Review: Irish techno hero surprised us all with the summery and housey bumpiness of his full length opus Blinded By The Sun last year in 2016 which signalled a real change in direction for the master producer's sound for powerhouse label Hot Creations. There are now some killer remixes of some tracks from the album: first up Frankfurt legend Roman Flugel who gives "No Life" a deep and atmospheric makeover with a chunky/razor sharp bassline and trippy analogue synth atmospherics throughout: the guy's trademark really. Next up the imitable Andrew Weatherall delivers an epic and euphoric take on "Find Love" which is awash in sublime arpeggios and dusty rhythms and manages to retain the pop inflected aesthetics: those vocals work really well and add another dimension to the track...
Review: Irish tech house hero Phil Kieran has been throwing some curveballs at us in recent times, appearing with sunny house music on Hot Creations, some punky indie dance on L.A.'s Machine Ltd (with SONNS) and now some Afro tribal grooves that'd make even Daniele Baldelli stand up and notice - his new one for Optimo Music. With a name like "Polyrhythmic" it pretty much does what it says on the tin, but this trance inducing use of syncopated rhythm is definitely the most restrained of the bunch. "Polyrhthmical" and "Polyrhythmica" respectively go for some seriously intense latin carnivale rhythms - in particular the latter which is reminiscent of the Good Men or more directly the legendary Sergio Mendes.
Review: The latest release on Kieran's label is based on a session he did with Speedy J in Rotterdam. It's not hard to hear the Dutch producer's influence on the title track. The bass is ominous and menacing, and it is surrounded by filtered drums and a tense vocal. "Two Minds" also features the sound of the human voice, but this time it comes in the form of a resonating vocal that bleeds into a hypnotic, tonal groove and shuffling drums, like a more streamlined version of a Sleeparchive track. Rounding off the release is "Basic Pitch", where the Northern Irish producer flexes his creative muscles to deliver a phased drum track.
Think Too Much (Unloved David Holmes remix) - (6:30) 126 BPM
Review: This second EP of remixes of tracks from Phil Kieran's impressive Blinded By The Sun album is notable for containing a now rare remix from fellow Northern Irishman David Holmes. The producer-turned-soundtrack composer delivers a predictably hazy, atmospheric interpretation of "Loved Too Much" that skillfully balances cinematic traits with the hypnotic techno found on his earliest releases. While undeniably impressive, Matthew Herbert's distinctively wonky, micro-house style rub of "Realities Forgotten" is arguably even better. Throw in a cheery, piano-heavy deep house take on 'Solar Storm" by Mano Le Tough, and you have an essential collection of tasty, club-ready reworks.
Review: To give you a little bit of context, Belfast's Phil Kieran has been producing effective, floor-ready techno since the turn of the millennium, and he's appeared on many 'above the line' labels such as Skint and Scotland's Soma. The spritely dance specialist lands on Sven Vath's larger-than-life Cocoon Recordings, but only in a cameo role as the original producer of "Pkrmxd". The two sides of the record are given to Planetary Assault Systems and Tom Demac, respectively. The former contorts "Wasps Under A Toy Boat" into a driving, hypnotic beast that is tailor-made for the dance floor, while the latter transforms "Missp" into a jagged, electro house bomb with a steady 4/4 beat but that unleashes a grizzly load of bass. Just like the old days - thank you!
Review: Irish techno hero Phil Kieran on Hot Creations? You better believe it! The man presents "Make A Change", a funky, bass driven party anthem with sexy pop vocals and one totally mad cowbell attack! There's then several remixes, but for our money it's definitely San Francisco acid retrovert Matrixxman who really delivers the goods on both counts. Firstly, his main remix is a tunnelling techno trip with the most psyched out 303 sounds you'll hear this year. Next his "Warehouse remix" goes down the darker industrial techno route; no doubt inspired by his appearances at Berghain, this one's totally fierce!
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