Bestsellers This Week

Review: More commonly known as Professor Genius, New Jersey resident Jorge Velez has already served up one end of year treat in the shape of the long overdue Hassan LP on LIES, and now he through his personal archives of late 90s recordings for the killer J Velez MMT Tape Series collection on Rush Hour. This digital release follows a series of four limited MMT Tapes 12"s that surfaced earlier this year from a mysterious source, with Rush Hour sufficiently impressed by them to license all the tracks and get four further unreleased Velez productions to boot. If you're not familiar then these 12 tracks are essentially straight to tape recordings that touch on everything from warbling, lo-fi house to dusty techno manipulations via experimental minimal wave and ambient arrangements. Fans of everything from LIES to FXHE via WT Records and Minimal Wave should really be checking this release!

Review: Given the broad spectrum of Hotflush's output, it's easy to forget Sigha's place on the label's roster, given that his concise productions have always been far more aligned with the concrete Berghain sound than the colourful palette of his labelmates. However, there's a warmth present in his sound that makes his place on the label appropriate, especially on this superb EP. "Something In Between Us" opens with an ambient flourish of warm chords - it's a stark contrast to "Where I Come To Forget" with its solid kick drum and dry percussion, but there's something about Sigha's production that coats everything in a subtle heat, free of the mechanical feel of some of his German peers. "How To Disappear" provides further warmth - rather than cold, hard edges, its hypnotic arpeggio ripples invite you in like a warm spring. Even though "Drown" which follows is a fairly bleak finish with only subtle clicks to carry it forward, it nevertheless envelops you in a blanket of crackly sonics. Highly recommended.

Review: It's difficult to make dance music with 'real' instruments, as so many second rate punk funk acts have proved, but Miami proves to be an anomaly. BBF have taken inspiration from jazz influences for this album, which makes for an adventurous, at times breathless work. At one end of the spectrum there's the seductive piano lines and soaring woodwind of the title track and "Miami Titles", while at the other there's the high tempo, syncopated rhythms and deranged brass of "Skiffle It Up" and "Broken Pieces", which features a contribution from Jamie Lidell. Another contributor, Nina Kraviz, helps to turn the air blue on the abrasive "Verwahrlosung", but in the main, Miami is a work inspired by warm sea breezes and ice cold cocktails.

Review: Coming back for that "difficult second album" hurdle, Darkstar clearly went away and drummed up a fresh approach after the attention the got from their debut album "North". Seemingly heading further into indie song-writing dynamics, the range of sounds in use is far more advanced, embracing more organic elements alongside the penchant for warm, fuzzy electronics. There are bold and brash pieces like "Armonica" and "Amplified Ease", but the tendency is towards a twisted kind of folk balladry drenched in head-spinning production. It's a decisive step on, and it's served Darkstar very well indeed.

Review: Given that his sound has now been referenced by countless imitators, it's testament to Burial's enduring appeal that the announcement of a new EP on a Sunday in February was enough to shake the online music press out of their collective stupor. As an EP it more than stands up to his previous work, and it may even be better than last year's Street Halo EP - where the brilliance of the title track left the EP quite top-heavy, there's no such complaints on Kindred. If UK garage was the touchpoint for his earlier releases, this EP sees Burial further developing a sound that has few obvious points of comparison, whether it's the savage, gnarled bassline of the title track, or the shambling house of "Loner", characterized by its hollowed out arpeggio and ambient crackle. But it's "Ashtray Wasp" that provides the most breathtaking moment, seeing the producer using the distinct musical language he's created and bringing confident melodic elements into play. Of course such descriptions seem trivial when trying to describe this EP - even for Burial it's far beyond what his peers and imitators could ever imagine making.

Review: Inspired by some time spent in Shanghai, the Hyperdub main man makes a long-awaited return with this no-messing two tracker that sees him venturing into ever more curious realms of rhythmic abstraction. "Xingfu Lu" shudders on a trap-like framework, sparse but heavy hitting all in the same breath. The melodies sport that oddly comforting sense of otherworldliness that has always characterised Steve Goodman's musicality even as the groove playfully fits and starts. "Kan" is a more feisty proposition, moving erratically between different motifs and getting even twitchier in the drums department while found sounds slip in between the miniscule cracks between the hats and snares. It's a bewildering effect that suggests interesting pastures new are in sight for Kode 9.

Review: R&S Records warm up on what should be another fruitful year with the first full release from recent addition Bullion, and what a revelation it is! There's always been a craft and ingenuity to whatever the London producer has released, be it that Beach Boys meets Dilla debut or the stunningly inventive and psychedelic almost-album for Young Turks, but Say Arr Ee fully reveal's Bullion's new found confidence in his singing voice. This addition to Bullion's arsenal was first revealed on "Ralph", his contribution to the R&S compilation IOTDXI, and is explored fully on the two tracks here. On the title track Bullion chooses to mask it amidst a typically sumptuous pop arrangement built around oven warm synths, it is however overshadowed by "What Does She Know", which combines Bullion's undeniable craft for hazy electronic psychedelia with an actual song and deserves to be appreciated on a level equal to sometime label mate James Blake.

Review: Once upon a time, ambient was one of electronic music's boom areas, but sometime in the late 1990s vanished up its own chill out room. In recent years, the sound has made something of a comeback - thanks in no small part to the efforts of Michael Mayer's Kompakt imprint. This latest volume in their annual Pop Ambient series showcases more high quality contemporary ambience, offering up glacial, atmospheric cuts from Superpicther, Magazine, Simon Scott, Morek and Triola. In truth, it's far more ambient than pop, but there's a certain Balearic charm to the sublime contributions from Marsen Jules and Loops Of Your Heart. The latter's "Riding Your Bikes" is particularly spellbinding.

Review: Having spent most of the year pushing the fragile downtempo sounds of his maudlin debut album, James Blake makes a belated return to the dancefloor with a three-tracker for R&S. "Love What Happened Here", the lead cut, is his most floor-friendly concoction since "CMYK". Most importantly, its got some real funk, wrapping his usual mutated vocals and hymn-like melodic motifs around thrilling space funk synths and skittering beats. "At Birth" is a touch more mournful, but cuts through the pianos and fuzzy vocal samples with a solid 4/4 pulse. An excellent EP is completed by "Curbside", a sleazy old skool hip-hop instrumental given Blake's usual twist. Impeccable.

Review: Presenting yet another year of the more reflective end of the Kompakt sound world, the Pop Ambient series is reprised to invite both label favourites and new additions to offer a soothing ambience to tickle at your synapses. Wolfgang Voigt is, as ever, unmatchable in his regality both remixing Michael Mayer and offering his own, orchestra-fuelled study in haunting, shapeless dynamics. Mikkel Metal allows the most subtle of pulses in to anchor his own droning arrangement, while the likes of Triola offer up a lighter tone marked out by more plaintive synthesiser tones. If you need a quality-assured selection of refined meditation music, this is the compilation for you.

Review: Whereas certain trends and producers regress or digress at a moment's whim, ESP Institute remain steadily on their own unique stylistic path overseen by Andrew Lovefingers Hogge from his NYC base and propelled gently on the wave of critical acclaim afforded to the litany of diverse artists that release on the label. Following serene and sublime dancefloor emissions from Michael Ozone and Young Marco, ESP Institute invite you to bask in something even gentile with the self titled debut album from Land Of Lights. A collaborative project from ESP regular Johnny Nash and former Spectral Empire producer Kyle Martin that's been in gestation for some time, Land Of Lights comes with the advance warning that "if you don't have time to really listen, please do not buy this record. If your mind is not ready to unwind, please do not buy this record". "Flares" sets the tone that justifies this warning, laying down all manner of meditative textures before any discernable rhythmic force appears. While that opening track is undoubtedly the most expansive production from Nash and Martin, the subsequent five productions retain the sumptuous levels of production throughout and it'd be a truly angry man to reach the end of "Higher Love" in anything other than a blissful high.