Review: Dutch party brand Dekmantel celebrates a good innings for 2021, continuing its label operations despite the setbacks of the pandemic and looking forward to a more optimistic 2022 where they can return with their flagship festival in Amsterdam, as well as the Dekmantel Selectors series in Croatia. Best Of 2021 features several catalogue highlights such as Louise Freeman's old school Italo disco goodie "Mirage", the evocative broken beats of Alberta Balsam's "Cascade", in addition to local artist Upsammy's hypnotic polyrhythms heard on "Spat", Phillip Jondo delivering a typically oddball groove on 'Whowhuwho' (feat DJ Plead) and deep house favourite Frits Wentink serving up something a bit different than usual (with Erik Madigan Heck) on the classical ambient journey "What Joy To Breathe".
Review: A few years back, Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskovic joined forces to release a handful of rather good EPs inspired by -in their words - "a psychedelic journey into the tropics". Muscle Memory, the pair's first full-length as Bruxas, continues this approach, combining Mauscovic's love of infectious global rhythms and spaced-out dub disco effects with Gardner's alternately warming and out-there synth sounds. It's undoubtedly a winning formula, with highlights including the cheery synth-tropicala of 'Bodywarmer', the Italo-goes-tropical happiness of 'Cogelo, Rapido', the slow-motion eccentricity of 'Minitrip' and the accurately titled Afro-syth/space disco fusion of 'Crazy Spacey'.
Review: Dekmantel rounds off a hugely successful year with a compilation that reflects the organisation's multi-faceted approach. At one end of the spectrum there's the dubbed out groove and spacey vocals of Peaking Light's "Blind Corner" and tropical act Bruxas' left of centre beats, while at the other end Robert Hood delivers the blistering techno of "Red Machine". In between these extremes, there are Dekmantel-supported artists such as Betonkust & Palmbomen II - impressing here with the Legowelt-esque "Renaat Egypte" - and zeitgeist-defining names like Lena Willikens and Matrixxman. Add in some Dutch scene veterans such as Tom Trago, on fine form with the epic but understated "Working Machines", and it's not hard to see why 2018 was a great year for the Dutch collective.
Review: By now, we should all know what to expect from Toolroom's "Poolside Ibiza" compilation strand, namely groovy nu-disco, house and laidback Balearic beats inspired by afternoons spent lounging by the water in stonking White Isle heat. Naturally, there are plenty of gems to be found amongst the 40 unmixed tunes selected by chosen DJs Moullinex and Xinobi, from their own collaborative post-punk/dub number "X Marks The Spot", to the slick '80s synth-pop dreaminess of Tensnake's fine remix of Xinobi's "Far Away Place" and the drowsy, Morricone-influenced soundscape weirdness of Simple Symmetry's remix of Moscoman's "I Ran". Throw in some seriously good cuts from Felipe Gordon, Donald Dust, Pin Up Club and Meera (whose carnival-ready boogie jam "Fine Without You" stands out), and you have a fine collection of summery cuts.
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