Review: Over the last 12 months, Mixmag has been dipping into their archive of cover-mount CDs and making the mixes available digitally for the first time. The latest set to get this treatment is a 2014 mix from Seth Troxler, when the popular artist was at the peak of his powers. Recorded live in one take with no overdubs or post-mix editing trickery, the Illusion Noveau sees Troxler move from the creepy ice cream van tones of Windy & Carl's 'Carnivale' to the steelpan-fired brilliance of Steven Encinas' 'Disco Illusion', via heady neo-dub (Pepe Bradock), next-level minimalist jazz (Ricardo Villalobos remixing Royal Dust), glitch-house (Matthew Herbert), Afro-house (Obafunke), wonky late night house (nis own collab with the Martinez Brothers) and strobe-lit neo-Italo insanity (Todd Terje's rework of Simon Baker).
Review: Here is another Firecracker which has been kindly made available on digital and it's as pretty much as you'd expect... Regardless, enlisting long term Juno favourites Vakula and Juju & Jordash to remix Fudge Fingas is always going to be a strong look. The object of their prowess is "Mass X", taken from What Works, Fingas' 2010 debut for the Edinburgh imprint and the original's chiming sea calm gets reworked into two differing but complementary dub house gems. The Ukrainian - no stranger to remixing Fudge for Fire - calls shotgun with a wonderfully dusty house number filled with the kind of brain melting touches we've come to demand from Vakula. In contrast Amsterdam dwellers Juju & Jordash go uber deep, continuing their recent strand of immersive and expansive remixes that feel so soft you want to bury yourself in them.
Review: Firecracker's reputation has been based on pairing some classy deep house and disco productions with the kind of mouth watering art work that sends "hand to wallet" brainwaves coursing through your body. This digital edition may not come with the physical packaging, but music wise, the two Fudge Fingas originals here together with one Linkwood track getting the Fudge Fingas remix treatment are effervescent, dusty slices of house music which are all clear winners whatever the format.
Review: Having made his name on a steady diet of soulful, handmade house music with a focus on expressive keys, Gavin Sutherland now heads to the Delsin-affiliated Purple Maze and it's safe to say he's broadened his remit. EP opener "Eyes On The Prize" is instantly quicker than previous FF releases, and channels a mess of disco licks into a wonderful mulch with a psychedelic bent. Strangely the beat feels largely indebted to Detroit as it furiously snaps away, which strangely echoes in the troubled filtrations of "NTNLNC". It's as if the Motor City love for nagging disco loops against breakneck techno got slowed down and smacked out. "Kinski" likewise plies an unusual trade in skipping drum machine groove and starry-eyed synth touches.
Review: To date, Dekmantel's Anniversary Series of singles has proved to be something of a hit, delivering high quality deep house, acid and techno from such formidable talents as Hunee, Juju & Jordash, Skudge and Lone. Predictably, this fifth instalment is just as impressive as its predecessors, offering wildly contrasting fare from Redshape and Fudge Fingas. While the latter's fluid, loose, jazz-flecked "Light In My Life" impresses greatly, it's Redshape who wins the day. His "Flexx" is unashamedly powerful - a sweaty, percussive roller full of shuffling military drums, stargazing techno melodies, foreboding strings and booming bassline pressure. It's arguably his best for sometime.
Review: Gavin Sutherland aka Fudge Fingas is the man behind the seventh missive for the peerless Firecracker imprint, with "What Works" showing a move away from the soulful strains of his recent long player for Prime Numbers and towards moody, shuffling Detroit house. It seems fitting that remix duties are handed to Vakula - it was Firecracker after all who first showcased the Ukrainian producer's sounds to a wider audience - and despite his prolific form in recent times, his appearance here still feels very special indeed. Unsurprisingly, he turns in a memorable, highly atmospheric remix of "What Works", before another Fudge original, the chiming sea of calm that is "Mass X", rounds off an essential release.
Review: Gavin Sutherland isn't perhaps the most prolific producer in the Prime Numbers canon. Since making his debut in 2002, the Scottish producer has released just four solo singles - the most recent being last year's well-received About Time 12" - and contributed a handful of tracks to various Firecracker and Prime Numbers collaborative EPs. For those who dig his atmospheric and at times heady sound, it's been a frustrating experience. Perhaps he was saving himself for this debut full-length. Now About How largely explores his previous themes, showcasing a densely layered, occasionally downtempo take on dance music that's never less than intoxicating. Now About How is a true basement soul album. While firmly rooted in deep house (check the swampy Detroitian vibes of "Shake Out"), it never settles into one comfortable, predictable groove. Its heady, emotion-rich grooves include warm, melodic two-step and future garage flavas ("Polo", the jazzual "Silent Statues"), lazy Balearica ("Mind Swamp"), dubwise slo-mo grooves ("If We're Gonna Go") and dewy-eyed downtempo beatscapes ("It's The Music"). It's eclectic, no doubt, but thanks to Sutherland's delicious production and strangely distant vocals, Now About How hangs together marvelously.
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