Review: Following the release of his acclaimed debut album, In Waves, on ESP Institute, Lord of the Isles man Neil McDonald returns home to Firecracker Recordings. With six tracks to choose from, Parabolas of Neon is almost a mini-album. It boasts a quartet of sublime, mind-soothing ambient cuts, topped and tailed by two more rhythmic moments. Opener "Sunrise 89", a shameless dose of nostalgia built around heavy, bleep techno style sub bass and electronic motifs, offers a perfect balance between dancefloor heaviness and dreamy, saucer-eyed intent. Then there's the small matter of the title track, which is the kind of ultra-deep, ultra-dreamy chugger that you just want to hug at six in the morning.
Review: Danish producer Milan Zaks has largely impressed since releasing his first cassette of dusty, rave-influenced downtempo grooves last year. Modern Species, his first outing for Firecracker Recordings, is easily his most expansive and impressive release to date. Stretched out across two slabs of wax you'll find dreamy, jungle-influenced deepness ("World A", "For Real For You"), cosmic dub ("Stellar Clusters", "Ascension"), spacey ambient techno ('Entry Mode"), Motor City influenced positivity ("Parallax") and Boards of Canada style loveliness ("Reluctant Memory"). Predictably, it's all superbly produced, with the material proudly sitting in the no man's land between club-ready rollers and horizontal home listening fare.
Review: Following his prime edit material for Cole Medina's American Standard label, Scottish producer Lord Of The Isles has seen original productions land on the likes of Cocktail d'Amore, Ene, and his own Little Strong as well as gracing the Phonica Special Edition Series. Now he arrives on Firecracker's Shevchenko edition for the label's seventh release, with three tracks representing the many shades and hues of his production palette. "Elgol" sees the producer venture into similarly impressionistic house territory as Legowelt, with nebulous organ chords joined by loosely jacking drums and gentle acid textures. On the flip, "Galicia" delivers a deep jam with all the same free-flowing analogue tendrils and luscious bass, while "Timber Lorries Emerging" combines a bassline with a John Carpenter-inspired tension with neo-Balearic soul, a combination that works a lot better in practice than you'd expect. As with all Shevchecnko releases clear vinyl and exceptional music is the order of the day - highly recommended.
Review: It would be fair to say that Firecracker offshoot Unthank is a little underrated. The 10" series, which variously focuses on experimental deep house and curious downtempo explorations, has previously showcased superb work from Vakula, Inkswel, Booshank and Lord of the Isles, amongst others. Here, Vancouver's LNRDCRY gets in on the act, opening with a wondrous chunk of horizontal ambience - think dreamy, new age chords, throbbing bass and far-out textures - before delivering a suitably saucer-eyed slice of beatless positivity. The dancefloor's not completely ignored, of course, and the EP's final missive is an intense romp through analogue acid blessed, of course, with LNRDCRY's usual impeccably atmospheric chords.
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