Review: "!Kollections" banner. Each focuses on a certain aspect of the long-running label's vast back catalogue. The fourth edition, for example, focused on disco. "Reflections", the latest volume, is not as tight stylistically and instead gathers together tracks that tend towards the deep, poignant, beautiful and melancholy. There are many treats amongst the 27 showcased selections, with highlights including an impeccable chunk of string-laden downtempo pop from DJ Tennis and Fink, a dreamy slice of loved-up house warmth from Lone, the bustling, dream house era Mediterranean holiday memories of Mugwump's "God is Gracious" and the thrusting, big room-friendly late night hypnotism of Dubfire's "Dust Devil".
Review: Since the release of her last album in 2010, Lumiere Noire founder Chloe Thevenin seems to have been taking things relatively easy. While she continues to be a popular presence behind the decks on the European club scene, her recorded output has been limited. Endless Revisions, her third album, is an impressive return to the spotlight, though. A notably mature and thoughtful affair, it sees the veteran Frenchwoman saunter between dark, synthesizer-heavy soundscapes, clandestine cold-wave workouts, atmospheric wooziness, mind-altering ambient interludes and pitch-black dancefloor shufflers. It naturally holds together brilliantly as an album thanks to her consistently moody sonic approach, though it will take you a few listens to really get to grips with everything that's going on. Needless to say, it's time well spent.
Review: Chloe is one of Europe's finest female house/techno DJs, and this has been the case for the past ten years. Sadly, she does not get as much recognition as some of her peers. Maybe this is because she prefers to focus on making and playing great underground dance music, but whatever the explanation, her talents shine through on Smash. The title track is a murky affair, drones and dubbed out sirens rising through the rickety rhythm, while "Time Right" shows a lighter side to Chloe. Over a rolling bassline, a breathy vocal is interspersed with cut-up tones to create an insistent but playful sound. Phil Kieran's take on "Smash" leads it to a darker place, while My Favourite Robot's version is all bouncing basslines and trippy pulses.
Review: The sassy French DJ delivers one of her most assured releases yet for Ellen Allien's label. The title track is powered by heavy, bassy licks and hissing rivulets of percussion, as well as subtle flourishes, like the pitch-bent hats that fold in on themselves midway through before promptly disappearing again. However, it's "Chatterbox" that will win most attention here, with Chloe chopping up vocals over a niggling acid groove. As the arrangement progresses, the vocals morph into strange bleepy tones, which lend the track the kind of lost it feeling that many producers strive for but rarely achieve. The whooshing reverb and shuffling drums of "The Shift" complete the package.
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