Review: Keeping strong in 2020 is Harrison BDP who makes his full debut on Shall Not Fade following a recent offering for its sub-label, Lost Palms, and others like Berg Audio and Standalone Records. Covering all matter of techy, Detroit and housey inspirations in the title-track "Sound Expansion Meditation", "My Deepest Regret" sees Harrison BDP keep it dubby and minimal with a touch of future jazz. Uplifting, linear and cosmic sequences in "Real Love Don't Fade" with the darker trance of "Figures In The Smoke" lightened up by the piano keys in "Country Boy".
Review: Some six months on from his last appearance on Lost Palms, rising star Harrison BDP returns to the Shall Not Fade offshoot with another must-check EP. It's arguably one of his most energetic and forthright releases to date, too, with opener "The Devil In Disguise" cheerily doffing a cap towards the piano-sporting, gospel-tinged techno rush of Motor City artists Terrence Parker and Floorplan. In contrast "Dark Water" is spacey, deep and dubby - if no less dancefloor-ready - while title track "Cathedrals" is a lusciously melodious shuffle into heavily electronic deep house territory. As if that wasn't enough to set the pulse racing, "Reflections" sees the Cardiff producer brilliantly join the dots between jazz-house, two-step garage and futurist techno.
Review: Cardiff producer Harrison BDP has been on fine form this year, releasing impressive EPs on Piff, Enclave and Lost Palms. Here he returns to the latter with four more reasons to be cheerful. He begins with the spine-tingling late night brilliance of "Brute", where blissful, saucer-eyed breakdowns make way for bouncy, retro-futurist grooves, before re-imagining classic dream house via the picturesque shuffle of "Be Like Water". Elsewhere, the Welsh producer makes merry with psychedelic acid lines, dreamy chords and rubbery beats on "Easy Does It", while closer "Implosion" is a techno tempo surge of melodious positivity that's near impossible to dislike.
Review: While it may have been designed to reflect the evolving nature of the label's sound over the last half-decade, Shall Not Fade's fifth anniversary compilation is nevertheless packed to the rafters with previously unheard treats. It begins with a techno-tempo blast of garage-influenced deep house warmth from DJOKO and ends with the dark, squelching and ghostly bounce of Dart's 'Transformations'; in between, you'll find 19 more reasons to be cheerful with plenty of serious dancefloor chops. Undisputed highlights include the crunchy, head-nodding pleasure of GVRL's instrumental hip-hop jam 'Love Game', the angular and acid spiked tech-breaks of Harrison BDP's 'The Powerful Play', the drowsy deep house dreaminess of Mutual Attraction's 'MPC Live Track 1' and the rushing rave revivalism of Baltra's killer re-fix of Earth Boys' 'I'm Not Afraid'.
Review: Now into its fifth year, KGW's Shall Not Fade imprint has long been a reliable source of dusty deep house and rugged, warehouse-ready workouts. To kick-start 2020, the label has decided to celebrate this facet of their output via an expansive compilation of previously released highlights. There's a peak-time ready feel from start to finish, with our picks of a very impressive bunch including the bustling, riff-heavy techno pump of KETTAMA's "In The Garage", the sunrise-ready, melody-heavy bliss of Harrison BDP's epic "Watching The World Go By", the sleazy, acid-fired growl of Big Miz's "Primordial Soup" and the dusty-but-sparkling, emotive rich broken house brilliance of Contours' "Fifth Planet". In a word: essential.
Harry Griffiths - "Since We're Here" - (5:57) 120 BPM
Big Miz - "Sun" - (5:50) 128 BPM
LK - "Unified Love Machine" - (5:57) 123 BPM
Black Loops & Ruff Stuff - "La Progressive" - (7:03) 128 BPM
Harrison BDP - "Interference" - (8:14) 126 BPM
Review: Dub techno progressions, digital techy beats and minimal makes a comeback on Shall Not Fade's 4 Years Of Service, with this various artist comp bringing in new names and label members alike. Biz Miz throws in a huge glowing number with a deep progressive flow in "Sun", while a bangin' combo of chords and beats rain down furthermore in KETTAMA's "Sundance". Deeper still there's the melliflow of Harrison BDP's "Interfearance", while more abstract numbers come from Harry Griffiths alongside a touch of ironical candy cane in 1-800 Girls' "My Speedos". Bring in some bleep, electro Italo from LK's "Unified Love Machine" and we're saying more like 4 Years of Class.
