Review: Dave Angel had a huge impact on techno throughout the 1990s, and this reissue of his 1991 1st Voyage EP shows why he was so influential. Angel's main legacy will be his contribution to integrating deeper sounds with high-paced techno rhythms, and the origins of that approach are audible on the sweeping strings of "Mesmerize", which CJ Bolland co-produced. However, 1st Voyage also impresses due to the UK producer's ability to deliver knockout club tracks. "Poison" unfolds to menacing thunder claps and Beltram-esque dissonance, while "Planet Function" is a jittery, rave-infused roller. On "Velocity", the UK producer conjures up a visceral vision of what ultimately became his signature sound, as eerie chords are fused with a tight rhythm. It's testament to Angel's vision that 30 years later, 1st Voyage remains a fascinating journey.
Review: "20HZ" was one of the biggest house tracks of the 90s, with its distinctive tribal drums ensuring that it was played by DJs right across the board. To mark the 30th anniversary of its release, R&S has commissioned new remixes. Andert Tysma adds a whole new dimension to "20HZ", morphing it into a dreamy ambient track. There is so such divergence on Marco Lys' remix, which ups the tempo but keeps the focus on the same rolling, tribal drums. Vromm opts for a different approach, with robust breaks and a searing bass added to the arrangement. Carl Cox's version also stays in a similar field, with the seminal DJ upping the pace and dropping a grainy bassline.
Review: UK producer Matt Cutler aka Lone delivers the final instalment in his Ambivert Tools series of EPs. Like previous editions, The London based producer borrows respectfully from classic house aesthetics while decorating them with a vibrant and contemporary edge - much like the tracks released on his acclaimed Magicwire imprint. The evocative and breakbeat driven "Pulsar" conjures up memories of the late '90s, sounding like an excerpt from Sasha & Digweed's seminal Northern Exposure series. "Oedo 808" goes down a solid electro bass route and the sensual latin house flair of "Blue Moon Tree" intoxicates you with its shimmering chord progressions and hypnotic bongo rhythms.
Review: At its creative height, minimal house was all about championing the left of centre and the offbeat. In that regard, Shcaa aka Sacha Khalif? is the real progeny of artists like LoSoul and Akufen. Building on the momentum of last year's debut artist album, the title track on this EP sees him deploy bluesy guitar twangs, samples of creaking doors and understated, freeform lyrics over a shuffling rhythm. "Pacific Gold" sees the Paris-based producer get even weirder. The samples are cut to shreds, the groove ambles along in a stop-start manner and the end result is one of the quirkiest, most individu-alistic records you are likely to hear in 2019.
Review: Originally released in 1991, Volume 2 has lost none of its impact. "My Sound" is a wild, rave-techno track where Beltram melds hardcore riffs with devilish vocal samples. Both "The Melody" and "Reflex" are more sombre in tone. Moody sub-bass unravels over rolling break beats on the former, while the latter resounds to acid tones and gently building snare rolls. On "The Sub-Bass Experience", Beltram brings the intensity levels back up. Driven by chattering claps and a malevolent low end, it also features moody textures and eerie synth lines. Like Energy Flash, which Beltram released around the same time, Volume 2 remains a timeless EP.
Review: Romanian minimal maestro Ada Kaleh returns to esteemed imprint R&S for another presentation of intricate electronics, following up a spate of releases on his eponymous imprint. Based on an experience in the mountains with some companions, he had an epiphany - a cosmic call (which the title translates to) of sorts - and became the inspiration for the A side "Chemare Cosmica". Brooding and mysterious, much like his Palatul de Cleștar EP for the label last year, he now serves up the majestic dub techno exploration of the title track, swirling in intricate chords and laden with generous delay and reverberations. This is supported by the hypnotic "Valea Ancestrala" which is more reminiscent of his usual esoteric style.
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: 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: 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: Inspired by Sun Ra and Philip K Dick, Lost Souls of Saturn is the vehicle for Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa's more esoteric dance floor musings. These tracks, taken from their debut album from earlier this year - and in some instances here in extended form - show just how far down the rabbit hole the duo go. "Divine Plane (M?ditation Des Enfants)" is a dreamy, wispy affair, with cosmic meandering unravelling over a tight rhythm, while on "Lunarvision", rain forest warbles accompany deeper sound scapes. While the extended take on "Lost Souls of Saturn" is a more grimy affair, led by gurgling acid, tripped out discordance and scuffled beats, the late night sax squalls of "Midnight Karma" shows that this is a proper out-there project.
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.
World Of The Wars (Wolfgang Tillmans remix) - (7:51) 127 BPM
Review: Lost Souls Of Saturn - the unlikely pairing of Seth Troxler and Phil Moffa - are preparing their debut album for release in June for R&S. They're searching for signs from another dimension and channelling this into a higher consciousness, stating that inspiration came from a broad range of subjects not limited to art, film, literature and the esoteric - through to science and even sci-fi. This is all merged into an inextricably linked whole, wrapped-up in a philosophy of their own making. All these facets certainly do make their way into the dense minimal journey that is "Holes In The Holoverse", followed by the tripped-out deep techno of "World Of The Wars" which is followed up by a remix of Turner prize winning artist and photographer Wolfgang Tillmans.
Review: Manchester based producer Joe McBride has incorporated disparate influences across the spectrum of bass culture and electronica over recent years for respected imprints such as Apollo, Exit Records and his own Synkro Music. His latest outing, the Information EP, comes courtesy of the mighty R&S Records and features four tracks with a distinctly UK underground feel; the half-time grey area beats of the title track call to mind the Autonomic sound the late noughties, leading into the ominous atmosphere of the seething slow burner "Signal" and ending with the celestial, immersive ambient journey "Last Breath".
Review: We find ourselves returning to legendary R&S records for this one as they invite the spectacular combination of both Kettama and Lone inside for a three track thrill ride. We begin with the latin-infused drum work and glitchy synth shivers of 'The Way You Feel', which sets the tone for the project through its overall euphoric nature. Next up, 'Anniversary' arrives from Kettama on solo duty, deploying a vibrant display of percussive pushes and spacey pads, before Lone's 'Dragonrush' original combines lethal electric synth pulses with acidic filtration and high energy drum maneuvers to deliver a certified smash.
Review: Chizawa originally released Asia back in 2006 on R&S, and now the emergence of a new version of that track provides the impetus for the label to reissue this classic underground EP. Inspired by the melodic soul and high-tech funk of Detroit techno, "Asia 4" remains a stellar underground track. "Panther" is a similarly inclined piece, with Chizawa raising the tempo to deliver an atmospheric, string-led workout. The new version of "Asia" the 'Lost Q' remix, adds to the producer's Motor City-fuelled creds, with a bubbling groove underpinning the kind of synth-led soul one would normally associate with classic Transmat and Metroplex.
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