Review: Back in 2018, Los Angeles-based Italian Lorenzo Dada popped up on Culprit with his debut album, Second Life, an attractive and ear-catching proposition that blurred the boundaries between deep house, ambient and more experimental electronic flavours. Here he returns to the Droog-founded imprint for the first time since, offering up more atmospheric, pigeonhole-defying fare. Dada sets the tone with 'Very Personal', where shoegaze-influenced guitar motifs, enveloping chords and hazy vocals rise above a locked-in deep house beats, before Clarian re-invents the same track as a squelchy bass-propelled slab of melodious nu-disco. Elsewhere, 'The Walking Man' is a rubbery bounce through air raid siren-laden acid house psychedelia, 'Naturale' is another guitar-laden exercise in deep house haziness, and 'Jupiter' is a pitched-down slice of ambient-influenced, downtempo electronica.
Review: With a sporadic flow of tracks over the years for labels like Get Physical, Anjunadeep and Stashed music, Liz Cass hooks up with Crosstown Rebels denizen, Laurence Blake, aka Citizen. The pair combine on "Someone" that delves into trance, techno and pop territory with sweet melody lines bouncing in rhythm above a bobbling bassline and classic 909 drum machinery, with Cass's rich and breathy vocals overlaying the mix. Lorenzo Dada's remix plays with the dubbier attributes of the original, keeping Cass's vocals distant rather than up front, with Citizen's original "Square Baths In Paris" going deep into dub house, melodic techno and bell-ringing trance.
Review: According to our meticulous records, this EP marks Christopher Manik's first outing on Culprit for almost three years. In that time he's been busy, of course, with last year's Undergroundknowledge album on Ovum earning heaps of praise from DJs and critics alike. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on this EP, too, not least the dreamy sensuality of lead cut "Basement", where fluttering chords and chopped-up female vocal samples ride a groove dominated by a deliciously low-slung, analogue style bassline. It comes accompanied by a notably dirtier, heavier and looser remix by DFA stalwart Juan MacLean - perfect for cramped, sweaty cellar clubs -and the sub-bass heavy, San Francisco style deep house shuffle of bonus cut "Sally".
Review: Greek producer Andreas Dimitriadis aka And.Id is back but apppearing outside of his usual homebase of Mobilee Records, where his output over the years has been quite prolific and following up last year's Rooms EP for John Digweed's Bedrock Recordings. This time around he appears for Los Angeles based imprint Culprit (run by local trio Droog) who do a fine job of staying on tech house's ever changing pulse and present his new track "Diablada". It's a dark, slow burning journey track that's intertwined in a series of wonky synth leads and dark strings over a tightly programmed groove. There's a couple of brilliant remixes too; homeboy (via NYC) MANiK delivers something more sexy and slinky on his fine deep house rendition, while the Acidub remix does what exactly what it says on the tin on this soulful and emotive epic 303 fuelled journey.
Paloma (Eduardo De La Calle remix) - (7:51) 126 BPM
Paloma (Quina remix) - (6:06) 122 BPM
Review: For this EP on Culprit, tech-house type Javier Ondura has decided to take a different approach. Paloma sees him join forces with Swedish duo Bambook for a collective trip into Balearic deep house territory. "Paloma" may boast his usual tactile, shuffling drums, but it's the dreamy, delay-laden vocal samples and undulating, sun-bright electronic melody lines that catch the ear. Bonus cut "Bundunga" inhabits similar territory, with the threesome cannily combining glistening pianos, twittering new-age synth melodies, and tasty deep house grooves. Those looking for more stripped-back late night offerings should check the remixes of "Paloma" by Quina and Eduardo de la Calle; the latter's dubbed-out techno interpretation is particularly good.
Review: Thanks to quietly impressive appearances on Diynamic, Visionquest, Cadenza and Cocoon, Uner is widely regarded as one of the deep tech-house scene's most consistent producers. This EP - his first for L.A's hyped Culprit stable - will only enhance his reputation. It opens with a blast of tech-house positivity, "Dancemotive", where trippy electronics, rising melodies and spacey aural textures crowd round a rock solid groove. Steve Bug channels the spirit of the KLF's late ''80s "pure trance" movement on his basement-bothering rework of the same track, before Uner delivers more smile-inducing thrills in the shape of "Lights From The Other Side". The woozier and dreamier "In A Different Plane", with its' bittersweet chord progressions and tactile synth bassline, completes a decent package.
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