Gerd At Juno Download

Review: Gerd continues to dig into his archive of previously unfinished material for the esteemed Clone imprint, returning to their fun house Royal Oak offshoot with the quite superb "Palm Leaves". What begins with a nice dusty house groove bursts into life when the superb vocal talents of Mr Oliver Day Soul rise to the surface on top of some driving chords and glistening textures. These elements combine adroitly and then Gerd throws in this thick gloopy square analogue bassline which lends the track a really winning je ne sais quoi. A stripped down mix from Clone boss Serge in cahoots with Mr Alden Tyrell occupies the flip, bringing the analogue throb to the fore whilst subjecting the rest to some cavernous filtration.

Review: With Larry Heard and Deetron on the remix, you'd be hard pressed to find fault with this superb remix package. Heard is typically at his melodic, soulful best, offering up two epic reworks that wrap heart-aching piano figures, jazz organs, acid tweaks and darting synths around a faultlessly deep groove. While his instrumental version is good, it's the full vocal version that really hits the spot. Deetron, meanwhile, ups the tempo and the percussive pressure on a pair of chiming, stargazing versions that just ooze Detroit techno flavour. This is perhaps most successful on the Dub, which gets just the right balance between build, melody and straightforward dancefloor oomph.

Review: Dutch producer Gert-Jan Bijl aka Gerd's Time & Space is one of those 90s techno tracks that manages to evoke feelings of euphoria and foreboding. Unearthed by Gerd on a DAT tape during a spring clean, its mixture of turbo-powered hoover bass and the lost innocence of the vocal samples casts it in the same mould as Suburban Knight's classic "The Art Of Stalking". The 2011 remix is more jacking and makes a play of eerie, nightmarish chords instead of the purring bass, while Dutch colleague Duplex opts for a different approach. Remaining true to the original version, both his Southside and Northside remixes are powered by the kind of pre-hardcore nocturnal bass that will give you nightmares. The latter just about shades it in the spooky stakes with Duplex messing with the original vocal sample.