Review: The team at Naive have unearthed a real gemstone with this latest offering from Hassan Abou Alam, who explores futuristic electronic beats with techy influxes across five heart-warming originals. We begin with the steadily progressing electronic masterclass of the title track 'It Spills', which uses colourful acidic synth textures and a constantly evolving rhythmic base to give us something very refreshing indeed. Next, the distorted drum pressures and gnarly subs of 'Unkindled' give us a much different feel, followed by the clean breakbeat processing of 'Breathe' and harmonic bliss of 'Khamaseen'. Finally, 'All Used Up' sees us dive back into some acidic flavour as stuttering synth lines sit atop bright breaksy slices to see a wicked close to the project. Great work!
Review: Violet is back with a bang: after a hiatus, she has delivered an album for Naivety and now this killer EP on its parent imprint. The title track gets Espirito off to an impressive start, with steely kicks and razor sharp percussion providing a backdrop for recycled house stabs. On "After Forever", she ventures down a techno-focused route, with a dense, rolling groove fused with a busy sample soundscape and frazzled electronic riffs. "Psyche" sees the Portuguese producer go deeper as a busy, funk-led arrangement calls to mind Claude Young's production for the DJ Kicks series. Eris Drew has been tapped to rework "Psyche", with the reshape diving deeper into break beat techno.
Review: With the best play-on-a-name since Com Truise and Eltron John we are now met with Gayphextwin, the alias of Brooke Keller out of San Francisco. Teaming up with Jose Bernat aka Pepe from Spain, the pair share a split EP on Portuguese label Naive that since its inception in late 2017 has released music from Photonz, Octa Octa and newcomer Ilana Bryne. The pair meet in Gayphextwin's remix to the euphoric, bass heavy and sweet trancey number "Palinka Hammer" by Pepe, who also delivers two originals that find subtle touches of jungle and amen breaks spliced between the tropical beats of "It's The Lights That Make You Pretty" and percussions of "Bridging Mechanics". Housier atmospheres make their way into Pepe's 'Hyperoxygenation' remix of "Spz1" too, with "This Is How I Feel" delivering a beatdown deconstruction of industrial beats and bleep-ridden tones.
Review: Coming at us with all of the energy and controlled mayhem of mid-90s Midwest techno is Jodie Overland. A regular fixture at raves and dance events in Canada and the US, Forever In Transit sees this DJ veteran draw on the heritage of labels like Comminique for inspiration. "Anxiety" is a barnstorming, gnarled acid workout, with 303s squelching and spiralling their way over a relentless industrial rhythm. On "Virtuous", the tempo is somewhat slower, but the acid line builds and builds against the backdrop of tough kicks. In contrast, "Trance Dream" is dreamier and slower, with Jodie delivering what could be a mellow version of Thomas Heckmann's trance, while "Transit" is a spaced out come down.
Review: Having recently been named by a UK dance music magazine as one of the "labels to watch" in 2019, Violet's Naive imprint has a lot to live up to. Happily, their latest missive - a deliciously retro-futurist affair from debutant Ilana Bryne - is another certifiable winner. We're particularly enjoying the scattergun breakbeats, thumping four-to-the-floor kick-drums and dub techno chords of "Dub Box Medicine", though the UK Garage-influenced hustle of bouncy deep house cut "Feelin' Myself" is similarly impressive. Breezier and dreamier flavours are provided by the swinging breakbeats and sun-kissed electronics of "Mmm Mmm Mmm", which is also given a deep breakbeat house makeover by rising star Ciel.
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