Review: Chinese producer Mr Ho impresses muchly with this release on his own Klasse Wrecks label. '000 Baby' in its Original form is a delightfully diverse concoction that blends ethereal synths, a haunting, lilting female vocal, drums that nod to early 90s street soul, Rastaman shouts, a big fat bassline and, as we get into the second half, lots of pleasing acid squelch. As if that wasn't enough Bristol boy Jim Coles, better known as Om Unit, then gives the track a deep drum & bass makeover that's enough to get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up and no mistake, guv'nor. Top drawer bizniss for sure.
Review: For the next edition of Banoffee Pies, Pugilist leaps out with give tracks of drum-heavy abandon, launching with the breaks-laced 'Deja Vu', dipped in warm chord progressions and sweeping harmonics above, before we here 'Future Retro' rework a dubwise vocal line into a nostalgic hardcore epic. Next, 'Static' arrives right on cue with a bubbling display of Amazonian drum rhythms and floating atmospherics, with the industrial drum switches and moogy synth pulses of 'Sky Blue' following closely behind. This project is a fantastic look into the varying states of Pugilist's instrumental influences, with the final track 'Illumination' exploring the more dancefloor orientated side of his spectrum, combining sweeping synth lines and shuffling 2-step drums for a perfect finale.
Review: Although it might still be too soon to call Texan producer DJ Poolboi a legend, his music is certainly starting to lean the way of legendary, with lo-fi house the artist's trademark. It's the boi's third album in four years across three labels and first on Shall Not Fade in which he's become something of a figure head, and Into The Blue Light signals potential for AOTY (Album of the Year). Filled with deep and impactful emotion, melancholy and warmth, it's a long player that pulls at the heart-strings while firing up the dancefloor with chords, keys and melodies that hit those sweet spots, while booming in kick, bass and drums. Highlights include opener, "Won't Let You Ruin My Mood", the pop-aqua rave of "For The Last Time" and some piano-driven Moby inspirations in "The Joy You Once Felt".
Review: A legend in the house to be spoken in the same sentence as Ed Rush, Optical, Zinc and Roni Size, Bristol's own Krust takes it strangeways on Crosstown Rebels - and the label's third installment of album remixes. Diving back into that deep and hopeful sound of '90s drum and bass, breakbeat and soul is a rare UNKLE remix of "Hegel Dialect", that like Hodge's remake of "Constructive Ambiguity" lifts its inspiration of course from the halcyon days of hardcore, jungle and rave with ghostly atmospheres to boot. With a most fitting wildcard entrant to cap off this great remix series - that has so far included Masters At Work, Four Tet, Damian Lazarus, Batu, Calibre, LCY and Flynn - sweet New Yorkian house vibes and ambient percussion come through in DJ Nature's remix of "Deep Fields Of Liars". Krust & Crosstown equals result!
Review: On Scene Delete, Sasha has decided to flip the script, jettisoning his usual progressive-leaning club fare in favour of original productions that wallow in their largely beatless, ambient nature. In some ways, it's a surprise move, but in others, it makes perfect sense; his DJ and production style has always emphasized atmosphere and texture, making it perfectly suited for the ambient genre. Musically, Scene Delete has some genuinely superb moments, with the obvious Eno, Yokota, Namlook and Reich influences joined by nods to obscure new age records, early synthesizer pioneers and, on a couple of occasions, the glitchy IDM of Autechre.
Review: British producer Matt Cutler aka Lone recently celebrated the release of his seventh LP 'Always Inside your Head' on Greco Roman, followed by the Natural Aerials EP featuring four remixes of tracks from the album. The album took in disparate influences such as shoegaze, Balearic / acid house, hip-hop and late '90s electronica and now comes in an expanded edition. His first album in five years, it marks two major changes, with both a new label and approach, working with vocalist Morgane Diet.
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