Ethereal Sound Russia At Juno Download

Review: Russian deep house stable Ethereal Sound has finally decided to "go digital", making selected back catalogue (and new releases) available exclusively to Juno Download. Their first offering an excellent virtual double A Side from the esteemed label boss AntonZap. "Clarksville" sees him playing with rising and falling synths, cosmic effects and quietly bumpin' deepness, all wrapped up in his usual dozily hypnotic production. It's surprisingly light and airy, which is something that can't be said for the heads-down groove of "Love Boat". Atmospheric, percussive and eerily dark, it offers no-nonsense thrills for early morning 'floors.

Review: A truly international love-in here with idealistic San Francisco collective, The Warheads, teaming up with Muscovite electronica label Ethereal Sounds for this three track EP which is being re-issued...for free! The title track previously appeared on album Requiem, and is a floaty slice of downbeat bliss complete with rolling snares and echoey guitar. Elsewhere "In The Brightest Africa" is evocative of a nighttime river ride through the depths of the jungle and "Journey" is all about the late night sax and fretless bass.

Review: A welcome return for atmospheric techno explorer Tom Ellis, a man whose prodigious release rate has dimmed little since he first appeared on our radar on 2004. The two tracks that make up I Know About It are typical of his style, which sits somewhere between smoker-friendly dub techno, leftfield electronica and dubby deep house. "Long Wait" shuffles around convincingly, offering intoxicating late night atmospherics and just the right amount of low-end pulse - all cascading chords and dub bassline bump. "Projections", meanwhile, is impressively dubbed-out, layering sparse percussive elements over enveloping ambience and hissing vinyl crackle.

Review: We're pretty delighted to offer Yuri Shulgin's Flow EP for the first time on digital format. Originally released on vinyl last summer (upon which it quickly sold out), opening cut "Cinematic Brooklyn" dances around your head in the most joyous, effervescent manner, a straight up jazz house cut with horns, brass, keys, the lot, all of which rise up from the subtle 4/4 rhythm like swirls of cigarette smoke. The suitably titled "What A Track" is a beefy slow jam, with a lumbering analogue bassline set beneath utterly divine jangling chimes. There's no let up on the final track either - indeed "Flow" might be the best of the lot with its Chi-town bassline, ghetto vocals and staccato percussion. Highly recommended.