Review: Clearly inspired by US house and techno, Irish pair Schmutz drop a fine dance floor EP. "Leipzig Push", with its shuffling drums, booming bass and outer-spaces tones, sounds inspired by the like of Shake and Theo Parrish. On "Underwater Yoga", the bass is to the fore again, with a menacing low end supporting UR-style melodies and a series of epic break downs. Meanwhile, "Sweep" is more ominous as Schmutz combine a menacing low end with frosty synth shards. The label has tapped Bryan Kessler to remix "Yoga", and the German artist drops a stripped back, drum-heavy take that's tailored for long mixes.
Even My Cigarettes Taste Like You - (5:11) 130 BPM
Punx Eat Little Kids - (5:57) 127 BPM
Time To Upgrade Your Mind - (5:48) 130 BPM
My Snare Is A Weapon - (7:27) 126 BPM
Rough Club Poetry - (5:12) 130 BPM
All Drums In - (3:13) 120 BPM
You Aint Tired - (3:36) 151 BPM
Review: Bryan Kessler goes all drums in for a release not to be overlooked in the annual 'best of' lists that go around this time of year. And we'll be the first to say, don't sleep! Rough Club Poetry is Bryan Kessler's way of throwing down a new dialogue at this generation's ravers, dropping drum tracks as raw Steve Poindexter, Mike Dunn and those Disco Nihilist cuts from Running Back. Find the hits in "All Drums In" - a banging electro-acoustic number - to the roof raising "My Snare Is A Weapon" and percussion assault that is "Time To Upgrade Your Mind". With streaks of post punk, 80s new wave and vogue threaded through the rest of the LP too, it's "You Ain't Tired" that'll slap you round most.
Review: The mysterious Vyvyan (whose true identity is a closely guarded secret) returns to Man Power's Me Me Me label with this four-track EP. Opener 'Voices In Time' comes on like a cross between minimal and mid-00s electro house, while a more percussive and in-your-face remix from Elliot Adamson closes out the EP on a driving, acid-flecked note. In-between you'll find loopy tech-houser 'What They Do' with its hip-house vocal and incessant, rough-edged bass throb, and 'Tableau', which treads similar ground to 'Voices In Time'. All told, the EP's four jagged, energetic cuts defy easy categorisation, and as such could work on quite a range of dancefloors.
Secuenciias Y Substancias (radio edit) - (4:00) 129 BPM
Review: Having previously released on Lobster Theremin, DIY 1990 now make an appearance on Man Power's Me Me Me imprint. "La Ruta Natural" is an intense slice of pulsating techno, led by wild acid squelches and a blistering rhythm. On "Secuenciias Y Substancias", DIY 1990 also drops gurgling 303 lines that recall Hardlfoor at their peak over steely drums and percussion. In contrast, "Reinicio" is far deeper and more mournful, as ethereal melodies swirl in over rolling back beats. There are also radio edits of "La Ruta Natural" and "Secuenciias Y Substancias", with both alternative versions focused on causing maximum dance floor impact.
Review: The latest volume in Me Me Me's "Now Now Now" series - the fifth in total - comes from Lee "Last Waltz" Forster and Oli "Traela" Warriner's Forriner project, which debuted on Man Power's imprint two years ago. They begin in fine fashion via the weighty, arpeggio-style bass, layered percussion and horror soundtrack chic of "Rum Chata", before channeling the spirit of Manchester proto-house heroes and Latin music obsessives T-Coy on the bright-and-breezy throb-job "Pale Blue Dot". "David Peckham" is a fine chunk of tropical-tinged nu-disco/house fusion, while the Club Tularosa remix of "Rum Chata" is a dark, percussion-laden sprint through peak-time dark room dynamics.
Review: For the third installment in Me Me Me's Now Now Now series, they have tapped Italian A7S for a collection of wicked tracks. Alex Scarica is a Parma-based DJ and producer, who is also a resident at the club Red in his hometown - which is inside of a deconsecrated church. He debuted on Abstract Theory Records out of Bologna earlier in the year and if this release proves anything - he's certainly rising up the ranks. From the darkly low slung groove of "Gardeniod", to the slinky and hypnotic journey of "Mach Picchu" which calls to mind the sounds of fellow countrymen on Life & Death, to the deeply emotive bounce of "Elements" which comes with a handy radio edit - this is hot!
Review: Man Power (AKA long-serving DJ/producer Geoff Kirkwood) has gone to great lengths to play down the significance of this sophomore set, even going so far as to slap the words "This is not an album" on the front cover. However you want to describe it, "Now Now Now 1" is a quality collection of cuts. Beginning with the atmospheric, bleep sporting mid-tempo throb of "Ghost", Kirkwood serves up an analogue rich selection of club-ready cuts that cannily meld elements of Italo-disco, freestyle, acid jack, tribal workouts (see percussive standout "Murder Depot"), big room humdingers (the piano-sporting, acid-flecked brilliance of "Bullwinkle") and hazy European tech-house (the horror-fired hum of "Simplex").
Review: Mexico-based Geordie Man Power has been on the rise for some time, picking up plaudits for the quality of his releases on Throne of Blood, ESP Institute, Hivern Discs and Correspondant. Now, he's decided to go it alone, launching the MeMeMe label as a vehicle for his own productions. "Tachyon" is something of a sleazy, late night treat, with the British ex-pat concentrating the action around a deliciously dirty, mutant Italo arpeggio, nagging electronic loops, and punchy drum machine percussion. DJ Tennis takes the track in a different direction, smothering Man Power's sleazy groove in melodious marimba lines, drowsy chords and elastic electronics.
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