Auntie Flo At Juno Download

Review: The 72nd installment of Speicher marks the first release by Ostgut boss and Panorama Bar resident Nick Hoppner for the Cologne operation. Thankfully, his contribution has been well worth the wait, and "Ipso Facto" is a heavy, pulsing groove, where spacey synths wash in and heavy claps provide the basis for a series of more subtle bursts of percussion. It's the kind of woozy but robust techno and house that characterise Hoppner's DJ sets. On the flip, Auntie Flo aka Glasgow producer Brian D'Souza drops "Sun Ritual", a loose tribal groove, underscored by seductive, oriental bells and chiming guitar riffs - a more laid back alternative to Hoppner's approach.

Review: Huntleys & Palmers continue their mission to bring the best of the world's dance music to the masses with this hugely anticipated release. Glasgow resident Auntie Flo's "Oh My Days" has already found favour with the likes of Jackmaster, xxxy and Pearson Sound, and it's easy to see why. Combining an infectious vocal snippet which lodges itself deep in your brain with a slowly rising synth line and clattering percussion, it succeeds due to its unique mixture of African pop and contemporary bass which is quite unlike anything released this year. But although it's the A-Side here that has been extensively caned by all the big names, South Africa's DJ Sdunkero's "Choosing Love" is easily as good. A deceptively simple kwaito track, it loops a simple rubbery synth line which is stretched to breaking point, whilst an underlying accordion-like tone gives it a curiously maudlin touch which contrasts its epic scope in great fashion. Essential.

Review: After the widely lauded "Oh My Days" got bodies popping last year, Huntleys & Palmers do the smart thing and serve up three remixes of Auntie Flo to get all kinds of future-minded shapes thrown about the place. Pearson Sound is in typically fruity and neatly clipped percussion mode, letting the layers of bongo and drum machine dart around each other without ever clashing, falling into a lean electro groove before too long. SOPHIE opt for a more direct (albeit slightly unhinged) reworking of "Highlife", while Alejandro Paz manages to fuse contemporary beats with slices of guitar for a musical melting pot that bodes well for crossover appeal.

Review: Both the muscle behind Glasgow's excellent Highlife club nights, as well as his Afro-futurist production alias Auntie Flo, Brian d'Souza kills it with this Huntleys & Palmers-released mini-album. Following much-buzzed tunes like "Oh My Days" and his Goan Highlife EP, d'Souza provides many new shades here - such as the glossy Eastern funk of "Haven't Got Any Body" the favela 2-step of "La Samaria", the minimal 4/4 Latin jazz of "He Makes The People Come Together". The standout so far is the juke-paced mix of 808 claps and congas on the Esa Willimas-vocalled "I Want To Blow Your Mind".