Tom Flynn At Juno Download

Review: Flynn delivers two different but equally compelling interpretations of the tribal house sound on Argentina. The title track adopts the more conventional approach; it is powered by a surging bassline and features an insistent disco filter yet other elements, like the sample of a cheering crowd, mark it out as different to the glut of rolling club tracks. Flynn gets more inventive on "Tiger Square". Loose drums dominate the arrangement, while stuttering vocal samples, jazzy stabs and claps that ignore rigid quantization make it sound compelling. On the evidence of this release, Flynn is pushing an established sound into new directions.

Review: Tom Flynn injects some imagination and wide-eyed energy into the tool house form. "Suzy Swap Meet" is a rolling, insistent rhythm with acres of drive and funk thanks to its rolling snares and chiming chords. "Truth Hurts" is less conventional as a time-stretched funk bassline and ghostly, dissected vocals are brought together for an intoxicating dance. "Tokyo Rising" is an entirely different proposition, with a stripped back groove leading into a ravey breakdown. But the best example of Flynn's ability to twist new shapes out of existing forms is audible on the title track, where a warm bass and spine-tingling chords support infectious vocal hooks.

Review: Having already graced the likes of Dirtybird, Size and Deadfish with his releases, and with the recent Opera House on Strictly Rhythm, Tom Flynn takes the controls for Volume 8 of the Strictly Rhythms series, delivering a compilation of tracks that reflects the underground credentials the label has enjoyed since its inception in 1989. With Strictly Rhythm's entire back catalogue at his disposal, Flynn selects a number of bonafide classics in their original forms, with Armand Van Helden's "Nrongo Ra Mrongo" and Code 17's "Equinox" both featuring, as well as a number of his own edits, with Afro Cube's Muevete Mama, Smooth Touch's "House of Love" and Sir James' "Special" all receiving Flynn's special treatment. Essential stuff.