Review: Now we truly have stumbled onto a gem of a project with this one as legendary Circus Records founder Flux Pavillion returns with a full-length album project, as always, exploring the more colourful side of electronic dance music. Standing at an incredible sixteen tracks, the project is a spectacular showcase into the full range of Flux's musical ability, from the euphoric arrangements of 'I Believe' alongside Asha and 'You & I' alongside Kata Kozma, to the more experimental side of future-funk on 20:25, featuring some fabulous work from The Chain Gang Of 1974. It forms a truly outstanding listen from start to finish, with some favourites including the big room singalong flavours of 'I Will Stay' alongside Turin Breaks, the crunchy percussion of 'Twitterbird' and highly appealing vocal captures of 'Lions Cage', featuring the magnificent Nevve.
Review: Freshly Squeezed have long proved themselves king of the swingers, but just in case you've somehow missed them here's a little reminder. Blue Cover Series Vol 1 collects highlights from the label's 1940s big band releases - all of which feature blue-tinted sleeves (unsurprisingly) and hellzapoppin' swing madness from the likes of DJ Dunya, Cristal Distortion & Got KDS and Le Jockey.
Review: Originally released in 2018, Dope Ammo's Influence album is the gully gift that keeps on giving. And right here it reaches the peak with the full remix set. Delivered throughout the year, this is the full collection and it takes Ammo's broad sound to the furthest possible places. Ranging from Kleu's gritty distorted take on "Old Times" to the Audiomission's piano-tickled purring steppy twist on "Take Me Back" by way of some of Ammo's own refixes like the sick tempo flexing on the Indian-flavoured "Repent" and turbo-growls of "Risky Business", these remixes don't just reflect the range of the original album but boost it even further.
Review: The new I:Cube album is a rapid-fire collection of tracks woven together (there's a clue in that title you know) which takes the manner of a live set. The idea is essentially to bring the dance music album back to its raison d'etre, the dancefloor. To keep things interesting, the tracks are whipped through with a wonderful irreverence, as cheeky radio interludes and impulsive switch-ups keep things from staying too formulaic. Rather than some vision of a smooth, linear DJ set, this album instead takes the stance of creating pleasure through disorientation. Mr Chaix is a master of alluring grooves, and he uses that gift to really mess with your head when he changes tack, as between the edgy bleeps of "Y.O.U.R.O.C.K." and the light-hearted disco stomper "Get The Fever". Those surprise moves keep you engaged through all 23 tracks of this joyous beast. Chaix's lack of pretension is one of his greatest strengths; the I:Cube way is a direct and satisfying one. At no point is it cheesy or hackneyed, but it never tries to be too clever for its own good. With a live feel to match that immediacy, the "M" Megamix is a triumphant statement of what a dance music album should feel like. It might not be a comprehensive answer, but it certainly puts paid to all those "collection of singles" efforts out there.
Review: After impressing with 12" excursions on IBR and Beats In Space, Matt Karmil transfers to the long-playing format for the first time. The Cologne producer's distinctive take on deep house - loose but hypnotic, featuring enveloping chords, scratchy found sounds and wonky, off-kilter rhythms - certainly suits the album format, making this debut something of a surprise winner. Karmil is at his best when lacing simple, hypnotic melodies over ultra-deep grooves, as on the enticing "Live The Dream" and "Frankrike (Float)". Yet it's arguably the album's more intriguing moments - the cut-up deep techno pulse of "Holding" and dub techno-influenced "A Lot To Share" - that catch the ear the most. Either way, it's a pretty strong debut.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.