Review: We're not quite sure what the loose theme is for Frappe's latest multi-artist EP, but the material on show is well worth further investigation. Scene stalwart S3A provides a peak-time ready chunk of sparkling, densely layered sample-house full of rubbery slap-bass, drowsy chords, chunky house beats and twinkling melodies ('Work For NYRK'), before laying down an even weightier, horn-heavy house stomper ('Slump'). Elsewhere, Ten Fingerz joins the dots between chunky, peak-time house, hip-house and Blaxploitation funk ('Rue du Fonk'); Basile De Surenses drops some disco-tinged, soul-fired vocal deep house ('Get back'); and Alastair Lane reaches for the glassy-eyed 'city pop' synths on the gorgeous and sublimely squelchy 'Tokyo Love Affair'.
Review: Since launching in May 2020, Frappe Records has released a string of multi-artist EPs, each with its own conceptual theme. They've continued this approach on Afrodisiaque, an attempt to join the dots between Afro-house and "the French sound of the early 2000s". Floyd Levine's opener, 'Creda Mutwa', offers a perfect encapsulation of this, combing jacking Chicagoan acid house grooves and wild TB-303 lines with densely layered African style percussion, while Mr Raoul K's superb 'Raining Love' is authentic West African deep house rich in fluid xylophone melodies, melancholic chords and foreboding electronic riffs. Elsewhere, Saudade hits the heights on the luscious 'Bougarabou', Ten Fingerz doffs a cap to the disco-house/Afro-house futurism of DJ Gregory's Africanism series ('Blow de Conga') and Basile de Surneses rolls out some rave-ready Afro-acid ('Bastoss AfroK47').
Review: The Frappe label loves to give its' multi-artist EPs a concept, though there appears to be no such unifying theme behind French Kiff, their latest mini compilation (or at least not one they've so far mentioned). Regardless, there's a lot to love across the EP, with the Parisian imprint's selected artists all delivering the goods. Check first the mid-90s New Jersey garage revivalism of Mark Blair's 'Tropicana' - all bouncy organ riffs, squelchy bass, driving beats and synth-trumpet solos - before admiring the starry, synth-bass driven deep house haziness of Naux's 'Kristofer'. Elsewhere, Groove Boys Project's 'Groove Box (Paname Club Mix)' is a summery slab of jazzy deep house warmth, Basile de Suruesnes' 'French Toaast' adds scratches and hip-hop vocal samples to a chunky deep house beat, and Ten Fingerz' 'Ze Party' is a woozy, crunchy and starry treat.
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