Review: Session Victim popping up on Rhythm Section International may be unexpected, but it does make sense - after all, their warming, musically expansive deep house sound frequently offers nods to jazz, soul and disco as well as Balearic beats. All of those inspirations are evident across the five tracks that make up Basic Instinct, with the German pair bouncing between funk-flecked, piano-rich loveliness (the bluesy and atmospheric 'Trying to Make it Home'), locked-in loop-house haziness (the sampled South Asian percussion and warming riffs of 'In & Out', ultra-deep dancefloor melancholia ('Orbits of Dust'), languid and deep jazz breaks (EP highlight '5AM Continental') and sunrise-ready breakbeat lusciousness ('SFC (Hommage Mix)').
Review: There's been enough variety and musical detail across Prequel's EPs for Local Talk, Distant Hawaii and Rhythm Section International to suggest that the Aussie artist would be capable of delivering a devastatingly good album or two. Love Or (I Heard You Like Outbreak), his first attempt at a full-length excursion, largely delivers on that promise, delivering an attractive blend of dusty samples, dreamy instrumentation, immaculate beat programming (think hip-hop, deep house, Latin beats, bruk, dancefloor jazz and low-slung disco-funk) and plenty of vivid aural colour. It's a winning combination, with highlights including the peak-time disco-jazz of 'I Tried To Tell Him', the ultra-deep jazz-house epic 'And That's The Story of Their Love', the Latin-bruk haziness of 'Love Is' and the thickset jazz-meets-dancefloor hip-hop flex of 'I'll Never Stop Loving You'.
Review: During the UK's first lockdown earlier in the year, Jordan Rakei decided to don his occasional Dan Kye alias - used once previously, for an EP of dancefloor-focused cuts on Rhythm Section International back in 2016 - and create a sparkling set that would cheer everyone up. He;'s certainly achieved that with Small Moments, an eight-track set of loose-limbed, inventive and atmospheric club cuts that variously joins the dots between deep house, techno, broken beat, jazz-funk, Latin grooves, jazz-house and his usual effortlessly soulful flavours. It may well be winter, but it's one of the most sun-kissed releases we've heard all year - a brilliant collection of immaculately produced, vividly imagined workouts with real clarity, atmospheric and depth. Do yourself a favour and check it out ASAP!
