inflected bass
popped up on Sneaker Social Club,
Gold Panda returned with some keenly awaited new material, and the first instalment in Stroboscopic Artefacts'
Stellate series hit the digital shelves.
Should you have a craving for shiny compact discs then the
fifth instalment of Endless Flight's trusty I'm Starting To Feel OK arrived featuring an exclusive new jam from Juju & Jordash along with all manner of off-kilter deep house, melodic techno and touchy-feely electronica from heavyweights like Lawrence, Vakula, Eddie C and label boss Kuniyuki.
