Review: Lithuania's Alex Pletnev is a hard-to-pigeonhole artist who blends influences from cosmic/Italo disco, experimental electronica and African music, and the two tracks presented in a total of five mixes here are arguably his most 'out there' work to date. In its original form, 'Voranto Bros' is a midtempo piece with African percussion and squelchy synth bass. It's accompanied by a fairly self-explanatory Drum Mix and the Discodromo Mix, a druggy Italo chugger that's by far the best bet for dancefloor play, while the EP's other original, 'Hope They Won't Come Back', is another Afro-inspired percussion piece, accompanied by the far pacier Lion's Drums Remix.
Review: Vilnius based Alex Pletnev aka has experimented with many different styles of dance music on Le Temps Perdu, Bahnsteig 23 and Meda Fury. Doing everything from African music to coldwave edits through to his deep house stuff as Ponty Mython for esteemed imprints like Futureboogie and Dirt Crew. His new offering "Aztec Code" is a dose of acid-tinted African punk funk, while "Daywalker" exists in two versions: the lo-slung kosmische pop of the original, followed by Mehmet Aslan (Disco Halal) and Berlin based synthesist/composer Eva Geist's spaced-out, slow motion spookfest - which was right up out street, via the left hand path!
Review: Compiled by head of programming Vidmantas "B" Cepkauskas, Opium of the People is the first compilation from Lithuania's infamous Opium Club. It's a druggy, off-kilter and decidedly trippy affair, with Cepkuskas wisely choosing to showcase cuts from artists who in some way have helped shape the sound of the label. Expect to hear tracks that touch on EBM, new wave, new beat, bleep techno-influenced deep house, mutant disco, mind-altering techno and skewed acid house, with highlights - and there are certainly plenty scattered throughout the compilation - coming from the likes of Sharif Laffrey, Kris Baha, Lauer, V and Von Party.
Review: Alex Pletnev hails from Vilnius, Lithuania and has thus far released on some pretty credible labels such as R&S diffusion imprint Meda Fury and German retroverts Bahnsteig 23: where he served up some wicked indie-dance shenanigans on BAH035. There is more of the same on "St Bones", a punk funk groove geared for some proper dancefloor drama in the vein of Khidja or Autarkic. There's then some trippy and lo-slung balearica on the very suave "Devil's Logic". The aforementioned title track gets a couple of awesome remixes, but if we had to wax lyrical on one: it would have to be his homegirl Inga Mauer's re-interpretation. A churning, gyrating and acidic EBM mutation that is totally weird and wigged out as you like it!
Jonny Rock - "Oldschool Funk Edit" - (5:03) 126 BPM
Lucky Charmz - "Sun Mountain" - (5:08) 124 BPM
Pletnev - "Babunde" - (7:14) 115 BPM
Review: Bobby Pleasure's Needs label has been launched as a not-for-profit concern aimed at raising money for worthy causes, and on this second instalment they're setting their sights on British homelessness charity Crisis. They've called upon a cracking cast of deep house operators to help donate their jams to the cause, kicking off with Tilman's infectious, looped up heavy-grooving "Without Your Love". Jonny Rock takes a boogie-inflected, 80s approach on the aptly titled "Oldschool Funk Edit", while Lucky Charmz heads into swooning edit territory on the beautiful "Sun Mountain". Pletnev rounds the record out in fine style with a tripped out bongo roller in the shape of "Babunde'.
