Review: Hamburg heroes Poker Flat make it abundantly clear on their new various artists EP that they still like it raw - and don't we all? They're preaching to the choir on this one, where the hottest names in tech house at present fully represent. Highlights coming courtesy of Pavel Iudin (Quality Vibe/Raro) on the deep 'n' sexy late night swing of "Waxology", London's James Dexter also returns to the label after appearances on sister imprint Dessous with the smoky afterhours vibe of "Area 51" and hero of the Parisian underground 'Monsieur' Julien Sandre teams up with Mennie for the dirty back room dub of "Partitions". Indeed like the name suggests, this is on a much more underground vibe that what we're used to from the label - quality stuff!
Review: Canary Recordings has been pretty quiet of late, with their last vinyl release - the second part of the Beautiful Chaos series - dropping this time last year. While they figure out their next move, they've decided to reissue their 2013 wax debut digitally. The mighty Rick Wade drops a gorgeous chunk of bouncy, warm, sun-kissed richness in the shape of "Alone at Night", while Kindimmer successfully fuses raw acid bass, swinging US garage rhythms and tactile deep house chords on the equally tasty "Home Alone". Finally, Japanese producer Yusuke Yamamoto steals the show with "Let's Begin", a sensual, Motor City-influenced deep house cut smothered in evocative Rhodes chords.
Review: Amazingly, 2020 Vision is the 13th different label Greek producer Thanasis "Kindimmer" Voulgaris has appeared on since making his debut back in 2010. This first EP for the Leeds label is arguably his best to date. Certainly, there's something magical about the dreamy strings, rich Rhodes chords, bumping beats and tough, tech-tinged bassline that make up "Noble Loser". While "Blow Up The Bank" and "Next Door" are solid if unspectacular deep house chuggers, and closing track "This Harmonic" is superb. It brilliant combines stylistic tics associated with Detroit futurism and the bumpin' Chicago deep house of Chez Damier, with additional techno weight to the beats. It comes highly recommended.
Review: It's not all that long since Local Talk's first Talking House compilation dropped. Given the sheer volume of 12" singles from the label - there seems to be one every week these days - it's little surprise to see this follow-up dropping in double-quick time. The label's best material has always been superb, and there are some real gems here. Check, for example, Dirtytwo's clever (and exceptionally well executed) fusion of HNNY's "For The Very First Time" and Midnight Star's "Midas Touch", John Mood's "Basement Romance" (clearly inspired by classic Mood II Swing), and Cle's colossal piano house bomb "The Jam". Oh, and the thrill-packed blast of Balearic magic that is Fred Everything's "Brothers & Sisters (AM Pacific)".
Review: Amazingly, this is the 17th Local Talk release, not bad going since they only first started operating in mid 2011. It's a slight departure from many of the label's outings, in that it doesn't sound like a shameless homage to classic instrumental US garage. Instead, the three tracks sound like fusions of contemporary house and classic basement-bothering garage dubs, with some modern bass music influences thrown in. The deep and chiming "Rthoms" [sic] is our pick, though the loose but tribal rhythms of "Shadow & Construction" do come close. The organ-heavy "Deep Stripped Down & Dirty", however clumsily named, is also pretty hot.
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