Where Are Our Monsters Now, Where Are Our Friends? - (7:14) 85 BPM
Grey Day Drift - (5:41) 80 BPM
Ill Fares The Land - (3:03) 53 BPM
About To Enter A Strange New Period - (5:23) 69 BPM
Review: Man of many pseudonyms (15 and counting) James Leyland Kirby returns to one of his lesser known projects, The Stranger, for a typically unsettling trip into drone territory on Modern Love. Built around strange samples, field recordings and curious use of clattering live percussion (see the blacksmith ambient jazz of "We Scarcely See Sunlight"), Watching Dead Empires in Decay is like the unofficial soundtrack to Britain's continued decline. Certainly, its woozy electronics and unsettling melodies evoke mental images of late night walks through desolate urban wasterlands. Though bleak in outlook, there are some particularly emotion-rich moments, not least the superb, mournful "Providence or Fate".
Review: As you'd expect, the latest volume in Dirt Crew's regular Deep Love compilation series features far more hits than misses. As with previous installments in the long-running series, Deep Love 2017 is mostly made up of previously unheard material from label favourites and like-minded guest producers. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, and include the horn-laden Latin disco-house brilliance of M.ono's "Jamas", the jazzy, Compost style broken beat deepness of Felix Leifur's "Record", the loved-up shuffle of Loz Goddard's impeccable "Now is Where We Are" and a touch of 21st century jazz-funk/deep house fusion by Ponty Mython. Also worth a listen is the contribution from Sheffield beat-smith Thatmanmonkz, who once again delivers a hazy chunk of ultra-deep, soul-flecked dancefloor bliss.
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