Review: If deep, dark and moody D&B and dubstep are your bag then don't sleep on this new EP from Cardiff lad Elliot R Garvey, AKA Quartz. His work has previously appeared on Metalheadz and System Music, but here he comes to the mighty R&S with four cuts that will delight those of a red-eyed and headnoddin' persuasion. 'Lilac Cobweb' feat Selena Jones is all about the jittery, twitchy percussion, 'Deity Spear' itself is sparse, haunting and features barely-there Middle Eastern-style vox, the gnarlier 'Cosmic Horror' is aptly named and 'Switchblade Groove' brings hints of a dark, beats-driven psychedelia. Late-night, skunk-fuelled listening of the highest calibre.
Review: Following Eps for R&S, Adam Longman Parker drops Colored, his debut Afriqua album, on the label. Inspired by artists like Quincy Jones and Roy Ayers but also rooted in modern electronic production, it features soulful vocal jams like "Dope" sitting alongside subtle house/techno steppers such as "Shout" and "Upstream". Meanwhile, the album also sees him indulge his experimental flights of fancy, audible on the warped chimes of "Birdlandia" and "Noir". Possessed by a rare ability to turn these seemingly conflicting narratives into a seamless whole, Parker's unique approach means that Colored is a bewildering but often quite brilliant work.
Review: R&S have a real history of bringing forward the weird and wonderful into the public eye, and it appears that this most recent link up with DJRUM is another perfect example of that brilliance as we sit tight for two stunning original creations. The high tempo drum shuffles and windy altitudes of the A-side 'Hard To Say' are something to behold, with pulsating chord clinks riding through the centre of the mix and crunchy transitions at every turn. On the flip side we take things down a bit more tropical road as we are greeted with rapid fire percussion and steel-drum like arpeggiator synths in 'Tournesol', providing a fantastic contrast across both the A & B sides.
Review: Apoca is Lakker's fourth artist album and follows 2016's highly conceptual Struggle & Emerge work. In what marks a change for the duo's approach, it features them singing, with opening track "Shoulder to the Bat" and the droning, stepping "Dropped Shoulders" mixing up evocative human tones with dubbed out techno. On other occasions, like "100 Bar", "A Juggling of Numbers" and "Nest", their love of abstract comes to the fore, with knotted, glitchy rhythms providing the basis for atmospheric textures. The pair also delves deep into experimentation with the neo-classical stylings of "Clavier", while "A Whisper In Your Ear" is an irresistible piece of lumbering, ghostly techno. No matter what direction Lakker turn in, they never fail to impress.
Review: Over the years, Felix Manuel's DJRUM project has been an important reference within the so-called 'post-dubstep' scene, which has conveniently been reimagined as 'bass' music. The artist was and still is a big part of the 2nd Drop catalogue, having released an LP and countless singles on the imprint, so it's no surprise that Belgium's mighty R&S have called upon his services. He comes through with his second album, Portrait With Firewood, and it's a much more contemplative piece of work that spreads much further than mere dance tooling, often dissipating into contemplative ambient rhythms with a post-modernist spin. Tunes like "Waters Rising" provide mystique and wonder, while others like "Sex" call to the dancefloor or even some solid meditation, much like the placid waters of "Sparrows". More than anything else, this is a true album from start to finish, constantly wondering into abstractions and then back again for some serious beat throw-downs. Excellent.
Review: As producer for American rapper Danny Brown, South London's Paul White collaborated with him on the acclaimed XXX album back in 2011. Since making his name with debut The Strange Dreams of Paul White, he went on to create some real innovation in contemporary hip-hop production on a further nine albums, in addition to working with Jamie Woon, Homeboy Sandman and Charli XCX. With his new album Rejuvenate, the producer and multi-instrumentalist tries something new, incorporating psychedelic pop elements with cosmic rock, ambient, electronic, jazz, folk and more. Vocal contributions come from Sarah Williams White, Denai Moore and Shungudzo and he's said to have abandoned sampling altogether and instead played and recorded all the instruments himself.
Review: Since ditching a plethora of recording aliases back in 2014, Malaysia-based Frenchman Karim Sahraoui has released music on some of techno's most renowned imprints, including Transmat, Compost Black Label and OFF Recordings. Plentitude sees him add another iconic label to his CV via a first outing on R&S Records.Our highlight is probably the ear-catching, house-tempo Detroit futurism of "Born Again", where positive-sounding pianos and saucer-eyed electronics rise above a shuffling rhythm track. That said, many people will enjoy the hypnotic, dub techno inspired tech-house hypnotism of opener "Spy of the Desert", while closer "Before The Second Coming" is as rich, fragrant and melodious as they come.
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