SECURE SHOPPING
Romanian producer Cosmin TRG has unveiled his next release, a follow up to the superb “Separat/Izolat” 12″ on Modeselekor’s 50 Weapons imprint.
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In recent times, Rush Hour’s Direct Current offshoot has been a constant source of inspirational, dancefloor baiting material. Seemingly designed to offer a retro-futurist take on house from producers perhaps better known for their more experimental material – most recently seen on the thrilling, head-warping releases from Cosmin TRG and BNJMN – the imprint has rarely put a foot wrong to date.
This two-tracker fits neatly into the RH DC template. Braille is a new pseudonym for Praveen, one half of post-dubstep visionaries Sepalcure (whose recent Hotflush EP Fleur was one of that label’s most interesting and forward-thinking releases yet). In true RH DC style, the tracks presented here offer a cutting-edge take on house music that gives classic Chicago jack and the melodic futurism of Detroit a fresh new twist.
“The Year 3000” opens with a delay-laden vocal snippet from Sterling Void’s Chicago classic “It’s Alright”, before sprinting off on a woozy journey into 21st century Euro-jack – all dub-laden percussion, heavyweight 808 thumps, hissing jazz cymbals, spiralling vocal cut-ups and heavy, off key chords. The bassheads currently making their first forays into house will love it.
“Leavin’ Without You” treads a similar path, but offers more basic, straightforward thrills. A heartfelt vocal sample nimbly dances round a ricocheting rhythm of off-beat 4/4 percussion, densely layered chords and mind-altering FX. By the time the organs drop after two minutes, you’ll be lost in the pulsing, ever-evolving groove. Like its impressive A-Side, “Leavin’ Without You” is off-kilter late night house music of the highest order.
Matt Anniss
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James Holden’s Border Community has long been seen as an underground imprint likely to enjoy mainstream success, but it’s only now this prophecy looks likely to come to pass. Nathan Fake’s productions, although routinely excellent, were too dreamy and abstract to win mainstream support and Holden himself lacked the patience to enter the pop world - even though he certainly did not lack the creativity. Instead, the honour of most likely pop star in waiting falls to Canadian producer Jake Fairley, aka Fairmont.
Those with long memories and bulging record collections will recall that under his own name, Fairley made a series of stunning widescreen techno records for Berlin label Sender. Though inspired by Detroit melodies and the grainy, unrelenting bass of early ’00s German techno, these releases laid the basis for a sound that has splintered into different strands, all of which reach their logical conclusions here. The muffled vocals and atmospheric hooks of “Cold World” are expressed, albeit using a more downbeat tempo, on the layered synths and downer medication slur of the title track, while the bristling, twitching techno of “Drama” is evident on “Vanguard”, which builds to the sound of Alden Tyrell-style arpeggiated synths. However, Fairley also builds on his more recent work as Fairmont, and the trancey synth hooks, throbbing bass and, on “Cannon”, the androgynous vocals may finally propel Fairley from underground status into the charts.
Richard Brophy
This week it was pretty hard to look past Hessle Audio’s stunning 3xLP compilation, which scored a rare 10/10 from Juno Plus for both presentation and sound.
A bit of light entertainment for you courtesy of the guys at Rush Hour, who have just released the video for “Steppin Out” – Tom Trago’s killer collaboration with house legend Romanthony.
So we’ve spent a large portion of this week gazing admiringly at the vinyl edition of the new Hessle Audio compilation 116 & Rising. It’s a Hessle release so you know the standard of music is going to be high – featuring exclusive material from label regulars such as Untold, James Blake, Blawan and Cosmin TRG along with equally fresh Hessle debuts from the likes of Addison Groove and D1.
It’s the work that’s gone into the presentation that has further impressed us though, with the vinyl edition featuring the twelve new and exclusive tracks from the release spread across three twelve inches, housed in a gatefold sleeve designed by Will Bankhead of Trilogy Tapes fame. Hessle have also sneaked in all tracks from the compilation on two CDs too.
When you digest all of the above it’s no surprise that Ben UFO, one third of the Hessle Audio decision making team, is a big fan of vinyl – the above picture is a mighty clue too! Thus we were very keen to get an insight into which records are doing it for Ben right now and why, and we’re suitably impressed with his choices.
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At a time when music critics and fans alike are more than happy to endlessly debate what the next stage of dubstep’s progression should be called, Hessle Audio present 116 & Rising – a rich demonstration of how the label has progressed over the past four years and an exciting portent of where they might go in the future. Whichever format you choose to sink into, when you come out the other side you can’t help but be fully impressed.
As anyone who has followed the label’s progression will attest, it’s natural that the triple vinyl edition contains the most swagger, with the design work from regular collaborator Will Bankhead looking stunning across the gatefold sleeve and the twelve new and exclusive tracks spread across three slabs of vinyl, two to a side. Furthermore the inclusion in this edition of all 24 tracks on CD makes it the smart choice to indulge in.
If you can see past the temptation to merely sit and admire the artwork and actually bask in the music on offer, you will be richly rewarded with an array of brilliant material from the Hessle camp. Mainstays such as Elgato, Untold and James Blake naturally feature alongside contributions from the two thirds of the Hessle Audio decision-making team that produce. Flexing their status at the top of the game, Hessle can also call on new tracks from Addison Groove, Peverelist and D1, which is clearly a move to show which of their contemporaries has helped to shape the direction of the label since it launched in 2007.
So far so impressive, but how does the actual music sound? It surpasses expectation and has you gripped from the moment Elgato’s “Music (Body Mix)” starts. Along the way Blawan serves further notice that he’s got the best drum flex in the game on “Potchla Vee” which might just work in the rattle of a can of spray paint. Sitting next to this is “Stifle”, the one Pearson Sound submission, which sounds like a 23rd century twist on “Din Da Da”. Fans of David Kennedy are well stocked though, as he graces 116 & Rising with no less than three Ramadanman productions – perhaps finally putting this alias to bed?
Elsewhere, Cosmin TRG’s “Bijoux” is every bit as impressive as the four tracks that made up A Universal Crush, his EP for the Rush Hour Direct Current series (this reviewers favourite release of 2011 so far), whilst Joe invokes the spirit of West London circa 2001 on the tinny broken sensation of “Twice”. Amidst such celebrated company, Addison Groove might just steal the show on “Fuk Da 101” which combines dexterous sampling of urgent vocals with a cacophony of crazed percussive touches.
More words could be said on the music that features on the second CD but followers of Hessle Audio will be familiar with the brilliance of tracks such as “Fram”, “Rut” and Martyn’s ever excellent remix of TRG’s “Broken Heart” and happy to have them on CD for the first time, whilst late comers will delight in experiencing these and the nine other inclusions for the first time. With such a detailed musical representation of the label’s past, present and future, you might wonder why there was no thought given to the inclusion of sleeve notes. However the music is strong enough to speak for itself, and perhaps enough people spend far too much column space discussing their music anyway?
Tony Poland
More good news for Siriusmo fans, with Monkeytown Records revealing they are on the cusp of releasing Pearls & Embarrassments, a hefty double CD retrospective spanning the Berlin producer’s prodigious output over the past decade.
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A few years ago when the focus shifted from mnml to the classic 90s-inspired sounds of Berghain, Berlin-based artist Roger Semsroth did the unthinkable – he took a hiatus from techno. For the majority of producers involved in electronic dance music, where disposability and short-termism are defining characteristics, this move defied logic. It seemed Semsroth had diverted from the record-release-tour-earn money model that is pervasive in all forms of contemporary music. However, the man behind Sleeparchive had merely taken a brief break – and it is quite obvious that for Semsroth, someone who will be around when most of his peers are back doing day jobs, three years is indeed a shortish period.
At a time when all around him tried to outdo one another in the sincere techno stakes, he focused his efforts on making the most willfully noisy, experimental racket possible. Semsroth brings that sense of experimentation to Ronan Point, his comeback techno record. Great waves of noise underscore the rivers of viscous bass and titanium-plated drums that are at the heart of these arrangements. Fused with the kind of austere bleeps that made releases like “Hospital Tracks” such classics, this combination makes a potent dance floor fusion on “Point Two”. “Point Three” is less detailed and its rhythm is inspired by Detroit minimalism rather than the Finnish variant, but bookending this excellent comeback are “One” and “Four”, which present the listener with impenetrable walls of dense, frazzled abstraction. Welcome back you brilliantly awkward bugger.
Richard Brophy
In a move that confirms the A&R clout of Crosstown Rebels chief Damian Lazarus beyond any doubt, DJ Harvey and Daphni (better known as Caribou) have been snapped up to remix Art Department’s upcoming single “We Call Love”.
Glaswegian imprint Numbers are warming up for a summer of suitably fine releases with a new EP from Italian techno legend Lory D the first of several essential drops from Deadboy and Redinho.
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Young Turks continue their assault on releasing good music, paying no heed to genre politics in securing some all too rarely seen original material from Barcelona resident John Talabot. Part of the Hivern Disc family that resides in the beautiful Spanish city, Talabot’s obvious talent for crafting house music has been seen on just a handful of EPs. The clamour and critical acclaim surrounding him has been embellished by the raft of inventive remixes Talabot has submitted – most recently a delightful take on Teengirl Fantasy’s signature track and a EP stealing appearance on the Mario & Vidis EP on Future Classic (no mean feat when Soul Clap and Andre Lodemann are also involved).
The tracks on Families really provide further evidence of the somewhat mysterious producer’s endless progression into a musician of real talent, perhaps most notably on the title track collaboration with Glasser’s Cameron Mesirow. The comfort her distinctive, haunting voice shows surrounded by the shuffle of syncopated programming has been demonstrated plenty of times since Glasser broke through on the True Panther imprint in 2009, the most recent example being Lindstrom’s superlative remix of “Mirrorage” released earlier this year.
Whilst Talabot is no stranger to utilising vocal samples on his tracks – see the vaguely orgasmic cooing that permeates through the lower reaches of his most recent Permanent Vacation release – he seems to revel in the opportunity to craft his trademark rough edged drum tracks around Mesirow’s voice. “Families” is in a word sublime, a perfect melding of pop sensibility and glorious electronic production. It’s obviously going to add to the reputation Talabot has amongst the music press glitterati, but crucially could see him gain wider appreciation.
This is not a one track EP though, with Talabot indulging in some crazed digi horrorcore boombap business on “Lamento”, all jagged vocal edits stretched over a sea of white noise and click clacking percussion. “Lovers Tradition” occupies similar territory, aping the hip-hop trend for chipmunk vocals and sinking them deep beneath twisting Eastern melodies that worm their way into your cerebral cortex with far too much ease. The final track sees Lonely Club rework “Families” – adding more club meat to the beat and laying down some hypnotic melodic qualities before slowly bringing in the vocal refrain. It’s a perfect end to an excellent release.
Tony Poland
Dresden imprint Uncanny Valley have announced full details of their fifth release, a departure from previous output that sees Jacob Korn take full control with She, a solo EP which also features remixes from Juno Plus favourites John Talabot and Iron Curtis.
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It seems like an eternity since Eric Tsai and Justin Simon made their debut on Italians Do It Better. It was, in fact, 2008, and the track in question was “Cable Dazed” – a kind of comedown-friendly deep house cut featuring a pleasingly soft-and-cuddly mix of dubbed-out percussion, eyes-wide-shut electronic riffery and weirdly smacked-out vocals. As leftfield deep house records go, it was pretty special.
The arrival of this long-awaited follow-up, some three years after that breakthrough release, is something of a surprise – and a pleasing one at that. Arriving on DFA, “In A Hole” picks up where “Cable Dazed” left off, but this time Tsai and Simon have replaced the metronomic pulse of deep house with percussive rhythms that wearily shuffle between the speakers like a depressed 90 year-old in a post office queue. If that sounds like an insult, it’s not meant to be; take a listen and you’ll know what we mean.
In both the original and gorgeously trippy dub form, “In A Hole” is woozy, ethereal and dream-like. Half-speed vocals throb attractively in a crystalline soundscape of FX-laden electronics and (of course) carefully programmed congas. Flipside “Can’t Feel My Knees”, meanwhile, trudges back towards the crackly world of leftfield deep house. Immensely fragile, it hovers somewhere between thrillingly bittersweet and heart-achingly mournful. The short dub, all heavy analogue bass, dub-laden percussion and foreboding sweeps, adds a touch of afterhours darkness to proceedings.
It’s an excellent EP, and one that should quickly remind people just why we were so excited about Invisible Conga People in the first place. Taken as a whole, the EP comes on like Primal Scream’s “Higher Than The Sun” for the M-cat generation – and that’s high praise indeed.
Matt Anniss
Dan Keeling aka Bubble Club, the man behind the eighth Juno Plus podcast, announced himself to the record buying public in 2010 with three excellent 12″s that touched on the dubby side of disco.
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Given the sheer number of British artists releasing on International Feel, we’re beginning to think that a free trip to Punta Del Este is offered as part of any record deal. Indeed rumours (possibly started in the Juno Plus office) persist that Bubble Club, Gatto Fritto and Coyote have all been spotted walking around London in recent weeks sporting unseasonable tans. The latest to potentially be soaking up rays on the South Atlantic coast of Uruguay are The Mythical Beasts, aka Felix Dickinson and Toby Tobias. If either of these names need further introduction then back to those disco night classes with you! As The Mythical Beasts, Dickinson and Tobias present an altogether more lackadaisical sound, with “Communicate” fully channeling the sound of Dutch icon Jan Hammer, as sleazy 80s synths combine with the most glacial of funk riffs.
This wouldn’t be an International Feel twelve without some exquisite artwork (check) and a discerning selection of accompanying remixes. On this occasion we are suitably stocked with a variety of takes from Permanent Vacation, Alphabet City and Das Volt. The Munich duo lead the way with a tight tropical disco take that ups the pace, brings out some hollow percussion and focuses on a particularly introspective xylophone melody. Up next, Alphabet City prove their recent Under The Shade EP was no fluke with a chunky yet glistening electro funk reimagination. Our personal favourite, however, is the spooked out Giallo disco take from Late Night Audio’s Das Volt.
Tony Poland
Maddslinky, Rustie and Africa Hitech will all appear on the second volume of Adventures In Dubstep & Beyond, an exploration of the nether regions of UK bass music curated by highly respected music journalist Joe Muggs.
We’ve scored some choice merch from seminal UK label Mute to give to one lucky Juno Plus reader.
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2011 is proving to be a year of irresistible quirkiness over at FXHE. First there was the shimmering anthem “Here’s Your Trance Now Dance” from label boss Omar S, described by the man himself as so catchy it was “ringtone worthy”. Soon to come on the label will be a surprise appearance from Shadow Ray – we say surprise because the producer has spent the past few years holed up at Ryan Correctional Facility in Michigan. So the story goes, Alex Smith (aka Omar S) made a presentation to the facility’s parole board to commission a remix of “Here’s Your Trance Now Dance” as part of Ray’s work release program – and was successful. Before that, however, the second 12” of the year on the label throws up another surprise, with an (almost) forgotten Mark Kinchen gem from 1993 dusted off and given some love alongside a new Omar S offering.
Although Todd Edwards is routinely the first name mentioned breathlessly whenever the US garage sound comes up in conversation, Kinchen (perhaps more recognisable to house heads simply as MK) is not always held in the same lofty esteem – although Edwards himself is quick to credit him as a major influence in most interviews. Yet only a matter of weeks ago another MK classic, “4 You” (also produced under the 4th Measure Men moniker) was reissued by Defected – a label millions of miles away from FXHE in the underground stakes. Defected called on tech house producer du jour Maya Jane Coles among others to remix the track, a move that served to showcase the breadth of his influence and enduring appeal in certain quarters, despite some questionable career moves in later years (remixing Celine Dion anyone?)
The dub version of “Given”, which appears on this FXHE release and first saw release on Kinchen’s Area 10 imprint some 18 years ago, is a perfect example of his production style; wonderfully chopped vocals riding above a meaty bassline, sweet melody and those euphoric brass sections so favoured by mid 90s house producers. It’s release in 2011 is a shrewd piece of A&R by Omar S, coming at a time when many producers – including the aforementioned Maya Jane Coles – are (re)discovering the sound of vintage NY and New Jersey house and garage.
On the flip, the Omar S track “Sarah” opens with a quote from The Toxic Avenger (a celebratory image of the movie also adorns the vinyl), proving that the Detroit don is just as happy sampling cheesy 80s horror flicks as he is Motown classics. The track quickly locks into a solid groove with shuffling 808 hats and a deep, chuggy bassline. Although Omar S is clearly enjoying throwing down the odd curveball at the moment, “Sarah” – a wonderful slice of stripped back house – is a timely reminder that with FXHE there are certain things you can always rely on.
Aaron Coultate
Wolverhampton based duo Letherette will release their second EP on fledgling Eglo offshoot Ho_Tep, with an eponymous release due out on June 13.
