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Scottish producer Linkwood has mixed up an hour’s worth of sumptuous deep house.
Edinburgh based producer Linkwood will release a new EP on the Firecracker-affiliated Shevchenko imprint, it has been announced.
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Linkwood returns with his first solo endeavour since 2009’s System long player, serving up what is surely his most incendiary release to date with the A-Side offering on this 12″ for Prime Numbers. Last year saw remixes for Australian producer Tornado Wallace, plus a superb codeine-inspired refix of Appleblim and Al Tourette’s “Mr Swishy”, but no original material, and thus From The Vaults Pt 1 marks a welcome return to the fold.
Alongside House Of Traps and Fudge Fingas, the Edinburgh based producer is an integral part of the close knit Firecracker family, which pushes an eclectic sound that touches on everything from deep house and techno to disco, funk and soul. Although inexorably linked to Firecracker, Linkwood has developed close ties with Manchester-based Prime Numbers – indeed the aforementioned System was released on Trus’me’s imprint, and he’s also contributed to a couple of PN compilations in the past. Fudge Fingas also released his album with the label earlier this year, thus allowing Firecracker to remain an exclusive outpost for those extra special 10″s that come by every so often.
The first part in the new From The Vaults series, this EP contains tracks that were made between the years 1997 and 2011. “Dirty Love” calls shotgun, bossing the A Side with the sort of rough around the edges house flex that demands movement of your feet; it’s bleepy warehouse filth, filled with one joyous piano breakdown after another. Alien noises flutter around the searing burn as a multiplicity of rhythmic shifts elevate the track into something truly devastating.
From the euphoric heights of the A Side, the flip transposes you to the murky depths of house music potential with two untitled jams channelling Larry Heard. “Two” is all meandering drums, gently floating synths and pleasing keys. “Three”, meanwhile, unfurls into something quite bewitching as immaculately produced strings and a deep bassline combine to hypnotic effect. More please Mr Linkwood.
Aaron Coultate
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Firecracker’s favourite son Linkwood is set to release his first solo endevaour since 2009’s System, with a three track EP entitled From The Vaults Part 1 due out in May via Prime Numbers.
Community continue to treat South London to Saturday nights that nonchalantly bridge the international gap between the established and the rising, with this weekend’s edition perhaps the most striking example of their programming ethos. They’ve only gone and booked Kerri Chandler.
Now that Carnvial weekend is over and everyone has picked the jerk chicken out of their teeth and drained the last remaining drops of Red Stripe from their clothes, it’s time to focus on the next big event: the Juno Plus 1st birthday party.
To celebrate the first birthday of Juno Plus, we are throwing a party with boutique Edinburgh imprint Firecracker, a label that has continually impressed us with a slew of superb EPs.
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As long-standing friends from the days when Bristol was a city in musical transition, it was probably inevitable that Lawrie Appleblim and Al Tourettes would join forces at some point. That they have now is, perhaps, less predictable – though the results are pleasing. As you’d expect, this collaborative EP – featuring two originals and a pair of fine remixes – fuses elements garage, techno, dubstep and glitchy electronica, and there’s even a sly nod to UK funky amongst the beats.
Lead cut “Lipsmacker” most clearly shows the benefits of this Bristolian meeting of minds, most comfortably blending the two producers’ individual styles. On one hand, there’s Appleblim’s smoky atmospherics and ear for a bassbin-bothering groove. On the other, there’s Al Tourettes’ love of glitchy electronica, alien melodies and intense vocal cut-ups. What emerges out of this fusion is a claustrophobic tech-garage groove tightly wrapped in a blanket of unnerving late night paranoia. “Mr Swishy” continues the darkroom flavour, peppering a snare-heavy steppas beat with darting electronics, swirling chords and a bubbling bassline. It’s good, but pales in comparison to the A – not to mention the excellent flipside remixes.
Deadboy leads the way with a rolling 2-step take on “Lipsmacker” that plays down the original’s darker elements in favour of something halfway between the intense futurisms of early Maddslinky and the eyes-wide-shut blissfulness of Joy Orbison. A strong package is rounded off by a sublime Linkwood rework of “Mr Swishy” – all yearning trumpets, slick Rhodes chords and intergalactic melodies. With its air of stargazing beauty and luscious deep house groove, it’s the EPs stand-out moment. Perhaps Lawrie and Al should get together more often. Certainly, this EP shows definite promise.
Review: Matt Anniss
Featured DJ Chart: Linkwood & House of Traps (Best of 2009)
by Juno Plus on 22.12.2009 at 13:13pm
Edinburgh’s mysterious Firecracker imprint has built up quite a following since its inception in 2004, taking deep house music as the central sound but delving into influences as diverse as jazz, reggae, hip-hop and Detroit techno.
Following in the footsteps of Motor City Drum Ensemble, Diplo, Sinden, Luke Slater and The Revenge, it’s now the turn of Lost My Dog label boss Pete Dafeet to talk us through his top tunes of 2009.
Review: Layo & Bushwacka! – Deep South (Linkwood & House Of Traps remixes)
by Juno Plus on 08.12.2009 at 17:25pm
Artist: Layo & Bushwacka!
Title: Deep South
Label: Juno
Genre: Deep House
Format: 12″, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download
Layo & Bushwacka! comprise of Matthew ‘Bushwacka’ B, a former member of the infamous Rat Pack, and Layo Paskin, a North Londoner immersed in the acid house scene. They met through Mr C whilst Matthew was working at his studio, and by the mid 90s the two had started writing music together.
By 1999 they composed their debut album, Low Life, released on End Recordings. The album announced the arrival of the duo as a force in electronic music, with a record that brought together electro, house and breakbeat fused with blues, dub and downtempo; all underpinned and informed by their collective experience of underground culture.
One of the standout tracks of this was “Deep South”, with its Bessie Smith vocal sample, jazzy trumpet solo, luscious, techy instrumentation and irresistible dance groove.
On this release, the ever-mysterious Edinburgh crew Linkwood and House of Traps chip in with two remixes, picking up on Layo & Bushwacka’s early acid house influences and using a lot of tape and silver boxes to achieve an authentic-yet-contemporary Chicago sound.
Review: James Thomson
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Artist: Linkwood/House of Traps/Fudge Fingas
Title: EP 4
Label: Firecracker
Genre: Deep House
Format: 10″, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download
It’s been a long time coming but Firecracker have finally unleashed the fourth volume in their EP series.
The Boutique Scottish imprint has built up quite a following since their inception in 2004, with their infrequent output from Linkwood, Fudge Fingas and House of Traps taking deep house music as the central sound but delving into influences as diverse as jazz, reggae, hip-hop and Detroit techno. The label’s distinctive artistic direction with limited runs of 10″ vinyl that combines bold fonts with comic book illustrations on a hand screen printed finish has helped secure Firecracker cult status amongst the vinyl fetish disco edit lovers.
Firecracker’s most celebrated son, Linkwood has already dropped a hugely impressive debut album this year (of course you know this already) and his two contributions to EP4 provide ample evidence of his production nous. “Barely Eagle”, his collaboration with label buddy House of Traps is a slo-mo disco burner that has already got fans in The Unabombers and Trevor Jackson and is likely to find itself as a set opener for many a mixtape.
“Who La La” is perhaps the highlight, a bouncey uptempo edit that reaches into 80s electro boogieland and has some sublime synthwork. Fudge Fingas provides a more downtempo excursion into Cosmic Soul on “Situation Diminished”.
This is an essential purchase for Firecracker obsessives and a very good place to start for those intrigued.
Review: Tony Poland
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We’ve got a rather special prize on offer here at Juno Plus: 10 test pressings of the new Layo & Bushwacka! remix 12″, signed by Layo & Bushwacka, Linkwood & House of Traps.
The remix package to the classic tune “Deep South” has already garnered some positive feedback from DJing cognoscenti including Ashley Beedle, Pete Herbert, The Revenge and Mark E.
It will be released on December 7 on 12” and CD via Juno Records. Digital copies will be available from Juno Download.
To enter, all you have to do is answer this simple question: Which infamous DJ collective was Matthew B with before he became one half of “Layo & Bushwacka!”?
Email your answer and postal address to: competitions@juno.co.uk
Winners will be notified by Monday, December 7.
Check out the exclusive new remixes to classic Layo & Bushwacka! tune “Deep South”, by Linkwood, House of Traps and Badboe.
They will be released on December 9 on 12” and CD via Juno Records. Digital copies will be available from Juno Download.
