Vakula At Juno Download

Review: In the space of just three releases, Under The Shade's deep house offshoot 3rd Strike has established itself as one of the best new labels around. Already they've released superb EPs from Homepark and man-to-watch Erdbeerschnitzel; the latter with 'friend of the family' Mark E on remix duties. This fourth release from Vakula is every bit as essential as its predecessors. Each of the five tracks is strong in its own right, from the druggy, broken house wonk of "Beat Ja" to the percussive thump of "All The Same", via the title track's unsettling, picturesque build. Vakula even finds space for a short DJ tool, "Nerve" - a two-minute exercise in blissful, late night beauty.

Review: Vakula, perhaps Juno's favourite Ukrainian export since Mila Kunis, returns to 3rd Strike Records and together they deliver perhaps their finest work to date. Whilst his work to date for Firecracker, Ethereal Sound and Quintessentials has been filled with pedigree, there's a sheen of specialness that cloaks the four productions here which grabs you as soon as the introspective strings that punctuate the sumptuous deep bump of "Touch" grace your senses. Complementing this is the slinky freeform beatdown bliss of "Gospel Keyboards" which is naturally big on the melodic flourishes. Up next "Crossing" eeks out a glacial throb, all rusted jacking rhythms and frosted basslines, before taking a swift left turn into a delightful pattern of ivory swirls. The final arrival of fuzzed out acid melodies demonstrate how versatile a producer Vakula is. Proceedings end on the title track, another excursion into ethereal beatdown filled with jazzed melodic touches which kind of sounds like Anton Zap remixing the Cheers theme tune (definitely a good thing).

Review: In a year where Vakula has released countless records on a number of labels (with more to follow) his Saturday EP on 3rd Strike perhaps stands alone for marrying his trademark attention to detail with dancefloor appeal. Whereas his Shevchenko twelves in particular have the capacity to draw a dancefloor into a collective standing stupor at the sonic richness, the four tracks on the Saturday EP bumped hard. The title track is revisited by the label here as they enlist some illuminating names to add their own slant on it with Legowelt, Fudge Fingas and Deetron all featuring across this twelve. Naturally, the effort from Legowelt proves to be a real highlight, especially when the strains of acid lock in amidst the constantly unravelling analogue oscillations and rough drums, but the other remixes provide enough variety in tempo and feel to ensure this is worth investigation.

Review: With a series of releases on respected labels like Uzuri, Quintessentials and Firecracker to his credit, it wouldn't be wholly inaccurate to say that Ukranian producer Vakula, like Nina Kraviz and Anton Zap, represents the new wave of house music from the East. "Slavic Mythology" not only questions such a claim however, it suggests that, unlike so many of his peers, there is real depth and diversity in his music. Indeed, the layered synths of "41600" sound more like Redshape at his most mysterious, and could be an ethereal outtake from "The Dance Paradox". "THEO Son" features more of the same textured, slightly woozy synths, and carries with it the scattergun hail of metallic percussion so beloved of 90s analogue techno. "Kiev" meanwhile is an irresistible serving of slow-burning cosmic house, while "Two Parts" represents the flip side, a drummy workout that teems with the rawness so noticeably absent in tool house. But these are overshadowed by "Delay" and "Field", gentle, spacey ambience that recall the sounds of deep techno travellers like Dimension 5 or John Beltran. For once, believe the hype - this release is the making of the Vakula myth.

Review: Having launched in fine style with the crazed Moodymann meets Dance Mania genius of Bakey USTL, Firecracker's Unthank offshoot keeps the focus squarely on Eastern Europe with some equally fine productions from a more celebrated entity. If this year is going to be dedicated to anyone, Ukraine's favourite son must surely be on the list - treating our ears and your hips to a veritable bounty of expert releases on numerous labels of high repute - Dekmantel, 3rd Strike and Ethereal Sounds to name but three. Anyone who has indulged in just one of the aforementioned releases should need no prompting to check this ten inch - with Vakula drawing on a surfeit of influences such as AFX, Claro Intelecto and DBX across the three untitled tracks. The A Side is where the deepness lies whilst the flip contains an expansive deviation into subaqueous, stripped down, hypnotic minimalism. Don't be expecting "A Tender Place" Mk2 but do expect to be seriously impressed.

Review: Ukrainian producer par excellence Vakula maintains his label hopping endeavours with this utterly essential drop on the newly minted Shevchenko label. Named in honour of the Ukrainian cultural icon Taras (as opposed to the one time free scoring forward Andrei) and rumoured to be closely affiliated with the Firecracker imprint upon which Vakula first came to our attention, it's a stellar first release that gives further credence to the growing opinion Vakula can do no wrong. "Mama Said Go Slow" is typical Vakula, twisting through various analogue passages, the few constants being the gloopy subaqueous rhythms that occupy the nether regions along with what might just be a sample from one of Muhammed Al Fayed's favourite musicians and the hissing oscillations of percussion. The next track sees Vakula indulge in some smudged out beatdown business on "Deaf World (Dub)" which draws you on a kaleidoscopic journey to the lower echelons of hypnotic, fluttering house music. Obvious sonic references to Detroit pervade the track but it's indelibly marked with the graceful Eastern European touch of Vakula. It proves to be a subtler yet equally potent example of the producer's lack of interest in traditional house music structures. Hopefully Vakula will continue to release music of this standard long after we run out of superlatives.