Review:
DJ Takeo's Okinawa Delays recently served up "daytime mixes" of their Satoko Ishimine voiced "Lotta Love", a sun-kissed chunk of Balearic pop reminiscent of Carly Simon circa "You're So Vain". Here, they hand over the parts to Psychemagik and Phil Mison, asking them to deliver "Nighttime Mixes" with Balearic dancefloors in mind. The standout is undoubtedly Psychemagik's killer "Dub", a wholehearted tribute to underground 1980s dancefloors that layers heavy percussion hits, select vocal snippets and dreamy chords over brilliantly chopped-up drum machine beats and a mind-altering synthesizer bassline. Mison, meanwhile, opts for a piano-heavy proto-house feel on his unashamedly Balearic dub, channeling the spirit of early Italian house productions and the hot and sweaty dubs of NYC legend Paul Simpson.
Review:
Feel Live is southern Italian DJ/producer Massimiliano Pagilara's third full-length for Frankfurt institution Live At Robert Johnson, following up 2011's Focus On Infinity and With One Another - released in 2014. Recorded between Los Angeles, Portland and his base in Berlin as well as at airports and on intercontinental flights, it is his most playful and imaginative work to date -featuring a variety of bold and stylish sonic narratives. Featuring vocals by Private Agenda (the lo-slung "Winter In Los Angeles"), Peaking Lights' Indra Dunis (the neon-lit disco antics of "Trust The Direction In The Wind") and the inimitable Fort Romeau on the tripped-out chilltronica of "Floating Room".
Review:
When Be Svendsen dropped a teaser single for this long-awaited debut album last month, we commented that his productions are becoming far more mature, varied and musically detailed. "Between A Smile and a Tear" emphatically proves our point, shuffling between melodious, mid-tempo Balearic deep house ("Falling"), crackling, jazzy and folksy soundscapes (the brilliant title track), dub disco-influenced wonky synth-pop ("Drop The Gun"), Italo-disco revivalism ("Andromeda"), blissful ambient business (the delightful "Moments"), cosmic rock ("Hazy Eyes") and dewy-eyed, impressively impressive vocal numbers ("October Letters"). In other words, he's finally delivered the album he's been capable of for some time. Don't sleep.
Review:
For their latest trick, Razor-N-Tape chiefs J Kriv and Aaron Dae have decided to take a trawl through the horizontally inclined parts of the label's bulging back catalogue. "Chill Cuts Volume 2", then, is packed to the rafters with blazed and blunted beats, from the woozy hip-hop deepness of Tall Black Guy's head-nodding rework of Lovebirds' "Icarus" and the bluesy, turn-of-the-millennium downtempo beats of J Kriv and Free Magic's "Eleanora", to the Moon B style slow P-funk revivalism of Kan Sano's "Music Overflow" and the Rhodes and Moog-laced sumptuousness of "Penwick Pool" by POOLS. If it's warm, toasty and laidback dancefloor disco you're after, The Groovers "Make Me Feel" is also well worth a check.
Review:
Norwegian nu-disco producer Cavego, AKA Even Hymer Gillebo, has previously appeared on labels like Youth Control and Get Dancy, and here makes his debut on Belgium's mighty Eskimo imprint with an EP named after the valley where his family have a summer cabin. After the 1:44 intro that is 'Velkomst', he serves up five cuts inspired as much by Italo disco as by the Scandi sounds for which his fellow countrymen have made Norway famous, ranging from the sumptuous synth-pop of 'Hajfell' and the very 80s-sounding 'Farvel' to the irrepressibly sunny 'Var I Ayer' and the tripped-out, chuggy 'Kjeiken'
Review:
Italian producer Guxi (or Matteo Rama, if you prefer) serves up a four-track EP for Swedish label Tom Tom Disco that's very much the proverbial game of two halves, Brian. 'Papua' and 'Asmat' itself are slo-mo cuts that take us deep into the Afro zone, but then we come to 'El Tigre', which maintains the Afro feel but ups the pace considerably while adding a serious dollop of bottom-end funk. Frank Agrario then completes the EP with a remix of 'El Tigre' that sports a tougher kick and tech-house percussion, making this EP a solid bet whether you're after downtempo or more club-friendly grooves.
Review:
Following up great ones by Marco Lazovic, AFAMoo and ASOK, Sweden's DJ Different steps up to the Lobster family's main label with an EP that the label best describes itself as traversing the 'Orion Nebula to the very edges of the Oort Cloud'. From the evocative sci-fi ambient of "Fast Forward To The Outer Rim" and the zeitgeist of early '90s rave/hardcore on "Angels" and similarly on the pitched-down junglisms of "Real" - featuring the unmistakable vocals of a certain well known pop diva. It all ends smoothly with the soulful and emotive deep house of "Memories Of The Old World" that is the soundtrack to a perfect comedown.
Review:
The first compilation on Albert's Favourites is almost exclusively a family affair, featuring contributions from all of the label's key artists. Hector Plimmer's "Eastern System" kick starts the release with a sprawling broken beat workout, while Jonny Drop's "Flash Light" is also led by clipped beats, but features complex guitar fret work and soulful vocals. Moving into a much smoother direction are the Expansions, who include "Cannonball", one of the fine jazz cuts from their debut album Murmuration. Meanwhile, Modified Man takes the compilation in an electronic direction with the electro funk of "Kingswood Drive" and Jonny Drop completes the diverse approach with the soulful hip-hop of "This Is The One".
Review:
In recent times, Krystal Klear's EPs have wholeheartedly paid tribute to a variety of (mostly New York-based) historic clubs, artists and dance music sub-genres. While he's officially broken the spell with The Division EP - his first outing on Running Back - for the most part it's still a heart-warming, retro-futurist treat. He kicks things off with the cheery, Italo-disco revivalism of "Neutron Dance", where throbbing synthesizer arpeggio lines and mid-80s melodies are underpinned by a bustling mid-tempo house groove, before slowing things down via the Balearic synth-pop shuffle of "Division Ave". Then you'll find more muscular, freestyle-meets-acid house fun (wild and mind-altering peak-time highlight "Shockzoid") as well as the baggy, glassy-eyed Balearic house rush of closer "Moonshake Mike".
Review:
It's some 17 years since Ian Pooley released Since Then, his third and arguably finest full-length excursion. As this first reissue proves, the set has lost none of its' warm and sunny attractiveness in the years since. While cuts such as "Coracao Tambor" and "900 Degrees" got plenty of club plays at the time, it's the German producer's versatility that shines through loud and clear. Amongst the sunny house treats, you'll find cuts that doff a cap to disco, hip-hop, samba, jazz-funk and the then popular San Francisco style of blazed deep house. For this edition, Pooley has also gathered together some of the best remixes of album tracks released in that period, including strong rubs from Faze Action, Tom Middleton, Sheffield survivors Swag and Mood 2 Swing man John Ciafone.
Review:
Little Dragon trail album number six with a single release for the title cut, and what a monster it is! Centred around an unfussy, throbbing bassline and sporting female-sung verses but a male "Do you wanna be my girl? I wanna be your man" chorus, it evokes classic R&B remixes of yore (think Morales's take on Lidell Townsell or MK's Jodeci reworks) and, in a just world, would be No 1 on the global pop charts for the rest of the year. Similar alt-R&B stylings inspire 'In My House' and the slightly Deee-Lite-esque 'Timothy' but it's the title track that's the stone-cold killer here.
Review:
This is Amsterdam scene stalwart Tom Trago's fourth album, coming five years after The Light Fantastic. Trago set up a new studio at his family home, in the coastal town of Bergen in the northern Netherlands. The album was made with the purpose of creating a global sound, along with the music that has influenced him throughout his life in a new yet natural environment. That is evident throughout the album, because it's a rather diverse affair which demonstrates his expertise in the studio and the impressive variety in his repertoire. From the chill, blunted urban ode of "Bergen", the classic Detroit electro influence of "Zeeweg" or "Morph" to moments of sultry, late night deepness on the emotive "Faith Belongs To Us" or the (hi-tech) soulful closer "Working Machines" - this sees Trago at the absolute top of his game.
Review:
As everyone expected, the latest in a long run of releases from the Breakbeat Paradise camp is an absolute belter as they unveil 'Closer To The Sun' from Ken. As a single it's a hip hop inspired thrill ride, built on hefty basslines and smooth drum work, immediately shouting "cool" at all who hear it. The bulk of this release comes via the remixes however, kicked off by Discobeta's subtle stripped back overhaul. We then hear Ursula 100 turn the track into an 80's inspired electro thriller before Minded & Forrest get super funky with their complete breakbeat redesign, packed with scratchy vocal slices and emotive horn sections. Finally we finish up with Bezwun's wonderful fidget-like refurbishment, driven by electronic chord stabs and groovy drum movements, rounding off a great EP in style.
Review:
Second time around for Hans-Peter Lindstrom's decidedly Balearic, prog rock-tinged Late Night Tales selection, which first saw the light of day back in 2007. This time round, it's been given a gloss of new paint in the form of a sparkling digital remaster. While this is all well and good, the selling point remains the Norwegian producer's excellent, left-of-centre selections. There's another chance to check his own cover of Vangelis' "Let It Happen", classic Balearica from Fearn Kinney and Carly Simon, acapella action from Todd Lundgren, freestyle ambient jazz-funk from George Duke, a slew of forgotten prog rock faves and a brilliant dub track from Oslo mates Prins Thomas and Todd Terje ("Reinbagan").
