Review: After a run of split releases - and collaborations - with his old pals (and fellow In Dust We Trust founders) Chaos in the CBD, Jon Sable has finally delivered a fresh solo EP. Somewhat predictably, it's really good, with title track 'Endorphin Loops' delivering a near perfect fusion of spacey Motor City techno electronics, rolling deep techno grooves, dubby bass and undulating acid lines. Sable then showcases his love of dub techno via the brilliant 'Sleep Suit', where echoing deep space synths seemingly drift above a dense, bongo-rich rhythm track and deep, sub-heavy bass, before closing out proceedings with the sunshine sparkle of two-step house jam 'Soft Focus'.
Review: Since setting up their In Dust We Trust label a few years back, Chaos in the CBD (talented siblings Ben and Louis Helliker-Hales) have delivered a string of sublime singles rooted in the warmth and hypnotism of dub house. They continue to explore this attractive sound on their latest EP, Brainstorm. They hit the ground running with 'Echolocation' where dreamy deep house motifs and dub techno chords ride a warm and hazy late night groove, before delivering a lighter and airier exploration of similar influences on the impeccable 'Liquid Experience'. Mongo Skato collaboration 'Brainstorm' is jazzier, jauntier and a touch less dub-wise - though still wonderfully smoky - while closing cut 'Mind Message' delivers weightless, mind-soothing deep house warmth by the bucket-load.
Review: Fittingly, the first musical missive of 2021 from the In Dust We Trust label showcases the album's co-founders, Chaos in the CBD (New Zealand-born brothers Ben and Louis Helliker-Hales) and Jon Sable. The trio offer up two collaborative cuts, both of which give different spins on the fusion of dub techno and hypnotic deep house. There's opener 'Mahia Madness', a thickset, late-night number that's as dubby and hazy as any Deepchord record, and the gently picturesque, Sprinkles-esque 'To Puke Thunder'. The EP also boasts a solo track apiece, with Chaos in the CBD opting for non-stop, energy-packed deep techno hypnotism ('Coral Castle'), and Sable reaching for dreamy deep house chords and rubbery broken beats ('Ascension Island').
Review: We've come accustomed to the Helliker-Hales brothers delivering dusty, musically intricate deep house that tends towards the jazzier and more dub-flecked end of the spectrum. It's therefore something of a surprise to find that their latest two-tracker is an altogether bolder and more warehouse-ready affair. Title track "Come Together" features distinctive, alien-sounding lead lines, trance-like female vocal snippets and stabbing, warehouse-ready riffs rising over forthright drums and a chunky, retro-futurist bassline. If anything, "Digital Sound" is even heavier, with dub-wise vocal snippets, bleeping electronics and foreboding chords dancing around heavy tribal drums and the kind of muscular riffs that were once a hallmark of Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia's mid-90s productions. In other words, it's a suitably sizable "big room" record.
Review: London-based Kiwi Jon Sable returns to his own In Dust We Trust with three very fine deep house jams. 'All Night, All Right!' is aptly named, the kind of chuggy, eyes-down affair that works best circa 3am, when the club tourists have gone home and the real househeads settle in for the long haul. 'Shoplifters' has a similar sound palette but is a fair bit pacier, so would be good for building energy levels as peaktime looms, while the deeper, dubbier 'Shifting Sounds', with its lingering pads and echoing, disembodied vocal fragments, is probably one for the warm-up or post-club play.
Review: By now we should know that Chaos In The CBD barely gets it wrong. In fact, we can't think of one duff moment in their rapidly expanding discography. Certainly, there's much to set the pulse racing throughout the Multiverse EP, which happens to be their first missive of 2018. We're particularly enjoying the Adonis-goes-deep bassline, becalmed chords, druggy acid lines and bongo-laden beats of opener "Multiverse" and the humid tropical house hustle of B-side opener "Kaitaia Fire" - deep and woozy, yet percussively adventurous - but the whole EP is superb. The other two cuts, "Double Dribble" and "Drum Therapy", are altogether deeper and calmer, with the latter also feeling wonderfully hypnotic in tone, too.
Review: Another week, another killer release from Kiwi deep house sorts Chaos in the CBD. This one, a two-tracker on the In Dust We Trust label that they set up with pal John Sable earlier this year, is undoubtedly one of their strongest EPs to date. first you'll find the typically drowsy and atmospheric "Zona Del Silencio", a tactile and humid chunk of early morning deep house built around languid synth-bass and rolling, carnival-friendly percussion. The rolling bongo hits return on creepier "Unsound Mind", the musical equivalent of stumbling through a rainforest at 3am while high on herbal remedies. As with many of the duo's productions, it subtly builds throughout, offering movement despite the hypnotic, slow-build nature of the track's construction.
Chaos In The CBD - "False Awakening" - (8:14) 126 BPM
Jon Sable - "Scumbag Unity" - (6:00) 125 BPM
Review: It's perhaps fitting that the second release on In Dust We Trust should come from the label's founders, Chaos In The CBD and fellow New Zealander Jon Sable. The latter chips in with "Scumbag Unity", an ultra-deep roller whose deep space chords, lilting sax licks and undulating jazz-house beats help create an intoxicating early morning mood. As befits their status as modern deep house heroes, Chaos in the CBD steals the show with "False Awakening", a similarly deep but slightly more driving chunk of dub house/deep house fusion full of layered tropical percussion, swirling pads and hypnotic loops.