Skycreaker At Juno Download

Review: Skycreaker return after nine months of virtual silence with a sterling slab of disco from label mainstays Casual Encounters. Loaded with the ever-reliable disco bleeps, a strong-but-too-overpowering beat, an outlandishly sexy bassline and some rather dashing synthwork, you'll be doing more than a mere casual boogie to this when you hear it in all its full length glory. There's some very tasty remix action on show, too; Drop Out Orchestra add extra emphasis to the bassline, Rocco Raimundo takes things into much deeper territories while Andrew Clarke reworks the focus towards the synths. Blame it on the boogie...

Review: Scandinavian nu-disco imprint Skycreaker debuted recently with a solid three-tracker from electrofunk/nu-disco fusionist Satin Jackets. Here, they attempt to give a flavour of the label's future direction with a split, four-track EP. There's plenty of promise amongst the grooves, which casually flit between boogie-flavoured house, compressed electrofunk and off-kilter deepness. Casual Encounters impress with their synth-heavy "Million Dollar Smile", while Flash Mode layer up the organs on the deep and dreamy "Solo Flight". There's also a deliciously deep and atmospheric chunk of late night house from Ejeca and a long, midtempo builder from Mike Salta. On this evidence, Skycreaker will be a label to watch in 2012.

Review: Russian spoonerism-turned-producer Ponty Mython has slowly been building his profile via a series of releases and collaborations that sit somewhere between classic deep house, acid, electrofunk and shiny nu-disco. This EP for Skycreaker is probably his strongest release to date, thanks in no small part to comfortable head-nodding grooves of warm house opener "Simple Questions". There are other attractions, though. "Take More Lessons" bounces around impressively, "Don't Disturb Jackson" sounds like a Russian take on Julio Bashmore and Ejeca turns the title track into a sub-heavy future garage/ghetto-house swinger.