Review: After time spent enjoying the instant gratification of electro and pop styles on his more recent output, Scuba is making a return to more introspective matters on his impending Claustrophobia LP, and he precedes it with this atmospheric taster. It certainly harks back to the melancholic atmosphere of albums like A Mutual Antipathy and Triangulation, albeit with a strong thread of Berlin techno restraint as more commonly witnessed in his SCB alias. With its probing low end and taut piano and string arrangements, there are a lot of subtle dimensions to this track which on first listen seems like a simple proposition. As ever, Scuba refuses to rest in one place.
Review: Preceding the release of his highly anticipated debut album, Locked Groove presents Do Not Freak: a two-track EP applying his own interpretations to the classic sounds of the Belgian underground that continue to influence his sound - namely new beat and rave. These tracks come in advance of his new album Sunset Service. Written over a one year period with a combination of analogue and digital equipment at his Berlin studio, it documents the synthesis of a carefully studied musical background into one coherent body of work. With its elevating piano progressions and glistening organ arpeggios over strict machine rhythms - you would think it is the second summer of love all over again on the title track. Fast forward a few years later, he delves into the darker effects of ecstasy on the UK hardcore influence with its fierce breaks and rolling bass on "Attack".
Review: The latest release from Hotflush boss Scuba is reminiscent of the sound he made a few years back under his SCB alias. Irrespective of the reasoning to release under his own name, the fact remains that "PCP" is a hugely effective, dubby techno affair. Based on a shuffling rhythm and featuring some insistent vocal samples, it sees the UK producer embrace a spacious, textured sound that will nonetheless work in a big room. The remix comes from Mathew Dear's Audion project, and doesn't disappoint. Fusing the grindhouse bleep and blips of big room techno with insistent, stepping rhythms, it makes for an unusual but rewarding reshape.
Review: The legendary Paul Woolford, who also goes by the name Special Request and who has appeared on everything from Sven Vath's Cocoon to Carl Craig's Planet E, returns to Scuba's Hotflush with a bouncy two-tracker that's bound to cause a stir on the dancefloor. "Orbit" takes over the entirety of the A-side with a powerful swell of bass hypnotics, driving percussion shots and a heavy dosage of head-banging. Over on the B-side, "MDMA" is inevitably madder, its bassline being more deranged and broken down...sliding nicely in between equally wonky piano keys and strange atmospherics. Large.
Review: The fortieth release on Scuba's label is a collaboration between Locked Groove and the fast-rising Italian pair Mind Against. If there was any doubt that Hotflush represents an accessible take on underground techno, then this is it delivered with a palpable self-confidence. "Elysium" is based on tribal beats, but its groove pulses insidiously and the melodic breakdown is reminiscent of Kompakt's classic trance sheen. "Pulsar" follows in a similar vein and the arrangement, erm, pulses hypnotically. Although similarly pristine hooks and sparkling synths are audible, on this occasion it's all about the groove that gets increasingly intense until the inevitable climax.
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