Nathan Fake At Juno Download

Review: When Nathan Fake first rose to prominence it was due to the fact that his mixture of dreamy melodies and noisy rhythms matched intelligent techno with shoegazing indie - and sounded totally fresh. "Iceni Strings", the latest release by the precocious UK producer, tells a different story. While it is suffused with the hiss of glitchy percussion and sublime melodies, it also features ice cool synths and a dance floor sensibility that had been hitherto lacking in his music. "Sense Head" sees him explore this approach farther, with a jacking, rolling groove supporting spiralling acid lines and his signature detuned melodies. Fake traditionalists will be heartened by the inclusion of "Bauxite Dream" a gloriously lazy, glitchy break beat affair with a sensuous synth melody at its core.

Review: Given that the precocious Nathan Fake was a pioneer in the area of melodic, indie meets electronic, it's strange to hear him calling a release Paean. Despite this, it's business as usual for the UK producer, with a cascade of melodic lines and psychedelic modulations unfolding over a rattling break beat. By contrast, the Coda remix is but a short, noisy outro and Lukid's version is a noisy, bass-heavy broken beat reshape. It's the Lone version that most articulately captures the spirit of the original version. The synth sounds redefine the term 'breezy' and, over brittle break beats, veer into melodies so sweet that they could replace the sugar in your morning cup of coffee.

Review: Nathan Fake returns with his long awaited third LP. Steam Days is pitched almost directly between the pastoral sounds of his debut Drowning In A Sea Of Love and the razor-edged, abrupt Hard Islands. Some tracks are pushed through sharp, angular rhythmic shapes, such as the strobing bass of "Harnser" or the abrasive "A World of Spectrum", which utilises steam powered, clockwork rhythms, while some show his knack for soft-focus melodies, such as the wistful "Paean" which sounds like Ghost Box hauntology made techno, and the washed out trance of "Sad Vember".