SECURE SHOPPING
US duo Sepalcure will release their debut album via Hotflush Recordings in November.
Hotflush Recordings boss Paul Rose will return with the first original material under his Scuba moniker since 2010 album Triangulation, with the three track Adrenalin EP due out in September.
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Like most of the artists on Hotflush, Peter O’Grady understands that diversity is key to longevity. Having scored a huge breakthrough with 2009’s “Hyph Mngo”, it would have been relatively easy for O’Grady to retrace his steps, sit back and wait for the dollars to roll in. However, he’s chosen to do the exact opposite, and this follow-up for Paul Rose’s label, delivered under the truncated Joy O moniker, is a less immediate affair. If “Ladywell/BB” signalled his intentions to take a house-centric turn, then “Jels” & “Wade In” is O/Orb/Orbison tackling Detroit in his own inimitable style. Indeed, despite being so strongly entwined in the UK bass narrative, the staccato drums, deep chords and, even the way the mournful synth line hangs in the air above these components, all sound inextricably linked to the Motor City.
There is a return to more familiar territories on “Jels”, but with a twist; the stop-start drums resemble “Hyph Mngo” as does the breathy vocal sample that mouths the word ‘turn’ throughout the arrangement. Once again though, O’Grady looks to other sources and the evil acid line that climaxes in unison with a series of doubled up claps, is lifted straight from the Chicago house producer’s handbook. He may not be about to give Hotflush another crossover record, but creatively Joy O’s star continues to ascend – and surely that’s all that really matters.
Richard Brophy
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Another hotly tipped act to appear on Scuba’s Hotflush imprint, Sepalcure blend ambient soundscapes with lush melodies, hushed vocals and a deep, experimental post-dubstep sound that’s quite frankly, really rather wonderful. You may recognise them from their former constituent parts – Machinedrum (Travis Stewart) and Praveen (Praveen Sharma) – but the Brooklyn based duo, who recently marked their debut in Europe with their gig at Plan B in Brixton, have really come into their own as Sepalcure. They first emerged from the undergrowth using the new moniker late last summer with their Love Pressure EP, which stunned audiences across the globe and now they return with the highly anticipated follow up Fleur.
Kicking off with the EP’s title track, Sepalcure send us into a sublime headspace which is somewhere between contemporary hot shots like Mount Kimbie, Pariah and fellow yanks Vondelpark and Ninja Stalwarts like Cinematic Orchestra. Chiming instrumentals are paired with shimmying, faded out vocals and clipped woodblock beats. Next, “Your Love” takes things even more downbeat with echoing, reverbed atmospheric crackles and a warm, murmuring b-line yet there is a sense in which this track won’t settle – constantly fidgeting and looking towards the horizon until entering a contemplative passage towards the end. It leads us neatly into “No Think” – which could well be the defining track of the EP, what “Work Them” was to Ramadanman last summer. Here lurching 2-step rhythms hit home with great effect, the same shimmering, barely there vocals which saw before return and there’s an overwhelming sense of brooding darkness before a soulful element rounds it off. Divine. Finally, “Inside” closes the EP with a synth-soaked intro and short two-minute Flying Lotus style finale, incorporating string flourishes, muttering lyrics and warm ambient watercolour washes.
Belinda Rowse
Following a year in which a veritable slew of dubstep compilations were released, Scuba’s influential dubstep Hotflush imprint will flex its muscles with its own offering, due out in April.
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Well, here it is ladies and gentleman: the debut Mount Kimbie LP. Released on Scuba’s increasingly influential Hotflush imprint, which was responsible for Joy Orbison’s ubiquitous 2009 anthem “Hyph Mngo” and the groundbreaking Triangulation album from the label chief, Crooks & Lovers is an aural delight from start to finish. Both Dom and Kai have been at pains to insist their sound is not dubstep per se – and although this is true, it’s equally apparent that they wouldn’t exist in their current form without having the genre as a base from which to explore their own sonic territory.
From the trademark vocal snatches and playful bleeps of “Would Know” to the twangy guitar line and wonderfully chopped vocal melody on “Before I Move Off”, the duo create a sonic landscape in which every sound matters, with sparse instrumentation, warm pads and typically delicate vocal refrains produced with intricate poise. There are highlights aplenty, but the melodic flourish of “Carbonated”, which is just so damn warm and fuzzy it’s ridiculous, stands as one of the finer moments – it’s like dubstep meets R&B meets the xx. “Field”, meanwhile, begins with the compressed warmth of Actress before dropping into a mini orgy of bird calls, junkyard percussion, off kilter drums and guitar licks.
A lone snare and sombre guitar brings the album to a thoughtful, beatless close with “Between Time”. In Crooks & Lovers Mount Kimbie have set a high watermark for electronic music in 2010 – the question is, who will be able to keep up? Aaron Coultate
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One part of the force behind East London party starters, Man Make Music, George FitzGerald (yes that’s a capital G in there), brings us a fantastic offering on Scuba’s Hotflush Two imprint. Moving swiftly on from “Don’t Stay”, his debut release on Joy Orbison’s Doldrums label earlier this year, FitzGerald finds himself increasingly on the territory laid out by his forefathers – Orbison included – a swirling expanse where garage, dubstep and a whole other range of hints and tones converge to form a blur of blissed out electronic beauty.
That’s not to say that FitzGerald is just a Joy Orb copycat. He’s not. He is, however, hotly tipped for 2010, and it’s no wonder why. “The Let Down” is a delicious, delicately structured piece, with slowly building vocal sampling blended into light, percussive beats and chiming keys, falling gently into a more ambient piece of gorgeously flowing, rhythmic beats, tripping breaks and rippling harmonies. Continuing in a similar vein for the flipside, “Weakness”, FitzG opens with a softly fuzzing intro, replete with shimmering synths and UK garage vibes in plentiful, yet understated existence. Executed with the prowess of a fully-fledged member of the Hotflush contingent, George FitzGerald lives up to all the hype here. And long may he prosper.
Review: Belinda Rowse
Eastern Electric Reveal (Almost) Full Line For August Party
by Juno Plus on 22.06.2010 at 14:39pm
Tri Annual party types Eastern Electrics today revealed that Thomas Fehlman, Scuba and the Wighnomy Brothers are amongst the acts to share billing with Michael Mayer, Justin Martin and Joy Orbison for their London August bank holiday party.
Dubstep starlet George FitzGerald will join the coveted Hotflush team with a debut two track EP to be released this month.
The artwork and tracklisting for the hotly anticipated debut from Mount Kimbie has been revealed.
Artist: Mount Kimbie
Title: The Remixes Part 1
Label: Hotflush Recordings
Genre: Dubstep/Grime
Format: 12″, Digital
Buy from: Juno Records, Juno Download
Bringing us the tastiest of flavours and the phattest of beats, this double decker remix sandwich of Hotflush Recordings’ hotly tipped heroes, Mount Kimbie, is well, what can we say…a bit of a treat. Delivered as a ‘part one’ and ‘part two’, the double EP release sees remixes of MK’s most delectable tracks from James Blake, Tama Sumo & Prosumer, FaltyDL, SCB and Instra:mental.
To begin the proceedings, James Blake revisits “Maybes” (coincidentally the duo’s debut release on Hotflush from early 2009) coating its progressively clapping, clicking, clunking rhythms, and intricate, heavily referenced tapestry of sounds in a warm, fuzzy glow. In doing so, Blake adds a suitable dash of soulful rigour over the top of what has been heralded as a blueprint for MK’s iconoclastic sound. The second track, “Serged” sees the New York-based, garage-house-IDM-electronica fusionist, FaltyDL, go in on the original with faultless aplomb, giving the tune a fresh trans-Atlantic flavour, all smoky riddims and snatches of deep, honeyed vocals. Then it’s Instra:mental’s turn; fresh from setting up their experimental Autonomic imprint with long time collaborator, D Bridge, the duo transfer their expertise to MK’s delicately evocative plink-plonk, hissing percussive number, “At Least”.
Moving on to the second part of the release, Berlin-dwelling, Panorama Bar’s Tama Sumo & Prosumer re-work the lo-fi minimalism of “William” into a more shuffling deep house number, with ticking beats and occasional nods to Burial. The final track of the EP means it’s time to take our hats off to SCB (the moody techno alter ego of Hotflush head honcho, Scuba) who revisits “Vertical”. It’s a deep, brooding number with gently pounding, steam-puffing rhythms, made all the more poignant by SCB’s unique touch and marking the final artistic flourish for a fantastic remix package.
Review: Belinda Rowse
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Artist: Scuba
Title: Triangulation
Label: Hotflush Recordings
Genre: Dubstep/Grime, Techno
Format: CD, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download
“Triangulation is a way of assuring the validity of research results through the use of a variety of research methods and approaches.”
This may sound a bit of a dry way to start a review of one of the most musically interesting albums of the year so far. However, this ethos is at the heart of Berlin-based Hotflush founder, Scuba’s new album. Moving away from the “dubstep/techno crossover” pigeon hole, and from the sound of his moody, atmospheric debut album Mutual Antipathy in 2008, Triangulation moves between a range of tempos, referencing house, techno, experimental D&B, dubstep, garage and all the unexplored, ever-shifting territory between these constellations.
Beginning the album with a crackle of meditative, minimal atmospherics and soft breathy echoes, interspersed with sharp, immediate gunshot bleeps, Scuba moves effortlessly between one track and another. Drifting smoothly between meditative moments, dribbling synths and shuffling breaks in tracks like “Minerals” (also featured in his recent Sub:Stance mix album), “Descent” and “Latch”, as well as heavier numbers with a thumping, hypnotic beat, warm horns and jarring SFX, like “Heavy Machinery”, the album itself is an ever-evolving organic structure, not at all estranged from the dancefloor, by any stretch. “Three Sided Shape” plays again on the triangle motif, developing from a warm, indistinguishable glow of white noise, into the hum of a single organ-like sound, with tapping hi-hats and sweeping atmospherics slowly building into a deep, pulsating number which instantly draws comparisons to the work Joy Orbison. Drawing to a close with the beautiful “Lights Out”, it’s a perfect end to the album. An album which makes a poignant sonic commentary on where electronic music is right now and where it is likely to go in the future. An album which you’ve simply got to own.
Review: Belinda Rowse
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Artist: Scuba/Various
Title: Substance
Label: Ostgut Ton
Genre: Dubstep/Grime
Format: CD
Buy From: Juno Download
The Ostgut Ton imprint has released its first Sub:stance album, mixed by Hotflush head honcho, Paul Rose aka Scuba, to celebrate the success of his and Paul Fowler’s dubstep parties at Berghain in Berlin. The Sub:stance club events feature the most forward-thinking bass and dubstep music being made in Europe, and Scuba’s mix brings this bass heavy sound to the home listener.
The album begins with dark and heady sonic tracks from Sigha and Airhead, setting the mood before Scuba drops an absolute burner of a song by Joy Orbison that would have you chugging your vodka-red bulls and rushing onto the dance floor, setting up camp for the rest of the night. Apparently, the sound system at Berghain is absolutely amazing, where the bass rattles your chest and makes your arm hairs vibrate, without destroying your ears, and it’d be quite a treat to hear such deep bass over a two-step beat.
The tracklist on this album features unreleased tracks from Joy Orbison, Sigha, George Fitzgerald, and Instra:mental, as well as four new songs from Scuba himself. Added in the mix for good measure are hits from budding superstars Shackleton, Joker, and Untold. This is the future of dancefloor music and an excellent primer into the world of dubstep and bass music. Check it.
Review: Matt Leslie
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Juno Download has teamed up with the hugely popular Dubstep Forum to bring you the 2010 Dubstep Awards.
