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FEATURED RELEASES

Burial / Blackdown / Heatmap - Shock Power Of Love EP

Keeping with themes of continuum is Burial's return to Keysound backed by a Blackdown VIP dub and remix of the track "Arklight" by Joseph Whittle's Heatmap project. For Burial, it shows a '90s-inspired and hopeful sound from an artist revelling in the skylit clouds this time opposed to the dusty streetscapes of his known soundworld. "Space Cadet" sounds exactly that, with spirals of Asiatic chimes and new age synths - peppered by crackles and white noise - matched by the rave and post-hardcore melodies of "Dark Gethsemane". Keeping the EP firmly rooted on terra firma though is the hype dub cut "This Journey" by Blackdown - preaching more of a positive message - next to the boxy claps and spiralling arpeggios of that Heatmap remix. An EP for the times: Shock Power Of Love.

Leon Vynehall

Rare, Forever Ninja Tune

A true artist with the ability to go from strength to strength - Leon Vynehall presents the follow up to the lauded 2018 album, Rare, Forever. Still serving up some of the most original hybrid-form house music there is, Vynehall's sound here is as deep, abstract and mysterious as it is colourful, gritty and polished. Flirting with downbeat and drone activities across the album in numbers like "All I See Is You, Velvet Brown", "Ecce! Ego!" and "Farewell! Magnus Gabbro" - to ambient rave in "Worm (& Closer & Closer)" - there's atmospheric jazz to catch in "Alichea Vella Amor" next to the lonely horns and cascading strings of "Mothra". Beatwise, Vynehall's perplexity for dance music goes all the way in "Snakeskin - Has-Been" & "Dumbo" - with "An Exhale" a melodic, breathing wall of synth-tuned noise.

Artefakt

Days Bygone Delsin Holland

Nick Lapien & Robin Koek's Artefakt project returns to Delsin with a largely ambient LP spearheaded by two experimentally driven beat numbers in "Iridescence" and the skizzy, dubbed-out sounds of "Terraforming". A continual force in exploring various strains of techno and electronica, Days Bygone presents Artefakt with a third studio album cushioned with drone, textural ambience and classical refrains of pianos and ethereal strings. There's percussive and synthwise elements to explore in "Cambium" and "Orinoco Basin" too with tracks like "Half Speed Tape" and "Wolf Number" venturing deep into the watercolours of landscape music.

Minimalarchiv

Transfigured EP Integrity SG

Eddie Niguel's Singapore-based imprint Integrity returns, with more emotive techno explorations on the Transfigured EP by shadowy UK producer Minimalarchiv. The title track's style of 'hi-tech soul' is right in line with the label's aesthetic and will no doubt evoke some life-affirming vibes on the dancefloor. The mesmerising "Burning Heat" gets off the grid with a broken electro beat which underpins some some heady elements which altogether add to its knackered style of groove. But it's all about the rework by Detroit techno legend John Beltran up next, whose singular style is lent to the track - taking it into truly evocative realms.

Sasha / Various

LUZoSCURA Alkaane

Sasha brings us collection of tracks that have featured in his Spotify playlist series of the same name, which is oriented towards midtempo, contemplative but still beats-driven cuts spanning breaks, ambient and leftfield electronica. While much is being made of this "new direction", a more cynical observer might say it's the first CD of 'Northern Exposure' plus drums; all the same, there's much to enjoy here if you're in a laidback kinda mood, with standouts including MJ Cole's haunting, fractured 'Maestro' and Cortese's 'Circles' with its air of restrained menace. The album also includes two fresh cuts from The Man Like himself, 'Corner Shop' and recent single 'HDNI'.

India Jordan

Watch Out! Ninja Tune

Still hot from having "For You" voted as Resident Advisor's Best Track of 2020 (next to Crack Magazine's #2 and Pitchfork's #21), India Jordan breaks through to Ninja Tune following a formative run of EPs and singles via Local Action. Watch Out! sees the London-based artist add a hyped up new burst of uplifting club music to the mix by colliding R&B with house in "And Groove" to jungle and rave cut ups in "Only Said Enough" and the title track. Pumping club beats come from faster tempos in "Feierabend" and the rough and ready, percussion heavy, "You Can't Expect The Cars To Stop If You Haven't Pressed The Button". A hotly tipped artist bursting with euphoria!