Review: Making its way inland is a new label from the Lobster Theremin magnate called Distant Horizons, launched this year with Tom Jarmey's Amber Glass LP. Next up on the freshly minted platform is Sneaky Social Club mainstay Chavinski with a heavily house and discofied five-track EP infected with tinges of dub, bass culture and splashes of UKG. For your disco tip head straight to tracks like "Fantasy" and "Rushin" that bring back to life the Rush Hour Amsterdam house sound of the 2010s, with "Hit The Way" delving deeper into post-dubstep and sub-pop sounds. Calm and stormy two step with UKG sentimentality and heavier basslines hover and hum under lighter, inspiring tones in "Baby" whereas "Buy A Dream" treads into percussive, intelligent dub techno territory ala Mark Fell as Sensate Focus.
Review: Bouncy, peak-time-ready blends of deep house and UK garage are the focus of former clipp.art and Running Out of Steam artist M4A4's first EP for the fast-rising Distant Horizons label. For proof, check excellent opener 'Avera', where jaunty synth stabs combine well with wobbly analogue bass and skipping drums, and the cut-up vocal snippets, driving drums and woozy chords of 'Sunriser'. Even more wedded to UKG's champagne-fuelled past is deep two-step number 'She', which features Todd Edwards style female vocal chops and rich Rhodes chords, while 'New City' sounds like a long lost, late '90s Chez Damier/Ron Trent production. Rock solid!
Review: Keeping the London-based deep house sound alive and well is one Kempston Hardwick, a producer still wet behind the ears thanks to a deuce of debut records for Lobster Theremin and SITU Records. Keeping on that tip is a third release for Distant Horizons that sees KH throw down some power house chords and Chicago keys in "Roxy's Party" next to some stripped back rhythm tracks in "Cascade" and the percussive, vocal chants of "Leonila". And for that classic touch of UKG beit US garage, "Step With Me" fills in any blanks. Future classic UK house for the archives.
Review: Next up from the Distant Horizons crew, a high pressure collection from Adam BFD, who explores the euphoria of breakbeat with exceptional accuracy across these 5 rollers. We open up with the heavenly pad textures and sharpened breaks chops of 'Le Voyage', kicking us off with a fiery introduction to say the least. Next, a more mellow exploration as 'Flotus' delivers smooth sub textures and glittering arpeggios, before the clicky high end of 'I Mean It' gives us something a lot more unusual to digest. Two bangers then follow as 'Embrace' firstly delivers a crunchy display of shuffling rhythms and almost acidic melodic grooves, before the delicate yet delightful soundscaping of 'Which Gate' sits behind more shimmering breaks samples for an illuminating outro.
Review: Those in the North East of England have long tipped DJ/producer Meg Ward for greatness, so it's no surprise to see her making moves in recent times. This Distant Horizons label debut comes on the back of a series of fine EPs for Needwant. She begins with the driving, rave-igniting thrust of 'Have Ur Love', where cut-up female vocal samples and mind-mangling motifs dance atop bumpin' beats and a throbbing organ bassline, before offering an immersive techno-not-techno experience on 'Lessons of Arp'. Title track 'Connections' is a slow-build chunk of ambient-tinged, synth-heavy melodic techno goodness, while 'Rupture The Rhythm' a sweaty slab of 21st century breakbeat hardcore revivalism. To round things off, Ward flits between pulsating, UK-bass-meets-tech house sleaziness ('TekkMyGucci') and sparkling, intetgalactic-sounding deep house ('Cosmic Heat').
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.