Review: Monty Luke's follow up to his latest REkids release arrives via Nightdubbing and in the form first of all as "Supernova" - a deep blend of spacey textures with retro vocal samples. "Starstorms" delves further into the cosmic unknown with driving bass rhythms and raw pads, while "New World / Old Future" showcases Luke's mastery of scratch-like drums and intricate melodies. "Avantgarde Dancehall" adds a psychedelic twist with wonky sonics, while "Travelling 'Round The Sun'" closes the release with dub-rooted drums and spoken word poetry. Dope. Drawing from his Detroit roots, Luke's futuristic soundscapes continue to captivate, pushing boundaries into mainstream techno and cultural storytelling at its finest.
Review: Hilit Kolet makes her debut on Rekids with Hot Mess! Featuring remixes from the legendary Mike Dunn, it follows her own versions of Terry Farley & Wade Teo's "Why We Dance". It's her first EP for Radio Slave's label and the title track is a driving anthem that expertly blends marching rhythms with iconic house vocals, heightened in the 'Even Hotter Mix' which as its namesake suggests, spices up the intensity. Moving on, Chicago house maestro Mike Dunn infuses some stylish flair into his take, slowing down the groove, crafting an infectious bassline, and honouring the original's captivating vocals with warehouse style. Boom.
Review: Superpitcher and Idjut Boys bring their distinct remixing prowess to Radio Slave's Wake Up from earlier this year. The original, a spoken word slow-burner by Matt Edwards, delved into the house and disco roots of the the famous slave. Superpitcher's remix transforms the track into an acid-infused journey, with vocal samples reverberating through cavernous, dubbed-out soundscapes, while Idjut Boys elevate the original's hypnotic atmosphere, cranking up the flange while preserving its grungy bassline and reducing the vocal to a haunting whisper. Wake Up - time to put on a little make up.
Review: Fresh from joining forces with Butch for the Defected-released, Marvin Gaye-sampling joy of 'I Want You', Nic Fanciulli goes solo via a belated Rekids label debut. He hits the ground running with the chunky, bass-heavy, techno tempo disco-house rush of 'On My Mind', where the long-serving producer makes great use of some sweet (and well-known) vocals, expertly placed filter trickery and sampled orchestral builds. In contrast, 'U Gotta' is a more hypnotic, bass-heavy affair that builds slowly and subtly via looped riffs, sustained one-note string sounds, and echo-laden female vocal snippets. A locked-in, basement-ready groover for the early morning heads-down crew.
Review: Rekids continues to offer up new remixes of Nina Kraviz's eponymous 2012 debut album. Here, they revisit 'Taxi Talk' - a quirky, dusty and evocative slab of off-kilter deep house with typically evocative spoken word vocals by the popular Russian DJ/producer. This time round, Kraviz's drowsy, radio-friendly original is twisted into new shapes by David Lohlein and Sterac Electronics (AKA Dutch techno/electro veteran Steve Rachmad). Lohlein steps up first, turning the track into a ghetto-tech influenced slab of all-action techno sleaze, before Rachmad revisits his 1980s electro roots with a version that sits somewhere between drum machine driven new wave synth-pop, electrofunk and the nostalgic productions of Dam Funk. It's a fantastic re-make all told.
Review: Radio Slave's streak of impressive singles on Rekids continues with the dreamy, Balearic-infused future hit: "Amnesia." A collaboration with Southern Fried Records legend, Cagedbaby, the track weaves an euphoric blend of cascading drum breaks and deeply alluring vocals with a nostalgic overload of searing synths and heart swelling pads. As synthesising some kind of Faithless, Robert Miles, DJ Koze and Groove Armada mega hit with that intangible feeling of bliss and euphoria - it's the melancholia here that's most overt. It's hard to imagine this not self-combusting dancers in closing sets at Ibiza this year.
Review: Just over two decades ago, Matthew Edwards launched his Radio Slave project via some much hyped (but unofficial) remixes of Kylie classic 'Can't Get You Out of My Head'. In tribute, and to mark the project's 20th birthday, he's decided to re-make the track with fresh vocals by American vocalist Michael Love Michael. It's a genuine treat, with all four mixes hitting the spot. The opening 'Club Mix' joins the dots between locked-in house and revivalist Italo-disco (with a few audible nods to dreamy deep house thrown in), while the 'Maxxi version' drags the track further towards early '80s Italo-disco territory. The extended 'Chant Mix' strips back the vocals and ups the low-end weight, while the near nine-minute 'Maxxi instrumental' is a dark, woozy, Giorgio Moroder-inspired throb-job.
Review: Given the depth and quality of his discography, it's no surprise that Eddie Fowlkes' first outing for Radio Slave's Rekids imprint, March 2023's Forever EP, was an action-packed, on-point treat. The legendary Detroit producer has long specialised in warehouse-ready workouts that channel the spirit of Motor City techno while sitting closer stylistically to house. He's on that tip again on this superb sequel, confidently striding between stomping, Carnival-ready techno with a subtle Afro-house twist (the percussive and addictive 'Bahama Man'), stab-happy, trumpet-sporting, peak-time house pressure (the superb 'Follow Me'), chunky and dreamy deep house hypnotism ('Chi 2022') and rubbery, sub-heavy, loose-limbed house hedonism ('Cube').
Review: Oliver Dollar, a Berlin-based artist who first appeared on Rekids as a remixer in 2012, has returned to Radio Slave's label with his 'Strings for Life' EP. The EP's title track begins with rich and stirring strings that add soul to the track. The song is warm, euphoric, and built on a rocksteady disco groove, making it both familiar and classic. 'School Daze' is a loopy track with funky bass, jazzy chords, and timeless house drums topped off with a retro vocal sample. The EP's final track, 'Sophisticated Funk,' features an epic, emotive beatdown, and Dollar doubles down on the disco. Oliver Dollar brings a very different sound to Rekids with this EP, which is full of joyous and lush tunes.
Review: Dave Angel is one of the UK's true techno originators. Combining Detroit's depth and his own background in jazz with frenetic rhythms, he has articulated this on an impressive catalogue of Eps, DJ mixes and artist albums. While Dave's output has been less frequent in recent years, this release for Rekids demonstrates that he remains a creative force to be reckoned with. The title track revolves around a sleek rhythm and steely percussion, which provide the basis for spine-tingling, filtered builds. "Peekaboo" has a tougher feel; looped chords are set to a driving groove, but Angel's soulful aesthetic is never too far away, and is expressed here through repetitive vocal samples.
Review: Back in 2020, Stefano Miele (better known for his productions as Riva Starr) joined forces with UK techno veteran Mark Broom as Star B, serving up a celebratory chunk of string-laden disco-techno on Snatch (the excitable and energetic 'Gotta Have You'. They explore similar funk-fuelled, disco-tech territory on this belated sequel for Radio Slave's Rekids imprint. Full to bursting with scintillating stabs crafted from disco samples, thumping beats, sampled party atmos, hazy spoken word snippets and restless walking bass, 'Love Will Remain' sounds like a retro-futurist peak-time anthem in the making. They flip the script on 'I've Got Joy', peppering a sweat-soaked, bottom-heavy groove with effects-laden female vocal samples and nagging organ stabs.
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